Introducing THE BRICK

LAXART embarks on its next chapter: 

New Name / New Home

Opening this June

Founded in 2005, LAXART has been rechristened as The Brick in a new home at 518 N. Western Avenue. The name was derived from the building’s most prominent feature, its exposed red brick. Dedicated to understanding key issues of our time through contemporary art, the mission remains the same. Free and open to the public, The Brick is an alternative arts space engaging the local, national, and international community. The mix of exhibitions, concerts, and performances will resume this Summer in the new 5,000 square foot facility.

The Brick’s Grand Opening is over two evenings: Sunday, June 16 and Monday, June 17. Both evenings will feature legendary saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell in two different settings. These concerts will be followed by a community party on Sunday, June 23 to coincide with the Sekula/Stein Garage Sale, a week-long sale of artist Allan Sekula and art historian Sally Stein’s home library sprinkled with personal effects. All events are free and open to the public. The Brick’s inaugural exhibition will be a solo show of new work by artist/writer/activist Gregg Bordowitz opening in July, followed in September by the group show Life on Earth: Art & Ecofeminism, organized by deputy director and curator Catherine Taft as part of PST ART: Art & Science Collide. The Brick opens with an exterior facade that will feature a mural memorializing the late artist Pope.L by LA-based muralists 3B collective.

Constructed in 1952, 518 N. Western has had several lives. Before becoming a gallery, it was a furniture showroom, one of many to dot the stretch of Western Avenue just north of Koreatown. The one story, 5,000 square foot building underwent an extensive structural upgrade and renovation which was overseen by board member John Frane of HGA Architects. The floor plan is completely open and the building’s structural elements — concrete floors, brick walls, wood ceiling, and tapered steel trusses — are exposed. It has 4,000 square feet of exhibition space, nearly double that of LAXART’s previous Santa Monica Boulevard location. It also features a 1,000 square foot, outdoor courtyard that is an extension of the gallery. Visitors will have full access to this space through patio doors lining the gallery’s back wall. Both the exhibition space and courtyard are named for benefactors Jarl and Pamela Mohn whose support was essential to the building campaign.

Alongside this new location, The Brick also unveils a new logo and visual identity designed by Perron-Roettinger. The new logo prominently features elegant, fluid script lettering with contemporary typographic features. Legible across both small and large scales, the new branding speaks to The Brick’s mission to be distinctive, while indicating an ethos that’s forward-thinking, embraces connection, and synthesizes different points of view.

NEW BOARD MEMBERS

The Brick announces two new board members, Karen Hillenburg and Theodore Karatz. Hillenburg and Karatz bring their knowledge, experience, and wide networks to The Brick’s leadership at a critical moment in the organization’s growth. 

Karen Hillenburg is a Los Angeles-based collector and philanthropist. She serves on the Board of Advisers of the Hammer Museum and on the Acquisition Committee of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Additionally, she serves on the Museum of Modern Art’s Film Committee. Formerly, she served as co-vice chairman of California Institute of the Arts. 

Theodore Karatz is a Managing Director and Head of Build-to-Rent Acquisitions at GTIS Partners. GTIS Partners is a global real estate investment firm headquartered in New York with offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Munich, and São Paulo. He serves as a Trustee at the Millbrook School, in Dutchess County, New York.

ABOUT THE BRICK

The Brick is a nonprofit visual art space that promotes developments in contemporary culture through exhibitions, publications, and public programs. It was founded as LAXART by art historian and curator Lauri Firstenberg in 2005, LAXART was created as a platform for emerging and under-recognized talent in Los Angeles. Evolving under the directorship of Hamza Walker, who took the helm of the organization in 2016, The Brick has expanded its mission to encompass thematic exhibitions that engage with a range of local and international artists at every stage of their careers. 

The Brick’s mission betrays a belief that contemporary art is a means of understanding key issues of our time with all their inherent contradictions. Contemporary art assumes many forms. Rather than provide answers, it raises questions. Through a range of offerings, The Brick contextualizes contemporary art both socially and discursively.

To honor the organization’s roots, The Brick staff are currently working on a forthcoming history book focusing on the seminal role LAXART has played within LA’s cultural landscape over the past twenty years.