Sponsored Post Artists have a new home on La Brea Avenue at Artlounge Collective. The current display, The Anthropocene Exhibited, designed by in-house curator, Bernie McConnell, pulls from works that reflect on subjects of humanity. A public reception will be held on September 30, 2023, 7-10 pm. All are welcome.
Neighborhood artists have a fresh home on La Brea Avenue at Artlounge Collective. Promising a new experience in fine art, the collective curates rotating displays every eight weeks. The showroom, just south of Beverly Boulevard, is a grand venue with vaulted ceilings and a variety of large and small gallery spaces. With its large footprint, the collective’s team is able to display an average sixty artists at a time, providing a variety of styles for people of all tastes.
“Our model is quite different from the traditional gallery or cooperative,” states owner, K. Ryan Henisey. “We focus on supporting our artists, not just in the gallery but beyond. With our partner organizations like Mondrian Los Angeles, The Artist Tree dispensaries, and more, we provide a wide reach for artist displays and art shoppers.”
With nearly a hundred artists joining the gallery in its first year, Artlounge Collective has become a fast-growing hub for artists in the Los Angeles art scene. Styles in the gallery range across a variety of contemporary and traditional works and include paintings, digital prints, sculptures, ceramics, and photography.
The current display, The Anthropocene Exhibited, designed by in-house curator, Bernie McConnell, pulls from works that reflect on subjects of humanity.
“Fine art is unique to humans as we define it,” states McConnell. “The current selection of art not only highlights our shared experiences, but calls attention to the world we have shaped around us.”
Mixed across the showrooms are rotating themed exhibition and a variety of artist features. Some of the spaces are dedicated to single artists for each show period while others are curated on themes, color combinations, or styles. All of the artwork is available for purchase.
“Many of our artists are local to the neighborhood, with ninety percent of all our artists from Southern California,” Henisey states. “Though we focus on US-based artists, we do accept artists from all over the world.”
Henisey brings years of experience in the arts and retail to fine art management and curation with Artlounge Collective. He previously worked for major cruise lines, overseeing product management and publication for a half-billion dollar segment of the global tour industry, among other notable accolades. An award-winning artist and recipient of a 2021 public arts grant from the City of West Hollywood, Henisey also served as the president of TAG Gallery in Los Angeles where he oversaw more than fifty annual fine art displays a year.
“As a working artist, gallery-cooperative president, and experienced marketer, I kept seeing a gap between artist expectations and consumer habits,” explains Henisey. “Artlounge Collective is about bridging that divide.”
“There is a massive consumer audience for original fine art—hundreds of billions of dollars worldwide,” he continues, “but many artists miss the fact that more than half of all artwork sold for less than one thousand dollars (US) last year. At Artlounge, we work closely with our artists to provide top-quality original and creative works at prices accessible to the widest range of the US public.”
“Ryan has built a community of trust with many LA-artists and I knew I wanted to join him on this new venture,” says Justin Prough, whose fine art collection, The Fictional Reality of California Beach Culture produced by Artlounge Collective, displayed at the Mondrian Los Angeles Hotel and is currently on view at the gallery. “As a fellow artist, he has a deep understanding of how to balance an individual’s artistic goals with the reality of everyday consumers.”
“Artlounge Collective was created with artists in mind,” says Henisey. “Inspired by the talents and skills of friends and colleagues and the lack of opportunities available to most artists, I started to dream of a new way to share fine art experiences with everyday people. Artlounge Collective focuses on artists and creating inviting fine art experiences because as a creative I believe in the transformative power of art. Whether enjoying unique pieces at home or celebrating premieres in our lounges, I know that art invokes power, charging the spaces around it with beauty and meaning.”
The gallery, located at 145 N La Brea Ave. Suite F, is open Wednesdays through Sundays from 10am to 6:45pm. A public reception will be held on September 30, 2023, 7-10 pm. All are welcome.
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