Independent curator and writer Sarah Gavlak is crossing coasts this summer to open Gavlak gallery in Hollywood (her first gallery is in Palm Beach, Florida). Gavlak’s Los Angeles roots trace back to 1992, when she worked for local institutions including Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, MOCA and the L.A. Forum for Architecture and Urban Design. After relocating to New York in 2000 to pursue a writing career—contributing to publications like Time Out New York and Art Review—Gavlak settled down in West Palm Beach in 2005 to open her first gallery, displaying artists including Lisa Anne Auerbach, Jose Alvarez (D.O.P.A.), Andisheh Avini, Sheila Hicks, and Marilyn Minter. “I was living and working in New York and knew of many great collectors that had homes in Palm Beach,” Gavlak explains. “When I visited there I was shocked to learn that there were no galleries showing great emerging contemporary art of the quality of New York, L.A. or London…so I moved there and opened with a solo show of Wade Guyton paintings.”

Now, Gavlak returns to L.A. to open her second gallery, a 5,000-square-feet display space built by iD Group, alongside notable neighbors including Michael Kohn Gallery and Regen Projects. “I thought since I lived in L.A. from 1992 to 2000 that I kind of did my L.A. time,” Gavlak says. “But in coming back over the years, I watched the city and art scene grow and grow and become even more vibrant than when I first lived here.”

In the upcoming inaugural exhibition, Gavlak will host CA-born abstract painter Alexis Marguerite Teplin and L.A.-based knit artist Lisa Anne Auerbach, along with Judith Eisler, David Haxton, and McDermott & McGough. In addition to showcasing local talent, Gavlak will also feature artists from New York, Palm Beach, and beyond, adding, “I am excited to work with all of the artists in our program and introduce them to the Los Angeles art community… It has always been an artist driven scene out here and that is what appeals to me the most.”

By Megan Meyer

Pictured: Sarah Gavlak
Photo courtesy of Gavlak gallery