Last week we caught up with Hancock Park resident and gallery owner Michael Kohn while he was attending Art Basel Miami. Kohn, whose Highland Avenue Gallery represents prominent California-based artists of the 20th century, was at the annual art exhibition that drew 250 other galleries and 70,000 visitors.
Kohn has represented California-based artists for 32 years since he opened his first gallery in 1985. His latest gallery space at 1227 N. Highland Avenue opened three years ago. And Kohn is proud to say it is “honestly one of the most beautiful spaces for showing art that I know of.” He spent months working on the more than 12,000 square feet of high ceilings and light-filled space, and was an early tenant in the effort to create a design district on Highland Avenue.
Kohn, who lives in nearby Hancock Park with his family and restaurant juggernaut Caroline Styne, says he loved the idea of coming to Highland while it was still home to the odd auto body shop or other light industrial use. He said he prefers that to the mixed-use housing and retail being sandwiched in now, which raises rents for everyone on the street while homogenizing out all the character.
Kohn has been around for a while, and while he’s jaded about some things, he also passionately makes the case that art is important and timeless. He’s pleased that many of the artists he represents who helped shape the California and West Coast aesthetic are being rediscovered within the larger context of more global artists.
“Engender,” a group exhibition curated by Joshua Friedman featuring seventeen contemporary artists examining gender is currently on display until January 13, 2018.
Kohn Gallery
1227 North Highland Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90038
T 323 461 3311
www.kohngallery.com
Parking in rear off of North Citrus Ave
