ACE Gallery is an internationally recognized

art gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The long ...

specializing in

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

. ACE Gallery Los Angeles is located in the Miracle Mile section of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

a few blocks east of Museum Row.

Locations

ACE Gallery Los Angeles

Since 1986, ACE Gallery Los Angeles has occupied the entire second floor of the Wilshire Tower. This 11-story Art Deco structure fills an entire block of Wilshire Boulevard’s Miracle Mile. The building first opened on March 15, 1929 with Desmond Department Store that signaled the start of this becoming an important retail district. Inside the Wilshire Tower, Ace has 30,000 feet of museum-quality gallery space.

ACE Gallery Beverly Hills

In 2003, ACE Gallery opened an annex in Beverly Hills with an inaugural exhibition of large paintings by Sam Francis. ACE Gallery Beverly Hills closed in November 2016. The site of this location will be replaced by the Beverly Drive station as part of the

D Line Extension The D Line Subway Extension Project (formerly known as the Westside Subway Extension, the Subway to the Sea, and the Purple Line Extension) is a construction project in Los Angeles County, California, extending the rapid transit D Line (former ...

ACE Museum

In 1985, ACE Gallery launched an exhibition space in a warehouse with ceilings at 5917 Burchard St. near Venice and La Cienega boulevards called the "Ace Museum." Incorporated in June 2009, Ace Museum became a separate and independent non-profit organization. The current museum is located at 400 South La Brea Avenue in the

Hancock Park Hancock Park is a city park in the Miracle Mile section of the Mid-Wilshire neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. The park's destinations include the La Brea Tar Pits; the adjacent George C. Page Museum of La Brea Discoveries, which displa ...

neighborhood of Los Angeles. As of the change of directorship in April 2016, ACE Gallery Los Angeles and ACE Gallery Beverly Hills have no relationship with Ace Museum.

History

ACE Gallery founder Douglas Chrismas opened his own frame shop and gallery in Vancouver at the age of 17. His gallery became known as a venue where Vancouver artists could show alongside major New Yorkers, and get the feeling of belonging to a bigger scene. In the 60s and early 70s he brought artists such as

Robert Rauschenberg Milton Ernest "Robert" or "Bob" Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the Pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his Combine painting, Combines (1954� ...

Carl Andre Carl Andre (September 16, 1935 – January 24, 2024) was an American minimalist artist recognized for his ordered linear and grid format sculptures. His sculptures range from large public artworks (such as ''Stone Field Sculpture'', 1977, in ...

Sol LeWitt Solomon "Sol" LeWitt (September 9, 1928 – April 8, 2007) was an American artist linked to various movements, including conceptual art and minimalism. LeWitt came to fame in the late 1960s with his wall drawings and "structures" (a term he pref ...

Bruce Nauman Bruce Nauman (born December 6, 1941) is an American artist. His practice spans a broad range of media including sculpture, photography, neon, video, drawing, printmaking, and performance. Nauman lives near Galisteo, New Mexico. Life and work ...

, and

Donald Judd Donald Clarence Judd (June 3, 1928February 12, 1994) was an American artist associated with minimalism.Tate Modern websit"Tate Modern Past Exhibitions Donald Judd" Retrieved on February 19, 2009. In his work, Judd sought autonomy and clarity for ...

to Vancouver, Canada. The gallery expanded to Los Angeles in 1967 at the former Virginia Dwan Gallery space in Westwood, and then further expanded to New York in 1994. The galleries were noted for doing museum-level exhibitions by up and coming and internationally renowned artists. While in New York the gallery’s presence was amplified by doing exhibitions in conjunction with cultural institutions such as the

Guggenheim Museum The Guggenheim Museums are a group of museums in different parts of the world established (or proposed to be established) by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Museums in this group include: * The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, Ne ...

and the Cartier Foundation (Paris). Under Chrismas' directorship, ACE Gallery has had either offices or galleries in art centers outside of the United States, such as

