Art dealers head south for space

Is an anonymous strip of South La Cienega Boulevard the next hot spot in L.A.’s art gallery scene? Dealers Anna Helwing, Tim Blum and Jeff Poe are banking on it.

Helwing launched herself in the gallery business in mid-July in a 2,000-square-foot space at 2766 S. La Cienega Blvd., just north of Washington Boulevard. Blum and Poe, who have operated a small but prestigious contemporary art gallery in Santa Monica for the past nine years, will move to a 5,000-square-foot gallery at 2754 S. La Cienega Blvd. on Sept 4.

Located close to the Santa Monica Freeway and just around the corner from an increasingly trendy section of Culver City, the fledgling gallery row is as close to a center as anything in the sprawling city, Blum says. “We looked for a bigger place all over town for years,” he says, but this was the spot that made sense. And he is already expecting compatible new neighbors. A couple of other dealers are negotiating for the space between Helwing and the new Blum & Poe, he says.

But that’s in the future. At the moment, Blum and his partner are intensely focused on the final stages of their new gallery’s construction. Los Angeles architects Frank Escher and Ravi Gunewardena -- whose futuristic projects include the restoration of John Lautner’s Chemosphere in Hollywood and the design of the Bryce Jamie house in Pasadena -- have retained the plain brick exterior of the former warehouse but transformed the interior by adding a series of pristine white rooms, public walkways and private office spaces.

From the glass-covered front, passersby will see art displayed on white walls. On the north side, where the building runs along Ballona Creek, a big Blum & Poe sign will cover the rough brick wall.

“The whole point of the design is that it’s raw and cooked at the same time,” Blum says.

Helwing and Blum & Poe plan a joint opening Sept. 4. Helwing will present collaborative works by the Swiss team Andres Lutz and Anders Guggisberg. Blum & Poe will show new pieces by 22 artists affiliated with the gallery.

-- Suzanne Muchnic