A gallery tucked behind one of the world's priciest shopping strips is offering Beverly Hills residents something money can't usually buy: a look inside a dealer's private stash.
Molly Barnes, who opened her first Los Angeles gallery on La Cienega Boulevard in 1967, is showing works by 11 L.A. artists from her personal collection at the Molly Barnes Garage Gallery, 474 S. Rodeo Drive. The exhibition, titled "Artists in the Barnes Collection," runs through Thursday, July 16, according to the Beverly Press.
The show features Michael Arata, Alfredo de Batuc, Amy Inouye, Carolyn Campbell, Constance Mallinson, Jim Morphesis, Diane Holland, Pamela Smith Hudson, Robert Williams, Stuart Rapeport, and Timothea Stewart.
Barnes has represented more than 500 artists across galleries in Los Angeles and New York since 1967, according to a 2008 Pharmaka gallery exhibition catalog. In October 1968, her La Cienega gallery hosted John Baldessari's first solo exhibition, "Pure Beauty," according to Artforum. Baldessari, who died January 2, 2020, became a towering figure in conceptual art and is credited with helping transform Los Angeles into a contemporary art center.
The Baldessari connection produced one of the art world's better punchlines. The artist gave Barnes a 1968 painting, "A Painting That Is Its Own Documentation," in lieu of cash for U-Haul shipping costs. Barnes later sold it for $750,000. "John, you paid for my New York apartment!" she told him, according to Artforum critic Peter Plagens.
Beyond the gallery, Barnes hosted arts-focused radio programs including a nine-year run on KPFK and "Molly Barnes Art News" on KFWB, where she interviewed Roy Lichtenstein, Ed Ruscha, and art critic Hilton Kramer, the Beverly Press reported.
The current exhibition is a tighter version of a broader collection show. In 2008, Pharmaka gallery in downtown Los Angeles mounted "Love at First Sight: The Molly Barnes Collection," featuring more than 40 artists including Baldessari, Ruscha, Judy Chicago, and Willem de Kooning. Jim Morphesis, who appeared in that show, is among the 11 artists on view at the Rodeo Drive gallery.
The Molly Barnes Garage Gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday, 2 to 5 p.m., at 474 S. Rodeo Drive. The exhibition closes Thursday, July 16.
