After a decade in Glendale, the artist-run gallery, The Pit, has outgrown its original space and is expanding its program to bring in more established and historical artists who have influenced the emerging and mid-career artists that The Pit has represented and shown.
The Pit was at the forefront of a counter-culture art movement when it opened its doors in 2014, starting in a renovated mechanics garage and bringing sometimes overlooked artists in the mainstream gallery scene, including artists with graphic arts and comic backgrounds and self-taught artists. Adam D. Miller and Devon Oder, the founders and owners of The Pit, collided fine arts with crafts and created space for diverse creatives to break through imposed barriers.
The new 13,000 square feet space includes 8,000 square feet of exhibition space in three rooms. Adam D. Miller’s ceramics line, Reaper-ware, will continue to be included in the gallery’s retail shop.
The Atwater gallery’s first group exhibition, housed in two connecting rooms and featuring nearly 50 artists, is an homage to The Pit’s punk roots. Fittingly, the exhibition is named after an album by Ramones, Halfway to Sanity. Most of the artists who are in Halfway to Sanity have previously shown at the gallery. The gallery will continue to honor and highlight emerging artists they have worked with previously and some new artists who are furthering the dialogue on the convergence of crafts and fine arts.
Cognitive Surge: Coach Stage, in The Pit’s largest room, makes way for artists Paul McCarthy and Benjamin Weissman. This exhibition is the start of the gallery expanding its efforts to work with established and historical artists. It is a full circle moment that Adam D. Miller and Devon Oder’s teacher from ArtCenter, Benjamin Weissman, is in this first show at the new gallery space.
Adam D. Miller, co-owner of The Pit, said:
The Paul McCarthy show is pretty indicative of what we’re excited about. We have always had a multigenerational program where we have always worked with established artists in dialogue with younger artists, but we want to do larger projects with those people. We want to start representing estates, historical, and more institutional based artists. That’s a big motivation for wanting to expand the space itself and level up to this. Benjamin Weismann was one of my teachers and I have a close relationship with him. It is amazing to be able to champion him and give him a museum level exhibition. It feels so special and warranted and deserving…People that are ambitious and want to do something bigger we can do larger installations. We can do more ambitious projects. The scale of the building all around hopefully we can prove context and value to more established artists or historical artists and or their foundations or estates who make decisions for them to do projects here.
The Pit is having a moment of renewal and is on the precipice of further launching its unique movement in the art world. In 2021, Adam D. Miller and Devon Oder opened a Palm Springs gallery, and they represent 21 international artists. The Pit’s new home offers a welcoming environment for a vibrant art community, including local LA artists, international emerging artists, and established artists. A warm Southern California desert aesthetic creates an inviting place for art patrons, collectors and artists alike.
Halfway to Sanity and Cognitive Surge: Coach Stage are on view at The Pit from February 24th through April 6th, 2024.
