Dear Readers    

We’re going “outside the cube” for our summer issue. This is our second look at alternative spaces—the first time we zeroed in on domestic art spaces—but this time we’re focusing on noncommercial art venues outside the white cube of the commercial fine art gallery as we know it today.

What interests us is the development of art institutions that coexist right alongside commercial galleries. Some of these nonprofit spaces, as profiled by Charles Rappleye, (occasional contributor and co-founder of Artillery) are quite a different animal. Charles finds that these independent nonprofits—as opposed to nonprofits that receive government subsidies—rely on the generosity of donors and collectors purchasing artworks from lavish auctions, events and galas to float their operations.

I’ve always been curious about these high-flying nonprofits. It appears from the outside that they don’t struggle as much as many galleries, or even museums for that matter. They don’t even feel particularly alternative; if anything, they aspire to join the elite and mingle with the rich and famous. There’s no denying that well-heeled people need to spend their money on something—why not art? These independent nonprofits highlight a new territory in the art world: the precinct of extreme wealth or the .01%, as one prominent art dealer boasted to me.

But there’s another end to this spectrum, the artist-run spaces that exist solely for the purpose of showing overlooked art they support and celebrate. There’s barely any commerce involved. These are the unsung heroes and heroines whose passion is what drives them. One such person is Skira Martinez, who runs CIELO, a space in South LA which serves its community as well as showing art that otherwise might not get seen because of its controversial subject matter. Contributor and performance artist Nancy Popp interviews Martinez, who came to LA the long way—via Toronto, Canada. Christopher Michno stops by a Museum of Art that’s not really a museum, and drops in on Laurel Doody, a gallery with a funny name in an apartment. John O’Brien revisits the defunct Bliss house-gallery, which had a stellar reputation back in the ’90s, showing now-established artists such as Jennifer Steinkamp and Steve Roden. John includes RAID Projects for its international reputation, stamina and deep commitment.

So, are alternative galleries just stepping-stones for the big guns? Do artists show in these spaces only by default, until they can become real artists with real art dealers? It all depends. Some of these spaces are run by artists who have clout in the art world and just want to do something different. The impresarios behind these alternative spaces—they want to be a part of the art world, but they’re not solely driven by commerce. They want something different, something new. They think outside the cube.