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. and

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. In 1972, Chrismas mounted Robert Irwin’s installation ''Room Angle Light Volume'' at the first ACE/Venice, which opened at 72 Market Street in 1971. In 1977, ACE mounted exhibitions of work by

Frank Stella Frank Philip Stella (May 12, 1936 – May 4, 2024) was an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker, noted for his work in the areas of minimalism and post-painterly abstraction. He lived and worked in New York City for much of his career befor ...

and

Robert Motherwell Robert Motherwell (January 24, 1915 – July 16, 1991) was an American Abstract Expressionism, abstract expressionist Painting, painter, printmaker, and editor of ''The Dada Painters and Poets: an Anthology''. He was one of the youngest of th ...

, along with

Michael Heizer Michael Heizer (born 1944) is an American land artist specializing in large-scale and site-specific sculptures. Working largely outside the confines of the traditional art spaces of galleries and museums, Heizer has redefined sculpture in term ...

’s Displaced/Replaced Mass. Installed at ACE/Venice, the Heizer piece required that huge chunks be gouged out of the gallery floor to create recessed areas able to accommodate boulders. In April 2016, ACE Gallery emerged from a three-year bankruptcy proceeding under the leadership of Sam S. Leslie. In May 2016, founder Douglas Chrismas was terminated from all roles at the gallery. In July 2021, Douglas Chrismas was arrested by the FBI and charged with embezzlement. In May 2022, Douglas Chrismas was ordered to repay 14.2 million in ACE art sale profits, which were diverted to personal accounts. In September 2022, LA Times did a long expose on Christmas' career and the state of his court case where he faced "up to 15 years in prison if convicted". In June 2024, Christmas was found guilty of embezzlement and is awaiting sentencing.

Controversies

In a 1983 lawsuit in Los Angeles federal court, Rauschenberg sought $500,000 from Chrismas' Flow ACE Gallery; the artist won a $140,000 judgment in the suit in 1984. Eventually the two reconciled their differences and in 1997

insisted that ACE Gallery New York (in conjunction with the

) host his Retrospective. In 1986, Chrismas pleaded no contest after Canadian real estate developer C. Frederick Stimpson alleged that he had improperly sold work belonging to the collector, among them pieces by

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...

and Rauschenberg. Under the terms of the settlement, Chrismas agreed to pay Stimpson $650,000 over a period of five years. He continues to work with the Stimpson family in handling their art interests. In 1989, ACE Gallery wanted to borrow a work by Judd along with Carl Andre's 1968 Fall, both owned by Count

Giuseppe Panza Giuseppe Panza di Biumo (23 March 1923 – 24 April 2010) was a collector of modern art. He lived in Milan and Varese, Italy. Life and work Giuseppe Panza was born on March 23, 1923, in Milan. His father, Ernesto, was a wine distributor who i ...

, for an exhibition devoted to minimal art called ''The Innovators Entering into the Sculpture''. Rather than shipping the two large scale works from Italy, Panza authorized ACE Gallery to refabricate the pieces in Los Angeles. In Panza's collection archives, there is a series of signed certificates signed by Judd that granted Panza broad authority over the works by Judd in his collection.Martha Buskirk (February 2005)
The Contingent Object of Contemporary Art
These certificates "authorized Panza and followers to reconstruct work for a variety of reasons," as long as instructions and documentation provided by Judd were followed and either he or his estate was notified. This even included the right to make "temporary exhibition copies, as long as the temporary copy was destroyed after the exhibition; and the right to recreate the work to save expense and difficulty in transportation as long as the original was then destroyed." Miwon Kwon, in her account of site specificity: "One Place After Another," presents the account of ACE Gallery recreating artworks by Donald Judd and Carl Andre without the artist's permission. Andre and Judd both publicly denounced these recreations as "a gross falsification" and a "forgery," in letters to '' Art in America'', however, the fabrication of the pieces were permitted by Panza Collection in Italy, the owner of the works. Despite the confusion surrounding the Panza refabrications, both Carl Andre and Donald Judd maintained a professional relationship with Douglas Chrismas and ACE Gallery. Andre showcased works at ACE Gallery in 1997, 2002, 2007, 2011 and present day. In 2007, Carl Andre's show entitled "Zinc" was exhibited at ACE Gallery in Beverly Hills. Donald Judd paid a visit to ''The Innovators Entering into the Sculpture'' exhibition at ACE Gallery and agreed to keep his sculpture in the exhibition. After the exhibition was over, Chrismas planned to sell the metal used for the re-fabrication of Judd's work for scrap metal but Judd wanted to own the re-fabrication for himself. ACE Gallery then sold the re-fabrication of Donald Judd's work to Donald Judd. After having consigned more than $4 million worth of art to ACE Gallery to sell in 1997 and 1998, the sculptor

