Raise High the Roof Beam: Ferus Gallery Redux

Original Ferus Gallery at 723 N. La Cienega. Tom Beeton

will recreate this storefront complete with sign and painting

by Billy Al Bengston. Photo credit unknown.

The new year brings new and exciting projects. Our first major project of the year is the resurrection of Ferus Gallery. Living in the shadow of the New York art world, Ferus Gallery, founded in 1957 by curator, Walter Hopps and artist, Edward Kienholz, set a precedence for the west coast art scene. By launching the careers of local artists such as Ed Ruscha, Craig Kauffman, Wallace Berman, Ed Moses and Robert Irwin, Ferus Gallery transformed a conservative Los Angeles into a hub of artistic possibilities. When Edward Kienholz left the gallery in 1958 to pursue artistic endeavors, he was replaced by New Yorker, Irving Blum. The new partnership helped to build an infrastructure of exchange between Los Angeles and New York. With Blum came artists Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Donald Judd, Frank Stella, Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. Ferus Gallery's most notable exhibitions were Andy Worhol's iconic "Soup Cans ", which was Worhol's first solo exhibition, and Marcel Duchamp's first retrospective. Due to the toxic concoction of art and money, Ferus closed its door in 1966.

Interior designer, Tom Beeton, has made it his charge to revive the Ferus Gallery. Under a new moniker, After Ferus Gallery, Beeton will build on the vision of Ferus' original founders by featuring the movers and shakers of today's art world. Perhaps this will be the making of a new "Ferus Gang." Debuting at its original storefront location, at 723 N. La Cienega Boulevard, After Ferus Gallery, in conjuction with the Art Los Angeles Contemporary, will open its doors January 28-31, 2010. The gallery will exhibit the works of Ferus forefathers: Billy Al Bengston, Craig Kauffman, Ed Kienholz, Ken Price, Ed Ruscha, and Andy Warhol.