LOS ANGELES — For over a decade, Superchief Gallery has been a cornerstone of LA’s underground scene, showcasing road artwork, pictures, and work made on the cultural fringes. Regardless of its position as an experimental hub, mounting monetary challenges lately have put the area vulnerable to closing. In an effort to maintain the gallery working, Founder Invoice Dunleavy is pondering outdoors the white dice, turning to different income fashions like crowdfunding to save lots of the beloved area.
Superchief started as {a magazine} in New York in 2010 earlier than transitioning right into a gallery in Williamsburg two years later. In 2014, Dunleavy moved west, opening a Superchief department in downtown LA. “By 2018, 2019, it felt like Superchief had really found its niche,” he advised Hyperallergic.
That rising success took a success in 2020, when a hearth brought on by an explosion in a neighboring constructing broken the gallery and compelled them to briefly shut. In 2022, Dunleavy and his crew reopened Superchief in a ten,000-square-foot (~3,048-square-meter) warehouse in South LA, which permits them to mount formidable exhibitions that draw lots of of tourists. Along with exhibits and performances, the area additionally hosts workshops, courses, and movie screenings.
Foos Gone Wild mural by Mr. B Child on the entrance of Superchief Gallery in 2024 (picture by Invoice Dunleavy, courtesy Superchief Gallery)
Opening of Contagious Tradition Vol. 5 curated by Estevan Oriol and Invoice Dunleavy, in 2025 (picture by Invoice Dunleavy, courtesy Superchief Gallery)
The gallery has developed a robust following primarily based on its dedication to “anti-elitist street culture,” as Dunleavy places it, prioritizing artists and neighborhood over sheer revenue. “My goal is to have an art space that gives a path to young people that don’t come from privileged backgrounds.”
Artist Isaac Psalm Escoto, often known as Sickid, who had his first solo present with Superchief in 2019, says he was drawn to the gallery for that democratic spirit. “It didn’t make you feel unwelcome or discriminated against based on your education,” he advised Hyperallergic. “As an artist developing my craft in my teens, there was no doubt in my mind it was where I wanted to see my work.” After working with Superchief for a number of years, Sickid had a solo present at Jeffrey Deitch Gallery in 2024. “I’m very proud that he ended up with a solo at Deitch. I first showed him when he was 19 or 20 years old,” Dunleavy stated.
Polo Cutty additionally started exhibiting with Superchief in 2017, collaborating within the meme-driven group present Peaches: A Black Web Expertise earlier than embarking on a multi-faceted artwork and media profession. “Bill was the first person to reach out. I wanted to show in galleries, but I wasn’t used to that world,” the artist advised Hyperallergic. “Superchief is a big catalyst for artists who don’t necessarily see themselves showing in galleries. It’s such a necessity. It’s cool to have a space where you can really go all out, be real to yourself.”
From left to proper: Niohuru X, Creepygals, Aingelblood, Satanna, Gray Matter on the opening get together of Creepygals solo exhibition HAUS OF DIVINE in 2025 (picture by Ludwig Cesar Cortes, courtesy Superchief Gallery)
Set up shot of the group exhibition, CALIFORNIA COWBOYS, co-curated with Luis Hernandez in 2022 (picture by Invoice Dunleavy, courtesy Superchief Gallery)
Regardless of the recognition of Superchief amongst artists and guests alike, Dunleavy says that artwork gross sales have been declining not too long ago, as have company sponsorships. Though a lot of the work that the gallery sells is priced at $2,000 or much less, its gross sales have been affected by the identical market downturn that has shaken blue-chip galleries. To complement artwork gross sales, Superchief has relied on sponsorships from media, skateboarding, and beverage corporations, which have shifted to different markets like music festivals, in line with Dunleavy.
“A lot of people resonate with what we’re doing, but the business model needs to change in order to be viable,” he stated. Though the gallery runs on a skeleton crew of Dunleavy plus two part-time workers, making hire has been a problem these days. “We need to pivot away from a traditional business model and make a gallery that is more functional as a community space and an emerging artist incubation space.”
Earlier this 12 months, Superchief launched a Patreon, providing supporters free entry to ticketed occasions, artwork prints, digital publications, and merch, with plans for a podcast and video content material. Dunleavy says this brings in roughly $5,000 monthly from about 400 supporters. He added that it’ll provide stability in the long run however doesn’t handle the necessity for extra rapid funding, which led him to create a GoFundMe on September 3. Thus far, the marketing campaign has raised simply over half of its $6,500 aim. The gallery may also be internet hosting a profit present tomorrow night, September 20, that includes work by over 200 artists, together with JJ Vilard, Erika Weitz, Ara Cho, Steve Gai, Will Carsola, and Creepygals.
“It’s time for the community to see the space as something important that exists in the now,” stated Sickid, “rather than look back after it’s gone.”
Volunteers sorting donations for Superchief’s Fireplace Reduction Drive after the Eaton/Palisades catastrophe, amidst the backdrop of the Foos Gone Wild artwork exhibition in 2025. (picture by Invoice Dunleavy, courtesy Superchief Gallery)
Tribute wall set up by Estevan Oriol, devoted to his pals who handed away, for the exhibition Stranger Stew in 2019 (picture by Invoice Dunleavy, courtesy Superchief Gallery)
“Lil Mr E” poses with a mariachi band on the opening of LAW ABIDING CITIZENS, the primary ever Foos Gone Wild Artwork present in 2024 (picture by Ludwig Cesar Cortes, courtesy Superchief Gallery)
