The Rosamund Felsen Gallery is one of the longest-running art galleries in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, involved in and influencing the broader American art community since its establishment in 1978. The gallery has operated four locations since its inception: first on

La Cienega Boulevard La Cienega Boulevard is a major north–south arterial road that runs between El Segundo Boulevard in Hawthorne, California on the south and the Sunset Strip/Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood to the north. It was named for Rancho Las Cienegas, ...

in Los Angeles, then on

Santa Monica Boulevard Santa Monica Boulevard is a major west–east thoroughfare in Los Angeles County. It runs from Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica near the Pacific Ocean to Sunset Boulevard at Sunset Junction in Los Angeles. It passes through Beverly Hills and West ...

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most ...

, later at

Bergamot Station Bergamot Station Arts Center is a Santa Monica facility housing many different private art galleries and appears in most tourist guides as a primary cultural destination. Opened September 17, 1994 as Bergamot Station the campus-like complex is ...

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

, and finally in the

Arts District, Los Angeles The Arts District is a neighborhood on the eastern edge of Downtown Los Angeles, California in the United States. The city community planning boundaries are Alameda Street on the west which blends into Little Tokyo, First Street on the north ...

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...

History

1970s

Rosamund Felsen Gallery was established in 1978 on N. La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. In the gallery's first year, the artists exhibited were Guy Dill, Richard Jackson,

Keith Sonnier Keith Sonnier (July 31, 1941 – July 18, 2020) was a postminimalist sculptor, performance artist, video and light artist. Sonnier was one of the first artists to use light in sculpture in the 1960s. With his use of neon in combination with epheme ...

, Peter Lodato, Alexis Smith, Maria Nordman, and William Wegman. In the second year, Karen Carson and

Grant Mudford Grant Mudford (born 1944 in Sydney), is an Australian photographer. Life and work From 1963 to 1964 he studied architecture at the University of New South Wales, Sydney. From 1965 to 1974, he established a commercial photography studio in S ...

were added to the gallery's program, and

Chris Burden Christopher Lee Burden (April 11, 1946 – May 10, 2015) was an American artist working in performance, sculpture and installation art. Burden became known in the 1970s for his performance art works, including ''Shoot'' (1971), where he arranged ...

’s ''Big Wheel'' was exhibited for the first time, now in the Permanent Collection of

Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) is a contemporary art museum with two locations in greater Los Angeles, California. The main branch is located on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, near the Walt Disney Concert Hall. MOCA's o ...

' collection. The La Cienega space had been formerly occupied by gallerist, Riko Mizuno and later by

Gagosian Gallery Gagosian is a contemporary art gallery owned and directed by Larry Gagosian. The gallery exhibits some of the most influential artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. There are 16 gallery spaces: five in New York City; three in London; two in Par ...

1980s

In 1980, Richard Jackson exhibited his first installation of stacked paintings, ''Big Ideas,'' at Rosamund Felsen Gallery. Later versions of stacked paintings, would be exhibited at his retrospective at

Orange County Museum of Art The Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) is a modern and contemporary art museum located on the campus of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California. The museum's collection comprises more than 4,500 objects, with a concentration ...

. In 1981, the four out of sixteen artists who were in Los Angeles County Museum (

LACMA The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 1961, ...

)’s exhibition, ''The Museum as Site – Sixteen Projects'', an exhibition devoted to significance of site-specific art in the 1970s, included Richard Jackson,

and the only women artists in the exhibition, Karen Carson and Alexis Smith, were represented by Rosamund Felsen Gallery. On New Year’s Eve, 1981, a black tie opening was held at the gallery for the exhibition of

Robert Rauschenberg Milton Ernest "Robert" Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the Pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his Combines (1954–1964), a group of artwor ...

’s photographic series, ''In + Out City Limits: Los Angeles'', one of several series the artist has made of specific cities. Also, in 1981,

Jeffrey Vallance Jeffrey Karl Reese Vallance (born January 25, 1955, in Redondo Beach, California) is an American contemporary artist who lives and works in Los Angeles, California. He is best known for projects that blur the lines between object-making, install ...

was shown, then in 1983 the gallery had its first exhibitions with Mike Kelley and

Lari Pittman Lari George Pittman (born 1952 in Glendale, California) is a Colombian-American contemporary artist and painter. Pittman is an Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Painting and Drawing at the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture. Early life ...

