SINCE 1975

BLUM & POE GALLERY, CULVER CITY, CA

We successfully managed the construction of the 21,000-square-foot complex at the hub of what has become a major center of contemporary art galleries in and around Culver City.

LA Times...
"The new Blum & Poe has transformed a grungy hulk of a building into a pristine showcase with sleek galleries illuminated by dramatic skylights, a slightly rougher project space and lots of back rooms for
storage, offices, private viewing and entertaining. The inaugural exhibition will feature works by an international roster of artists, including Chiho Aoshima and Yoshitomo Nara of Tokyo, Nigel Cooke of London, Florian Maier-Aichen of Cologne and Sharon Lockhart and Sam Durant of Los Angeles. In the best of times, Blum & Poe's new home would be a notable addition to the scene.

The new gallery has a door on La Cienega. But the main entrance is at the back, where freshly planted trees soften a just-paved parking lot and form a border that will eventually screen out the blight.

"We have an acre of land," Blum says, walking into a flurry of preparations. "When you arrive, we want you to feel that you are somewhere else." An enclosed garden along the back wall can be a private retreat or "a place to hang out," he says. "We can have dinners there."

Escher GuneWardena Architecture, the Los Angeles firm that design the convertion of a brick paint supplier warehouse into Blum & Poe's first La Cienega gallery, offices and work space. 

The architects have preserved the raw look of the exterior, filling unused doors and framing new ones with concrete. Inside, a long corridor with a low ceiling spills into galleries on one side and offices on the
other. A rectangular atrium that glows with natural light is a portal to three galleries of various sizes with ceilings that soar to 14 or 20 feet with inmense skylights.