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Los Angeles is made of concrete and dreams.
As my cab barrels down six-lane La Cienega Boulevard toward Culver City, the city’s burgeoning gallery district, my driver is expounding on both elements: "Everyone thinks they know L.A. But all that beauty is from our movies-pictures of ourselves. And look"-he jerks a thumb at rows of concrete bunkers that line this street-"why you wanna go down here? Not pretty."
Culver City was, until recently, a swath of automotive repair shops. When the economy imploded, though,
everything changed: the shops were shuttered and the city’s finest galleries-formerly crunched in the tiny rooms of Chinatown-moved into vacant warehouses here. Forty of them have now made the jump.
Seemingly overnight, L.A.’s commercial gallery scene has transplanted itself and puffed itself up to fill cavernous new venues. These are hard times for California, and the new world order has brought on massive change-neighbourhoods shift as emphatically as expectations. My driver drops me off, leans out the window: "You know what my American Dream is? To go back to Morocco."
En masse, the galleries have become that most coveted of L.A. commodities-a destination. The city has vast stretches of grey with tiny, fierce points of light. And the light, when you track it down, is brighter, more hopeful and more positively endearing, precisely because of the surrounding tracts of grey.
Wandering Culver 2.0, past fluttering Pop Tart wrappers and guys trying to make a buck selling roses to passing BMWs, I step into Firestone, a surviving autobody shop that’s been here for 23 years. Pablo, a happy guy with a full moustache, says his friends at other shops all lost their jobs. "Places are gone. The recession-you know how it is. Two shops gone off my block. Another on the next corner."
It’s hard to imagine car shops going under here. This is a place where 10 million people sit in 10-lane gridlock. But L.A.’s always changing, and the artists, as ever, are riding the wave. Turn the page for a tour of the new reality.
Stop 1
Blum & Poe
2727 S. La Cienega Blvd., 310-836-2062, blumandpoe.com
Any tour of Culver City begins at Blum & Poe, the area’s undisputed kingpin. Back in 2003, Timothy Blum and Jeff Poe moved their decade-old gallery to what was then a cultural vacuum. Last fall they upgraded to a massive new Culver City location, a 1958 warehouse.
WHAT TO BUY Their roster is half L.A. artists and half an international crowd (with a strong bent toward Asian artists). If possible, check out the dramatic work of China’s Zhang Huan.
Stop 2
Angles Gallery
2754 S. La Cienega Blvd., 310-396-5019, anglesgallery.com
Angles Gallery has taken up residence in the old Blum & Poe space. On my arrival, they’d just repainted the walls, "which we have to do after every opening." The galleries here synchronize their openings; thousands of visitors come down and hit them all at once.
WHAT TO BUY A massive bronze replica of an Hermès shopping bag, by Jonathan Seliger.
Stop 3
Susanne Vielmetter Gallery
6006 Washington Blvd., 310-837-2117, vielmetter.com
The other gallery that came to Culver City before it became Culver 2.0 was the venerable Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects. On my visit, a pair of wealthy southerners were looking at a slab of
concrete suspended in a frame:
"That’s gorgeous, by the way."
"It’s great. It’ll be like having…a wall."
"It’s conceptually interesting."
"Isn’t it?"
WHAT TO BUY Vielmetter keeps a large stable-nearly 40 artists, all contemporary, all expensive. If you have the space, one of Ruben Ochoa’s massive streetscape installations would nicely fill a garden.
Stop 4
David Kordansky Gallery
3143 S. La Cienega Blvd., Unit A, 310-558-3030, davidkordanskygallery.com
It’s a third the size of the megalith of Blum & Poe, but David Kordansky Gallery, which moved to Culver City in 2008, has a reputation for tightly edited shows.
WHAT TO BUY Follow the lead of Bob Rennie, one of Canada’s top contemporary art collectors, and look into the experimental painter Richard Jackson.
Stop 5
Francois Ghebaly Gallery
2600 La Cienega Blvd., 310-280-0777, ghebaly.com
The newest gallery to open in Culver City is François Ghebaly, which moved, like so many others, from Chinatown. Ghebaly maintained the tiny building’s auto-shop exterior as a reminder of the blue-collar spaces that these galleries have moved into. It’s tiny, smart and drawing the cool kids.
WHAT TO BUY Marius Bercea’s thick and sombre oil paintings alone are worth the visit. |
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STAY
Two glamorous hotels positioned minutes from the galleries of Culver City.
Andaz West Hollywood Cool, minimalist rooms overlook the joyously crass neon of Sunset Boulevard. The epitome of sexy, high-design L.A. 8401 Sunset Blvd., 323-656-1234, westhollywood.andaz.hyatt.com
Sofitel LA Steps from endless shopping at the Beverly Center, Sofitel LA is a four-star destination with international standing. Linger over breakfast on the sofa-strewn, Yabu Pushelberg-design patio at the hotel’s restaurant, Simon L.A.. Then return for martinis and flirtation at night. 8555 Beverly Blvd., 310-278-5444, sofitel.com
PARTY
The Kibitz Room While the legendary Viper Room does have a louder reputation, we’ll happily swill a couple of Coors Lights at the Kibitz Room any night. Picture soul singers dancing and wailing among a jubilant mix of harmless punks and hipsters with their hair down. It’s narrow, noisy, and wonderful. Bonus: it’s attached to the greatest 24-hour Jewish deli outside New York City. 419 N Fairfax Ave., 323-651-2030
EAT
Posh: Don’t stare at the stars as you make your way past a ridiculously "bling" lobby and into Delphine Brasserie (4) at the new W Hollywood. Once you’re safely ensconced, throw back oysters (which are done uncommonly well) and some Veuve. If you’re in the mood for something more casual, we’d point you toward Station Hollywood, the hotel’s very fun outdoor lounge, where films (or the game) are projected on a 29-by-20-foot screen. Snacks and smart beers are on offer into the wee hours.
6250 Hollywood Blvd., 323-798-
1300, starwoodhotels.com
Casual: The open-air Original Farmers Market overflows with foodie options. But we’ll narrow it down for you. After bagging one of the thousands of hot sauces at Light My Fire, go for soft tacos at Loteria Grill (washed down with lip-puckering limeade). Or stay mobile with gyros from Moishe’s Restaurant. For afters: Bob’s Coffee & Doughnuts is an institution, and for good reason. 6333 West 3rd St., 323-933-9211, farmersmarketla.com
WORTH THE DRIVE
A good drive away from Culver City, heavyweight L&M Arts has opened an extraordinary commercial gallery space in Venice City (which used to be the art-heart of L.A.). L&M Arts christened its gallery with a Paul McCarthy exhibit-the first show the revered artist has had in L.A. in nearly a decade. 660 Venice Blvd.,
310-821-6400, lmgallery.com
Hint: post-tour, hit up Gjelina in the Abbot Kinney strip for lunch, where you can order a perfect plate of grilled okra five feet from John Malkovich. 1429 Abbot Kinney Blvd., 310-450-1429, gjelina.com
This fall, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art opened the 45,000-square-foot Resnick Pavilion. It’s now the largest naturally lit museum space in the world, and an ideal place for sculpture shows. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., 323-857-6000, lacma.org
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