. In, 1983, Mike Kelly showed "one of his breakthrough works", ''Monkey Island'', "a performance/installation" which had been shown at

Metro Pictures Gallery Metro Pictures was a New York City art gallery founded in 1980 by Janelle Reiring (previously of Leo Castelli Gallery), and Helene Winer (previously of Artists Space). It was located in SoHo until 1995 when it moved to Chelsea. The gallery close ...

in New York the year prior. Later, in 1987, Mike Kelly had another notable exhibition, where he "splayed blankets across" Rosamund Felsen Gallery's "floor and arranged tattered animals around them in formal groupings, like they were attending a picnic without people." The largest piece in this show, ''More Love Hours Than Can Ever Be Repaid'', "composed of animals and afghans and stretched 10 feet wide" hung next to ''The Wages of Sin'', "a pedestal table dripping with candles in rainbow hues, as though audiences were standing before a holy shrine at mass, a nod to his Catholic upbringing." Both those pieces were in included in the

Whitney Biennial The Whitney Biennial is a biennial exhibition of contemporary American art, typically by young and lesser known artists, on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, United States. The event began as an annual exhibition in ...

that year and they were purchased by the

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942), ...

. The 1980s and the 90s also saw the additions of prominent women artists such Renée Petropoulos, Erika Rothenberg, Meg Cranston, Ann Preston,

Joan Jonas Joan Jonas (born July 13, 1936) is an American visual artist and a pioneer of video and performance art, and one of the most important artists to emerge in the late 1960s and early 1970s.Marnie Weber Marnie Weber (born 1959) is an American artist who lives and works in Los Angeles. Her work includes photography, sculpture, installations, film, video, and performances. She is also a musician. Life and work Marnie Weber was born in Bridgeport ...

, and Laura Owens, as well as male artists Tim Ebner and

Jason Rhoades Jason Fayette Rhoades (July 9, 1965 – August 1, 2006) was an American installation artist. Better known in Europe, where he exhibited regularly for the last twelve years of his life, Rhoades was celebrated for his combination dinner party/ ...

1990s

In 1990, after 12 years at the La Cienega site, Rosamund Felsen Gallery moved to

on Santa Monica Boulevard to a space that had previously been the studio of entertainment photographer, Tom Kelley, and where

had his first gallery exhibition, ''Swedish Erotica and Fiero Parts''. In 1992, for '' Helter Skelter: L.A. Art in the 1990s'', the historically significant exhibition curated by Paul Schimmel at the

, four of the seventeen artist chosen to be in the show were Rosamund Felsen Gallery artists Richard Jackson, Mike Kelley,

Paul McCarthy Paul McCarthy (born August 4, 1945) is a contemporary artist who lives and works in Los Angeles, California. Life McCarthy was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1945. He studied art at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, and later continued ...

, and

. In 1994, Rosamund Felsen Gallery moved to

, and the important New York video artists Judith Barry and

Jacci Den Hartog Jacci Den Hartog (born 1962 in Pella, Iowa) is an American sculptor. Career Den Hartog has actively been exhibiting her sculptures since 1991. Her work has been included in exhibitions at Corcoran Gallery, Washington, D.C. in the “Painting O ...

, Andrew Falkowski, Steven Hull, Steve Hurd, Nancy Jackson, Gegam Kacherian, Mary Kelly, Jean Lowe, Kim MacConnel, Patrick Nickell and Pauline Stella Sanchez.

2010s

In 2011, Rosamund Felsen Gallery saw the addition of

Charles Arnoldi Charles Arnoldi, also known as Chuck Arnoldi and as Charles Arthur Arnoldi is an American painter, sculptor and printmaker. He was born April 10, 1946, in Dayton, Ohio. While visiting a girlfriend's grandmother in New York, he took the opportun ...

to its roster of exhibiting artists, and for the gallery's November–December show,

would show influential artworks from the 1970s as part of the

Getty Center The Getty Center, in Los Angeles, California, is a campus of the Getty Museum and other programs of the Getty Trust. The $1.3 billion center opened to the public on December 16, 1997 and is well known for its architecture, gardens, and views over ...

's ''Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A.'' art program throughout Los Angeles. In 2012, for the gallery's end of the year show, Mary Kelly had a gallery exhibition which framed "an epoch — the period from World War II through the Cold War — in a few shrewd conceptual strokes, employing as she often has in her work, the voice of the individual bystander as a mirror to the broader forces of history." From this exhibition, the piece ''Mimus, Act I (Posner)'' - which was "made of sheets of compressed lint from domestic dryers affixed to variously colored cardboard" using language which had been "sourced from the court transcripts of the red-baiting

House Committee on Un-American Activities The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...

and centers on the depositions of activists in the 1950s movement

Women Strike for Peace Women Strike for Peace (WSP, also known as Women for Peace) was a women's peace activist group in the United States. In 1961, nearing the height of the Cold War, around 50,000 women marched in 60 cities around the United States to demonstrate aga ...

