Amid the familiar chaos of hammers, nails and art that accompany the yearly transition from Robert Berman Gallery into Santa Monica Auctions, gallery owner and founder of the auctions, Robert Berman was animatedly describing, over the phone, to longtime friend and art collector Cheech Marin the vibrant energy of Carlos Almaraz' 1985 painting, The Boating Party. As Berman finished his conversation, he seamlessly segued into a discussion of Almaraz, "Los Four," the influential Chicano artist collective of the '70s and '80s, and the Chicano art movement he has long championed before discussing the history of his own unique contribution to the Los Angeles art scene.
Read MoreCurbed Los Angeles | Transit Casualty: Santa Monica Auctions
Tuesday, June 12, 2012, by Neal Broverman
Transit Casualty: Santa Monica Auctions
Santa Monica Auctions, where LA's stylish art aficionados have bid on pieces for the last 18 years, hosted its last event this weekend at Bergamot Station's C Building, the LA Weekly reports. The C Building is getting demolished soon to make way for the Expo Line light rail extension to the beach (the Bergamot stop is rendered above)--the complex hosts not only the art auction and its offices, but contains the Track 16 gallery and The Robert Berman Gallery. Auctioneer and Santa Monica Auctions owner Robert Berman wasn't saying whether the auction will relocate somewhere else, but considering that individual pieces were going for tens of thousands of dollars this weekend, it would seem likely. [LA Weekly]
Art and Living Magazine | A Winning Bid
“I love the idea of anyone being able to buy art,” Berman continues. He is scornful and dismissive of the“artificial elitism”that he feels infects too much of the art world. “Here, you can come in your jeans and buy art you love.”
Read MoreLiveAuctioneers | SMA
In a region the size of metro Los Angeles, with its population of approximately 14 million people, one would expect to find no shortage of established fine-art auction houses catering to its millionaire moguls and movie stars, but that's not actually the case. The two big guns - Christie's and Sotheby's - no longer conduct fine art sales in SoCal, meaning the field has become all the more accessible for houses like Santa Monica Auctions, which, for the past quarter of a century, has occupied its own well-rooted proprietary niche within the local auction landscape.
Read MoreLA Times | 'Buy Low' Contemporary Auction Draws A Crowd | July 30, 1991
Art: Staged under a canopy in the off-street parking area in Santa Monica, the event was as much an L.A. scene as an art auction.
Read MoreLA WEEKLY | Santa Monica Auctions Says Goodbye, as Bergamot Station's C Building Will Be Demolished for Expo Line | June 2012
Robert Berman, auctioneer and owner of Santa Monica Auctions, stepped into the spotlight and started Saturday night's auction amidst a a speedy onslaught of bids for a Peter Alexander pastel on paper. Flying through the next works like a tiger chasing his dinner, Berman sold two more Alexanders, two pastels by Carlos Almaraz, and finally whipped the crowd into a frenzy with the arrival of an untitled John Altoon. Starting the bid at $8,000, Berman kept coaxing more money out of the crowd. The pastel-and-ink work climbed to $16,000. "Now this is an auction ... I love it!" exclaimed Berman.
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