Since moving to Los Angeles last summer, Perry Rubenstein has already made a mark for himself as a power player on the West Coast art scene. Now that he has settled, ARTINFO chatted with him about his new gallery, the difference between the coasts, and just what he will do with all that outdoor space.
In an interview with the L.A. Times’s Jori Finkel shortly after you announced your L.A. move, you said, “The idea that we can embrace indoor/outdoor life here is a breath of fresh air.” How have you taken advantage of that idea now that you are settled?
Without question. The outdoors is inescapable. The landscape here informs everything. Space itself is defined differently. One is always moving from place to place in L.A. Even the time spent in transit, sitting in the car, is valuable. It’s time to think, to talk, and to listen. Frankly, the car may be the most vilified but unheralded place to allow yourself to hear, arguably even to create.
For me personally, the space is not just refreshing, it’s inspiring. The movement is activating, and necessary. For our artists and our audience, we made certain to embrace that space in the architecture and design of the gallery. Its courtyard separating the east gallery from the west was my first decision, a mandate of sorts.
I wanted room to think between spaces and for others to enjoy the same.
In interviews from the last couple of years it seems like you were an L.A. convert before you even moved there. Now that you have had some time to adjust, can you elaborate on how you feel about L.A. versus New York (both in general and art-specific)?
I was and still am. I often joke that the powers that be should deputize me as the president of the Chamber of Commerce here as there is nothing like the zealotry of a convert. That said, I learned quickly not to choose, or more accurately, why it wasn’t and /or isn’t necessary to choose between cities.
Barbara Kruger said it best when I first arrived, convinced L.A. was not only the present and the future but the only place to be. She said not to stress, that they are both great cities, and they are both still here. Thinking back, it still makes me laugh. She was right, of course.
What was your number one reason for moving?
The challenge to make a mark.
Has your collector base significantly changed since moving to L.A.? Is it now heavily California-centric, or is it more global?
It has expanded. In many cases where I had pre-existing relationships here, it has grown deeper and richer. As far as new collectors, we have met many that we had little or no relationship to previously. What’s fascinating here is that when people do come to the gallery, they have chosen to come, not merely to stop by or in. We get incredible face time with our visitors, the chance to actually speak about the work, to build a relationship.
As or more gratifying than any of the above, is the fact that here in Hollywood, we are a destination. It seems that everyone who comes to L.A. comes to visit. And I am speaking about [those ranging from] luminary directors and curators to the most prominent collectors in the world.
The recent sale to MoMA recently of the magnificent Mike Kelley was seen by an incredible audience but competed for by some of the most elite collectors and institutions worldwide. I don’t honestly know if exhibiting it in NY would have had the same impact. Or effect. Either way, we couldn’t be more pleased.
The L.A. art scene seems like it’s becoming increasingly important. How do you see the balance of power (in the U.S. market) changing in the next 5-10 years?
Quite simply, all eyes are on L.A. You can feel it. There is a freshness, a newness that doesn’t exist elsewhere. At least not here in the U.S.
I say this not as a New Yorker and a 30-year resident of West Chelsea and a professional of the same number of years. The world has changed. And is changing fast. New York is still very central, but it is far from the only center.
Los Angeles is precisely what I thought it was when we made the decision to migrate; a great city and a major art center. The artist alone would have made it so, but the will of the community, the shift in buying habits to a more global platform, has made L.A. not just critical but imperative.