Jannis Kounellis Jannis Kounellis (; 23 March 1936 – 16 February 2017) was a Greek Italian artist based in Rome. A key figure associated with Arte Povera, he studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome. Life and work Kounellis was born in Piraeus, Greece i ...

filed a lawsuit in

Los Angeles Superior Court The Superior Court of Los Angeles County is the California Superior Court located in Los Angeles County. It is the largest single unified trial court in the United States. The Superior Court operates 36 courthouses throughout the county. Curr ...

in 2006, accusing Chrismas of keeping most of the profits of artworks and refusing to return the pieces that did not sell. According to the lawsuit, the primary agreement between Kounellis and Chrismas was oral. Chrismas returned all of Kouenllis' artwork, and did a full accounting of the proceeds from Kounellis' work—minus the expense of exhibiting it.Jessica Garrison (May 19, 2006)
Artist Sues Maverick L.A. Dealer Over Sales
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

''. The matter was resolved between the two of them and ACE Gallery still sells and exhibits Kounellis' work today. By 2006, Chrismas had filed for

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

bankruptcy protection at least six times since 1982, barring most of his creditors from collecting the money immediately owed to them. Chrismas filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to protect the gallery's extensive real estate holdings from the problematic landlord. The landlord of the Wilshire Boulevard space, Wilshire Dunsmuir Company, claimed that ACE owed back rent and penalties however, the claim was disputed by Douglas Chrismas. In court papers, Chrismas Fine Art claimed that it would cure "the pre-petition" debt by Feb. 1, 2000, and was asking the court to protect its right to remain in the property. A declaration filed by Douglas Chrismas characterized this leasehold as the business' primary asset. Nancy Wandlass a San Francisco art dealer, made a deal with Barral, a New York art dealer, to sell a Lichtenstein and Basquiat that had been smuggled into the country by Edemar Cid Ferreira, the former head of Brazil's Banco Santos. In turn, according to a January 2007 consignment agreement, they agreed to have Doug Chrismas, owner of ACE Gallery in Los Angeles, sell the Lichtenstein. Chrismas sold it for $1.3 million to L.A.-area collector Seth Landsberg, who appraised it at $3.5 million for resale at Sotheby's. ACE Gallery then ran the painting's name through a database of stolen artworks. Days later, a federal agent contacted the gallery to warn Chrismas that the Lichtenstein was subject to seizure and forfeiture, court papers say. In 2008, federal agents seized ''Modern Painting With Yellow Interweave'' (1967) by

Roy Lichtenstein Roy Fox Lichtenstein ( ; October27, 1923September29, 1997) was an American pop artist. He rose to prominence in the 1960s through pieces which were inspired by popular advertising and the comic book style. Much of his work explores the relations ...

from the Los Angeles home of collector Seth Landsberg (The painting was returned in 2010 to the

Museum of Contemporary Art, University of São Paulo A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private collections that are used by researchers ...

.)Scott Shifrel (September 21, 2010)
$1M painting, used in money-laundering scam, sent back to Brazil to reimburse defrauded victims
'' Daily News''.

References

{{Coord, 34.06214, -118.34888, region:US-CA_type:landmark, display=title Art museums and galleries in Los Angeles Contemporary art galleries in the United States Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles Buildings and structures in Beverly Hills, California