Built in 1923 by local architect Richard King, the historic Bijou Theater in downtown Hermosa Beach has been around for the coming and going of the most notable and divergent cultural scenes in this quaint town’s history.
The movie house stood just yards away from the 1950s influential West Coast jazz movement inhabiting the Lighthouse Cafe and the Bohemian hangout spots to 1960s writers such as Charles Bukowski and Thomas Pynchon. Also nearby was the now-defunct Baptist Church on Manhattan Avenue, which acted as a refuge for the punk rock band Black Flag which spearheaded the rebellious 1970s local punk rock scene.
The Bijou, originally named The Metropolitan and then The Cove, opened with the world premiere of “Circus Days,” starring Jackie Coogan who is said to have appeared personally.
In the late 1990s, the owners sold the building due to a lack of funds for its costly earthquake retrofitting and the theater stood vacant for several years.
In 1999, the city designated it as a historic landmark and allowed the new owners, CIM Group, to level the theater floor to make it attractive for retail space. CIM also restored the theater’s original terra-cotta trim and retrofitted the building. Since 2001, the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Company, Coldstone Creamery and Burch Architects moved into the building.
However, the owners still needed an anchor tenant and found it with Hermosa Beach resident Michael Napoliello and Palos Verdes resident Jason Moskowitz, founders of the Torrance-based U.S. Marketing & Promotions, who agreed to open up an art gallery.
The entrepreneurs, who have been business partners since high school, also share a passion for the world of fine arts and sculpture.
“I always had the idea to open up a gallery,” said Napoliello. “Most of the time, people use a gallery as a place to hang art. We think it would be wonderful to act as a major anchor for other art galleries to pop up in town. We are hoping to make it a trend in the South Bay. We want it to be an artistic and engaging element of this quaint beach city, and maybe that’s what the Bijou represented when it first came here.”
Aside from his full-time work as the president of USM&P, Napoliello still found the time to write six books and cut three music albums.
The men hope to introduce a different kind of art scene to Hermosa Beach with a similar enthusiasm present during the city’s jazz, punk rock and maverick writing heydays.
They hope the new Gallery C will not only attract patrons and art aficionados but artists themselves
“We think the artistic fabric and makeup of Hermosa Beach has evolved, and local residents would like to see something like this,” said Moskowitz. “We want people to know this space doesn’t have to be something like the Gap. I think we are filling a need that doesn’t need to be force-fed.”
The space will feature works solely from artists living in California. Headed by executive director Nancy Silverman-Miles and manager Lara Cosman, Gallery C’s first show, entitled “Urban Anatomy: Contemporary California Art & the City,” will open June 29 and run through Sept. 21.
“Art has always been a personal passion for me, and we wanted to be able to give back to the community and to get more involved with artists,” said Napoliello. “It’s always been a dream to own my own gallery and to showcase a craft that I find to be the most difficult to engage in.”
The first show will highlight urban life explored through a variety of perspectives and mediums such as paintings, sculpture and installation pieces.
“I started to research art in California which is one of the biggest hot spots in the world; it’s just that the artists are geographically scattered and so there is no centralized culture or voice,” explained Napoliello. “I was getting on the planes to Northern California all the way to San Diego to look at art. California art is innovative, it’s setting its own trends. California needs a Soho, a Venice, a Paris or a Florence.”
The exhibit will showcase the works of both up-and-coming and well-known artists living throughout the state.
Silverman-Miles, who has 17 years of experience in the art business, graduated from Massachusetts College of the Arts in Boston and once owned her own gallery in Silverlake.
“I had more than a year to research artists for this gallery. Michael and I looked at the work of thousands of artists which we found by going through magazines and books, going to art walks and through referrals from other artists” she said. “Most artists are really generous in that way. We are dealing with all California artists. I think this gallery is going to be really exciting because there is nothing really like this down here.”
The first show will comprise 10 artists mostly from Los Angeles and several from the San Francisco Bay area.
“The way in which we picked the art, well, a lot of it is subjective,” added Silverman-Miles. “Michael and I worked from a criteria. We were looking for artists who not only produced incredible work, but are very devoted to their craft. The commitment has to be there.”
The 6,500-square-foot space with 28-foot ceilings in some areas will represent an architectural collision of the past and present with the Bijou’s 1920s architectural trends –delightful cherubs, lions’ heads and drama masks — made famous by Hollywood theaters and modern amenities like a rotating 360-degree curved-wall system, Lumisty glass panels and mobile walls on concealed wheels.
“It’s not just an art gallery but, rather, a part of our personalities,” said Moskowitz. “It’s an experience that moves beyond the arts. We would like to sponsor philanthropy programs, art appreciation classes for kids, organize and encourage studio tours, and perhaps art fellowships. We are willing to raise the bar in order to make Gallery C a real attraction which will put Hermosa Beach on the greater cultural map and attract people to the city.”
Two artists, Peter Lodato and Roger Herman, who will be showcasing their art in the second show in September, recently visited the gallery and loved its space and light. “The location and space is so unusual. You don’t usually see 6,500-square-foot spaces with 20-foot high ceilings. It’s like a museum,” explained Silverman-Miles.
Spending about $1 million in renovations, Napoliello and Moskowitz enlisted the expertise of Graft, a German architecture firm responsible for a Los Angeles County Museum of Art exhibit in 2001 and the recent recipient of the International Association for Art Critics 2001-2002 Best Exhibition Design. Gallery C will occupy the Bijou’s old auditorium seating, vestibule and public areas.
“The gallery itself is a modern sculpture and it complements the work in the space,” added Napoliello. “For the most part, the history of the art world is to hang pieces on a white wall, but this is not the case with our exhibits. The configuration of the gallery itself is an experience.”
Gallery C is at 1225 Hermosa Ave., and public hours will be Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.
The Lazy Sway 