As I sat on the sidewalk for an entire day, only to spend over $500 on a piece of paper, I had no idea just how much my life was about to change. The year was 2009. I’d just moved to Los Angeles, and a local art gallery had teamed up with my favorite TV show at the time, Lost, to release limited edition posters. I’d always liked movie posters, but these were different. Cooler. More artistic. More collectible. And after flaming out on every single one of the online releases, a friend and I lined up at Gallery 1988 on Melrose Ave. in Los Angeles, CA, for a chance to buy some leftovers.
That night, I did get to buy one of the leftovers, and it was more than I’d ever spent on something in my life to that point. It was also the start of a nearly 20-year relationship between me, pop culture art, and the gallery that started it all. In the years that followed, I’d spend much, much more at the gallery and see it influence not just my life and tastes but an entire culture around it.
Today, Gallery 1988 announced that it’s officially closing its doors. And no, it’s not an April Fool’s joke. Created in 2004 by Katie Sutton and Jensen Karp, it touts itself as “the first pop culture-focused art gallery in the world.” One of its biggest moments was that aforementioned Lost art show, but in the years since, they also did official, licensed art shows for Star Wars, Star Trek, Breaking Bad, WWE, Marvel Studios, the Academy Awards, Masters of the Universe, Barbie, and much more. No other art gallery has a resume that comes close.
Through the gallery, I discovered a ton of new and incredible artists like Cuyler Smith, Andrew DeGraff, Ashton Gallagher, Anthony Petrie, Shannon Wild Smith, Jeff Boyes, Joey Spiotto, and Nicole Gustafson. Lots of artists who became mainstays in the pop culture space, such as Olly Moss, Mike Mitchell, 100% Soft, Scott Campbell, Brad Hill, Tom Whalen, Dave Perillo, Mark Englert, Eric Tan, Dave Pollot, Daniel Danger, Dan Mumford, and so many others, had exhibitions there too, often their first ever. And I attended almost all of them, gladly spending an insane amount of money to beautify my walls. Here’s a video of one of my favorite shows, with a special cameo.
The 2004 thing is significant here, though. It means that Gallery 1988 predates what used to be one of the other prevailing poster companies in the sphere, Mondo. It predates other similar galleries like Bottleneck in New York, Spoke Art in San Francisco, Hero Complex in LA, and countless others. Gallery 1988 was the start. And for years, it was one of my favorite places in the world.
At a certain point, it seemed like that would go on forever. A few years back, a friend and I camped out on the sidewalk outside of Gallery 1988 for three full days to purchase originals by one of our favorite artists, Scott Campbell. This was nothing new. I camped out for dozens of shows. Mostly for hours, but sometimes days. By the time the doors opened, hundreds of people were in attendance. You could feel the buzz in the air. And this was a normal occurrence at the gallery. Almost every month, fans would line up to get into the openings, excited to see and buy cool, new pop culture art.
That show took place on March 6, 2020. The following week, the world changed forever, and in the years since, the gallery has struggled to stay afloat. For a time before that, the pop culture art scene was so bustling that Gallery 1988 had two locations running simultaneously. But once the pandemic hit, even though there were plenty of fun openings, things started to wind down. The gallery had already closed its second location and was forced to move and shrink the other. Most recently, it stopped having a physical space at all, resorting only to online sales.
Those, too, will now slowly come to an end at the end of April. But I can’t help but think about all of the joy Katie, Jensen, and the artists they chose to exhibit brought not just to me but thousands upon thousands of others. I remember meeting Lost producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse at their aforementioned art show. Music superstar Usher once popped in randomly for a show. Former WWE executive and wrestler Stephanie McMahon was on hand for a WWE show. Guillermo del Toro was spotted there from time to time. J.J. Abrams. Edgar Wright. The list goes on and on. Famous and non-famous people alike would often frequent the gallery, eager to buy art for the movies, TV shows, and video games they loved. And I joined them as often as I could.
Gallery 1988’s closing isn’t the end of the pop culture art scene, but it’s a significant blow. Funko buying, and subsequently dismantling, the gallery’s most famous and successful mutual, Mondo, was another. And though most of the artists listed above still create great art and other galleries still sell it, when the granddaddy of them all goes, it hurts. Especially when it’s in your backyard.
For fans like me, though, Gallery 1988 will never truly die. It lives in the posters that currently hang on my walls. The paintings on my shelves. The sports movie trading cards on display. It’s everywhere I look in my home, because it was my home. And losing something so personal is never easy.
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