Design Awards 2016: Best New Gallery – Sprüth Magers, LA

Nicknamed the Miracle Mile in the 1960s for its now long-gone glamorous department stores, Los Angeles’ Wilshire Boulevard is undergoing a cultural revival. Not only has the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) been transformed with Renzo Piano additions and new permanent installations, but leading European gallery Sprüth Magers is now opening its first US outpost (and our Design Awards 2016 pick for Best New Gallery) right across the street from the museum. German dealers Monika Sprüth and Philomene Magers wanted a space to showcase their LA artists, especially John Baldessari, with whom they have been working since 1988, and Sterling Ruby, shown since 2007.
Both gallerists have a passion for architecture; Sprüth practised as an architect until 1983, when she opened her first gallery in Cologne. Magers studied art history and found inspiration in the 1920s Wittgenstein House for her master’s thesis before opening her gallery in 1991, also in Cologne. Having combined forces in 1998, the pair concentrated on opening galleries in buildings with original architecture, seeing the spaces’ cultural history as an element in their exhibition programme. After a stint in Munich, they opened a gallery in London’s Mayfair, in a 19th-century townhouse, and another in Berlin, in the dance hall of a former social club. ‘In our experience, it is more interesting for artists to deal with defined architecture,’ says Sprüth. ‘We like to find a space that is very specific to that city.’
So it is in LA, where they chose a space flanking an International Style high-rise – the kind of building painted by Ed Ruscha, an artist they have shown since 2000. The space was transformed by London-based architect Andreas Lechthaler and Berlin’s Botho von Senger and Etterlin. Sprüth and Magers asked the architects to acknowledge the building’s columned exterior, which they did by devising freestanding walls that can be arranged in front of the windows without hiding too much of the architecture. And since the gallery’s owners and two directors, Sarah Watson and Anna Helwing, are women, the team, with interior designer Ingrid von Werz, furnished the space with vintage pieces by California-based female designers.
Baldessari – the subject of the opening show (courtesy of Marian Goodman Gallery) – is excited by Sprüth Magers’ arrival. ‘I’ve always thought of it as the best gallery in Germany, if not in Europe,’ he says. ‘I think this will give courage to other European galleries to come.’ Some are already on their way. Hauser Wirth & Schimmel, helmed by former MOCA curator Paul Schimmel, opens its 100,000 sq ft gallery in the downtown arts district in spring. Sprüth and Magers both maintain that the addition of more established galleries, with quality exhibitions, will only benefit the community. ‘We are not taking any artist away from another gallery,’ says Magers. ‘There are so many of our artists who have not been seen here,’ adds Sprüth.
As originally featured in the Febuary 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*203)
Pictured left: Philomene Magers and Monika Sprüth in the LA gallery, which launches with a show by John Baldessari, courtesy of Marian Goodman Gallery. Right: The new gallery is housed in a two-storey 1971 building designed by Pereira & Associates as part of a complex with a high-rise, a plaza and a reflection pool. The gallery has some 7,000 sq ft of space on each level
INFORMATION
Sprüth Magers Los Angeles opens 23 February. For more information, visit the gallery’s website
Photography: Spencer Lowell
ADDRESS
Sprüth Magers
5900 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
London Design Festival 2025: live updates from the Wallpaper* team
From 11-21 September, London is celebrating design in all its forms. Here's the latest news, launches and other goings-on from London Design Festival 2025, as seen by Wallpaper* editors
-
Inside Ardbeg House, the whimsical Islay hotel from the Scotch distillery
‘Luxury with a laugh’ is how Russell Sage describes his designs for the new hotel, where each room draws on island and whisky lore
-
Luxury cruise line Explora Journeys will set sail in Asia for the first time
28 voyages across Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore will mark the luxury travel brand’s debut in the region
-
Stephen Prina borrows from pop, classical and modern music: now MoMA pays tribute to his performance work
‘Stephen Prina: A Lick and a Promise’ recalls the artist, musician, and composer’s performances, and is presented throughout MoMA. Prina tells us more
-
What's the story with Henni Alftan’s enigmatic, mysterious paintings? The artist isn’t saying
Paris-based artist Henni Alftan's familiar yet uncanny works are gloriously restrained. On the eve of a Sprüth Magers exhibition in Berlin, she tells us why
-
Curtains up, Kid Harpoon rethinks the sound of Broadway production ‘Art’
He’s crafted hits with Harry Styles and Miley Cyrus; now songwriter and producer Kid Harpoon (aka Tom Hull) tells us about composing the music for the new, all-star Broadway revival of Yasmina Reza’s play ‘Art’
-
Richard Prince recontextualises archival advertisements in Texas
The artist unites his ‘Posters’ – based on ads for everything from cat pictures to nudes – at Hetzler, Marfa
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the week
Another week, another flurry of events, opening and excursions showcasing the best of culture and entertainment at home and abroad. Catch our editors at Scandi festivals, iconic jazz clubs, and running the length of Manhattan…
-
The best Ruth Asawa exhibition is actually on the streets of San Francisco
The artist, now the subject of a major retrospective at SFMOMA, designed many public sculptures scattered across the Bay Area – you just have to know where to look
-
Orlando Museum of Art wants to showcase more Latin American and Hispanic artists. Do you fit the bill?
The Florida gallery calls for for Hispanic and Latin American artists to submit their work for an ongoing exhibition
-
The spread of Butter: the Black-owned art fair where artists see all the profits
The Indianapolis-based art fair is known for bringing Black art to the forefront. As it ventures out of state to make its Los Angeles debut, we speak with founders Mali and Alan Bacon to find out more