One-Stop Art Shopping in Santa Monica
Published:
www.bergamotstation.com) shows just how resourceful Angelinos can be. The defunct, 19th-century railway stationfifth stop from the beachhad gone through several incarnations, housing factories for everything from ice to appliances to aircraft. In 1994, the city asked a local gallerist to breathe new culture into the location, converting the campus-like complex of high-ceilinged, corrugated steel buildings into a low-rent opportunity for galleries struggling through the downturn of the art market. Today, this has turned into a premiere park-and-view destination for the collector. Berman/Turner Projects (2525 Michigan Ave.; 310-315-9506; www.bermanturnerprojects.com) is the largest of Bergamots galleries. Longtime L.A. dealer Robert Berman had already partnered with Venice gallerist William Turner through five installments of what was then L.A.s biannual art show. In mid-2005, they joined their businesses and formed a new entity that encompasses their contrasting tastes and three of Bergamots spaces (C2, D5, and E1) as well as the Santa Monica Auctions (see below). The Projects peddle an impressive list of established, mid-career artists: the pop illusions of Bill Barminsky, the velvety-Matisse fantasies of Ron English, the storybook murals of Tyson Grumm, the quirky social commentary of Timothy Greenfield-Sanders. Santa Monica Auctions (2525 Michigan Ave., D5; 310-315-1937; www.smauctions.com) is the only art auction in Los Angeles, make that Southern California. Robert Berman treats his brainchildbegun as a spoofseriously, hunting relentlessly for art and the occasions that cause people to sell. Two to three times a year, youll find vestiges of Bermans once-impressive Man Ray collection, while the rest is a crap shoot: as Berman says, I like to mix it up. Previews are ongoing. Kay Richards, at IKON Ltd. Contemporary Art (2525 Michigan Ave., G4; 310-828-6629; www.ikonltd.com; Tue-Sat 11-5:30), is one of those gallerists that can put up a casual show of Warhol, Basquiat, Rauschenberg, Schnabel, and Lichtenstein; correspondingly, the asking price here will generally poke its head above $100,000. The Bobbie Greenfield Gallery (2525 Michigan Ave., B6; 310-264-0640; www.bobbiegreenfieldgallery.com; Tue-Sat 11-6) works with the estates of Robert Motherwell, Andy Warhol and Louise Nevelson, and has an astounding selection of pop art, abstract expressionism, sculpture, paintings and other media by established contemporary California artists. The inventory at the Richard Heller Gallery (2525 Michiga Ave., B-5A; 310-453-9191; www.richardhellergallery.com) includes intricate line drawings by Neil Whitacre, whimsical line drawings by Jeff Ladouceur, and the colorful real estate oil depictions of Amy Bennett. |
Save to Del.icio.us
Digg this
