Garage Gets Gallery-i-fied.
The addition of the Stuart Haaga Gallery was intended to create a composition of both the historic and the contemporary, blending seamlessly into the Descanso Gardens property, including the historic Boddy House. Frederick Fisher & Partners of Los Angeles masterfully handled the architecture, restoring Mr. Boddy’s original garage near the house, then doubling it in size with the addition of a contemporary building nestled into the hillside behind the structure.
Consistent with Descanso’s education mission, programming in the 1,500sf gallery seeks to illuminate the intersection between contemporary arts and garden sciences – botany, horticulture, biology, ecology, conservation and the study of gardens as cultural artifacts. 300 linear feet of wall space accommodates three shows a year, with two galleries fashioned from the original garage structure, and a third in the new structure featuring 12ft ceilings ideal for displaying larger works.
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The structures are connected by the Erskine Garden, a site flexible enough to be used for the display of sculpture and for various events and enrichment programs. Two large exterior vertical gardens offer an unusual perspective on plants, horticulture and design in keeping with the gallery’s mission. Above the new addition is a small rooftop garden, surprising visitors who take the steps up the hillside to Hope’s Garden with a nice view, and giving the building below it an energy-saving rooftop.
Exhibitions are typically group shows of work responsive to a curatorial theme or idea proposed by the Descanso Gardens Curatorial Advisory Committee, and usually include a special education or enrichment activity for children. Art fans of all ages will be happy to hear that gallery admission is free with admission to the Gardens.
