PHARMAKA GALLERY
Los Angeles, CA
Pharmaka Gallery started as a collective of talented Los Angeles painters in 2004. The group converted a former restaurant into a nonprofit gallery space on the corner of 5th and Main in Downtown Los Angeles. At that time it was one street north of Skid Row in LA’s Historic Bank District. In concert with the Pharmaka painters, its nonprofit board, major donors and Bert Green Fine Art, as well as a few other small galleries, Guffogg’s brainchild was initiated and the Downtown Art Walk was born. What began as less than 100 people (consisting mostly of the artists themselves and a few art enthusiasts) grew into 4,000 attendees streaming through the doors of Pharmaka on a single night, and 20,000 plus filling the streets of Downtown. Thus, other galleries began flocking to the area. While serving as a member of Pharmaka’s board, it was thrilling to watch this dream grow from idea to fruition.
In designing the Pharmaka Gallery the relationship between beholder and painting takes center stage and the space must reinforce this interaction. History, as in decades of use and wear, are exposed. Floor and ceiling are left untouched to narrate stories of the space’s colorful history. In stark contrast, the new curvilinear art-wall is inserted almost as if it were a giant piece of furniture, accommodating uses such as office, toilet room and storage. Alcoves cut into the art wall contain reception and an alcove for smaller works. Excessive daylight is blocked by a series of exhibition walls that extend to about two thirds of the glazed storefront while a giant wall at the end of the gallery forms a scene-like backdrop.