." - was acquired by the

Hammer Museum The Hammer Museum, which is affiliated with the University of California, Los Angeles, is an art museum and cultural center known for its artist-centric and progressive array of exhibitions and public programs. Founded in 1990 by the entrepreneur- ...

and would later be shown in the museum exhibition, ''Take It or Leave It: Institution, Image, Ideology'', two years later. In 2013, Rosamund Felsen Gallery was featured in

Los Angeles Magazine ''Los Angeles'' magazine is a monthly publication dedicated to covering Los Angeles. Founded in the spring of 1961 by David Brown, the magazine is currently owned and published by Hour Media Group, LLC. Los Angeles magazine's combination of feat ...

as one of the top galleries in Los Angeles. In 2014, two of the gallery artists, Mary Kelly and Judith Barry, had works that were included in the exhibition, ''Take It or Leave It: Institution, Image, Ideology'' at the

in Los Angeles. ''Take It or Leave It'' would be "the first large-scale exhibition to focus on the intersection of two vitally important genres of contemporary art: appropriation (taking and recasting existing images, forms, and styles from mass-media and fine art sources) and institutional critique (scrutinizing and confronting the structures and practices of our social, cultural, and political institutions)." In 2015,

Tanya Haden Tanya Haden Black (born October 11, 1971) is an American artist, musician, and singer. She is one of the triplet daughters of jazz bassist Charlie Haden. She is married to actor, comedian and musician Jack Black. Career Born in New York City, s ...

was added to the roster of exhibiting artists and had her first one-artist exhibition while gallery artist

Joan Jonas Joan Jonas (born July 13, 1936) is an American visual artist and a pioneer of video and performance art, and one of the most important artists to emerge in the late 1960s and early 1970s.United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in at

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

56th International Art Exhibition. In April 2015, the gallery moved from its

location to a new space in the

. The inaugural exhibition, which ran from April 18 through May 16, 2015, consisted of paintings by

Pattern and Decoration Pattern and Decoration was a United States art movement from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. The movement has sometimes been referred to as "P&D" or as The New Decorativeness. The movement was championed by the gallery owner Holly Solomon. The ...

pioneer Kim MacConnel. In April 2016, the gallerist Rosamund Felsen received a four-page profile in the culture section of the

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

by writer Caroline A. Miranda, documenting Rosamund Felsen Gallery's move along with the cultural migration eastward in Los Angeles & the transitioning cultural landscape of Los Angeles during this time. In June 2016, Rosamund Felsen Gallery announced that it would be closing its Downtown Los Angeles location with the show ''Celebration,'' slating it as a “tribute not only to all the extraordinary artists who have filled both the gallery space and the gallery’s identity over the years, but also as a marking point for the current gallery artists' ongoing careers.” ''Celebration'' would include pieces by each of the Rosamund Felsen Gallery artists at the time. Rosamund Felsen Gallery continues to represent its artist and maintains a presence online. In April 2017, the film ''Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405'' by director Frank Stiefel, which profiled & documented the story and works of gallery artist Mindy Alper, won the 20th Anniversary Full Frame Jury Award For Best Short.

List of Represented Artists

* Mindy Alper *

Judith Barry Judith Barry (born 1954) is an American artist, writer, and educator best known for her installation and performance art and critical essays, but also known for her works in drawing and photography. She is a professor and the director of the MIT ...

Morton Bartlett Morton Bartlett (1909 in Chicago – 1992 in Boston) was an American freelance photographer and graphic designer who, from 1936 to 1963, devoted much of his spare time to creating and photographing a series of intricately carved lifelike plaste ...

*Jenn Berger *Jacci Den Hartog *Andrew Falkowski *

*Kathleen Henderson *Nancy Jackson *

*Patrick Nickell *Marc Pally *M. A. Peers * Jon Peterson * Renée Petropoulos *Ann Preston *Marcia Roberts *C. K. Wilde

References

External links

* {{Coord, 34.022351, -118.230495, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-CA, display=title Art museums and galleries in Los Angeles Contemporary art galleries in the United States Art galleries established in 1978 1978 establishments in California Buildings and structures in Los Angeles