Leslie Sacks Fine Art has been a valued client since the first days of Gallery Guide West Coast. (The first Gallery Guide was published in Soho in 1970). Leslie Sacks Fine Art was first opened in Brentwood in 1992, but the gallery itself originated in Africa some ten years earlier. When I signed onto Gallery Guide as an assistant editor in 1995, Lee Spiro, director at Leslie Sacks, was one of my very first clients who helped me get acclimated to the gallery's inventory, shows, events and staff and gave me an overview of the gallery's areas of specialization. Most importantly, he was open and honest and was able to give me a good sense of what I needed to do to make the Gallery Guide the best it could be for the galleries and the collectors.
Fitting that they should be the first stop on my gallery tour of S. California and Southern USA. I was able to catch up with Diana, Sandy and Lee (pictured below) and their web master, Sang Lee last week and view the impressive collection of works.
Since then, and hundreds of thousands of new acquisitions of art later, Leslie Sacks is still one of the go-to authorities for secondary market works for fine prints and rare works by modern and contemporary European and American 20th Century masters including important impressionist, post-impressionist and 20th Century art. All works are acquired by Leslie and are owned by the gallery; some available for purchase while others are available for Museum or University or other special exhibition loan.
Perhaps lesser-known, but equally rare in the art market, is Leslie Sack's collection of African artifacts, tribal arts and masks. Quite an impressive display are on view at the Brentwood location.
Leslie Sacks just published a book about African artifacts and tribal art and the gallery had just received the first printed copies hours before I arrived to say hello. The book is a scholarly approach and you can just see the amount of hours of research that went into it by flipping it open.
The gallery also has a second location in Santa Monica, once known as the Bobbie Greenfield Gallery, which was acquired in 2007. This gallery space is Leslie Sack's Contemporary Gallery and many of Bobbie Greenfield's artists are shown here such as Guy Dill, Ed Moses and many others who are still showing today.
Leslie Sacks Contemporary opened Ed Moses, "A Stone Mirror Reversed" on July 27 and I was fortunate enough to catch the show prior to the opening, although the walls were still being painted and the installation was still in progress.
Tyler Lemkin, gallery director at Leslie Sacks Contemporary, was still hanging Ed Moses' show for the opening on Saturday, and apparently I was too late to catch Ed himself as he had just left the gallery moments before I arrived. However, the Venice Beach abstract expressionist painter's new body of work did not disappoint. This particular show includes transfer paintings, also known as the reversals where he takes older works and pulls the paint thorough the back of the canvas.
Click over to the gallery's website to see more. www.lesliesacks.com (Brentwood location) and
www.lesliesackscontemporary.com
for the Santa Monica location and Ed Moses exhibition.
Speaking of Robert Berman...Another long-time, dear client who helped me out with the Gallery Guide from day one. A great negotiator, savvy art dealer (opened his gallery business in the early 1980s) and all-around great guy. I was able to catch the install of (Dwayne Booth) Mr. Fish, "Mind Over Body" at Robert Berman Gallery (B7 at Bergamot Station). A zany, political, intriguing show, to say the least. The artist's roots in editorial cartooning are the foundation for his latest body of work where cultural icons are placed onto nude bodies of clashing gender, for starters.
www.smauctions.com and www.robertbermangallery.com/
Another pleasant surprise...my dear friend Steve Irvin was helping with the install at Robert Berman. Funny. I had just been texting him two hours earlier while stuck in traffic on the 405 to set up a time to have lunch or dinner and catch up. I met Steve while he was working for Patricia Correia when she had her gallery at Bergamot Station. Another long-time, valued client, Steve was able to help get me acclimated to the art world in Los Angeles and get through times when it was just overwhelming to navigate!
Steve is also a a very talented artist.
Here, Steve is pictured next to Mr. Fish's Malcolm X but the photo is washed out so you definitely need to go check out the show in person.
Anyway, we arrived at Bergamot Station much too late to get to the rest of the galleries, so another trip there is in order.
