Paul Schimmel Announces HUGE Arts District Gallery

Former MOCA chief curator Paul Schimmel  who left over MOCA’s then-director Jeffrey Deitch’s  shall we say “deitchiness”–has returned victorious and triumphant to downtown Los Angeles, specifically to the Downtown Art District.

On his Facebook page, Schimmel posted:

My new home in downtown LA -a late 19 th early 20 th Century flour Mill. The 100,000 sq ft block size complex is comprised of 7 buildings and a courtyard. From a Classical bank building to three different warehouses; the facility will be able exhibit several exhibitions at once. It is truly a special place in the heart of the booming arts district -can’t wait to have the first show in the raw space opening Jan 30.

According to an interview in the Downtown News, Schimmel, who is now partner in the art gallery Hauser Wirth & Schimmel,  plans the gallery’s first show to open in January, 2015. The exhibition will feature Los Angeles artists who have emerged in the past 15 years. This is pretty major on a lot of levels. Major Los Angeles curator joins forces with a major (New York/London/Zurich) gallery to create a major City of Angels gallery showcasing LA artists who have emerged since 2000. But who would be in that show? And more importantly, what will become of the art already in place on the exterior walls of the gallery complex?

Hauser Wirth & Schimmel’s location features many important murals by LA graffiti artists and crews–Revel, Swaze/Relax/Eise, Mister Cartoon, BB Bastidas, Kim West, Vyal, MSK Crew, OFA Crew, Keve/OFA, Eise/ICR, Spiro & ICR, Defer, and K25.

While the murals will remain up during the January 2015 show, their future is unclear.  Once the exhibition closes, the buildings will undergo major renovations to re-open in 2016.

These astoundingly complex and beautiful graffiti murals are included in the Mural Conservancy Los Angeles’ mural tours and in Art District tours by Cartwheel Art.

If you’re interested in learning more about these murals and their location, Cartwheel Art founder Cindy Schwarzstein is offering a free tour June 19th at 7:30, meeting at Joel Bloom Square at 3rd at Traction during the grand opening of the LARABA (Los Angeles River Artists and Business Association) Arts District Farmers Market. The Farmers Market openeing ceremony is at 6:30 with Councilman José Huizar.

The free Cartwheel Art tour includes the Hauser Wirth & Schimmel location and the new Container Yard art and event space, as well as other art and culture related locations.

Photos: Cindy Schwarzstein