Velveteria: The Museum of Velvet Art was a museum dedicated to paintings on velvet.established in 2005 in Portland Oregon and relocated in 2013 to

Los Angeles, California 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, ...

. In Los Angeles it was formally known as Velveteria Epicenter of Art Fighting Cultural Deprivation. The establishment housed hundreds of paintings from founders Caren Anderson and Carl Baldwin's personal collection of over 2,000 pieces, and was reportedly the only one of its kind. The Velveteria closed in Portland in January 2010 due to financial difficulties and the couple's relocation to Southern California. It was reopened in

Chinatown, Los Angeles Chinatown is a neighborhood in Downtown Los Angeles, California, that became a commercial center for Chinese and other Asian businesses in Central Los Angeles in 1938. The area includes restaurants, shops, and art galleries, but also has a resi ...

in 2013. It was permanently closed c. 2020-2021 during the COVID pandemic.

History

The museum was established by Caren Anderson and Carl Baldwin, California natives residing in Portland, Oregon. It opened in 2005 at 518 NE 28th Avenue with a $3 admission price. During the month of May 2008, a collection of works were showcased at

Powell's Books Powell's Books is a chain of bookstores, based in Portland, Oregon, Portland, Oregon. Their flagship store, dubbed Powell's City of Books, claims to be the largest independent bookstore, independent new and used bookstore in the world. In addit ...

. The museum relocated to a larger space, located at 2448 East Burnside Street, in 2008, and increased the admission price to $5. However, rental costs were more than three times higher and in January 2010, Velveteria closed when Anderson and Baldwin relocated to Southern California. According to Anderson and Baldwin, they "never made any real money" from Velveteria, a name they trademarked. The couple wrote a book about the museum, titled ''Black Velvet Masterpieces: Highlights from the Collection of the Velveteria Museum''. In December, 2013, Velveteria re-opened as the Velveteria Epicenter of Art Fighting Cultural Deprivation in Los Angeles. The cost of admission is $10 as of 2017. In 2019, the Velveteria was facing financial difficulties again.

Description

Velveteria was originally located in an "incongruously bland-looking storefront" on East Burnside Street. Leading to the museum were "hot-pink crushed" velvet curtains. The entrance had a sign describing the museum as "a life-changing experience! Without crawling over broken glass or walking on hot coals!" The museum housed 400 velvet paintings from the couple's personal collection of more than 2,000 pieces. No items were for sale. The first location included a "Nudes Room". Some works were displayed within a

black light A blacklight, also called a UV-A light, Wood's lamp, or ultraviolet light, is a lamp (fixture), lamp that emits long-wave (UV-A) ultraviolet light and very little visible light. One type of lamp has a violet light filter, filter material, eith ...

room. Handwritten comments from the couple were displayed throughout the museum. Works depict blessed virgins, landscapes, sad clowns and "voluptuous" nude women. ''Unicorn Combover'' portrayed a unicorn whose mane morphed into a woman's hairdo. The museum included a shrine to

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; other portrait pieces depicted

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and

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Reception

Velveteria was featured on ''

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'' in September 2006, '' Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations'' in January 2007, and ''

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'' and

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's ''Appetite for Life'' with

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in 2009. In 2010, Kristi Turnquist of ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...

'' wrote that Anderson and Baldwin personified the " Keep Portland Weird" slogan and that the museum was "evidence of the city's quirky creativity". Anderson admitted to being tired of this association.

Los Angeles rebirth and closure

Velveteria was located in a storefront on New High Street in the Chinatown neighborhood of downtown Los Angeles, and was the idea of Caren Anderson and partner Carl Baldwin, a Los Angeles native. It is now listed as permanently closed.

References

External links