Superchief Gallery is considered a cultural gem in DTLA.
Now, the owners — Edward Zipco and Bill Dunleavy — are fearing that it will soon close.
Dunleavy said the overhead is getting unbearable, starting at $15,000 per month. To support the space, they started a Patreon, which covers half of the rent, and kicked off a GoFundMe. A benefit art show opens Sept. 20.
“We’re in a desperate position now,” Dunleavy said. “We’re trying to avoid closing.”
Dunleavy called Superchief a departure from the traditional gallery model, and one that is inclusive.
“We’re extremely valuable for emerging artists,” he said. “They’ve gone on to have prolific careers in the art (industry). We had Sickid in 2019 and last year, he had a solo show at Jeffrey Deitch Gallery.”
Zipco and Dunleavy’s story goes back to 2012, when they opened their first gallery on Jackson Street in Williamsburg, NYC.
In 2016, Zipco and Dunleavy opened their first digital art gallery in Soho, New York, to establish digital artwork as a legitimate voice in the art scene and discourse.
Five years later, the first physical IRL NFT gallery in New York. The inaugural collection broke more than $1 million in sales in nine months, he said.
With a warehouse twice the size of previous spaces, Superchief Gallery LA is adopting a cutting-edge hybrid model, showcasing both NFTs and traditional art.
Superchief Gallery NFT is dedicated to exploring the potential of digital art in the physical world through display partners like WHIM, Infinite Objects, and NeoShibuya TV. WHIM digital canvases enable Superchief Gallery NFT to demonstrate to new NFT collectors what it truly feels like to live with digital artwork as the artist intended. In addition to Superchief’s NFT galleries in New York and Los Angeles, WHIM has created displays for the CODE conference in LA, SCOPE Art Fair in Miami, and most recently, for the European Cultural Center’s Venice Biennale in Italy, according to a statement.
Dunleavy credits Superchief’s long-standing partnership with NeoShibuya TV, and Superchief Gallery NFT has premiered the NFT artwork of more than 100 artists on giant digital billboards across Shibuya, Tokyo. Curating these billboards has given Superchief artists the chance to become public art in one of the world’s tech capitals.
Superchief Gallery NFT has hosted many artists such as Swoon, Jake Fried, Martha Cooper, Driftershoots, Claire Silver, On The Roofs, Parker Day, Justin Aversano, Lucien Samaha, Ron English and Mike IRAK.
Superchief Gallery NFT hosted and art directed the first physical events for many NFT industry giants such as OpenSea, Makersplace, Foundation and Quantum. With a long and successful record behind them, Superchief Gallery NFT will continue to push the boundaries of art in the world of Web3.
Dunleavy said the gallery is a free-form place for some to trade their destructive talents for good.
“They’re doing something productive in their lives, rather than self-destructive behaviors,” he said.
Owning art galleries wasn’t the occupation of choice for a young Leavey.
“I thought I wanted to be a photographer,” he said. “Photography is a big part of the art I put on. I didn’t think I wanted to run an art gallery.
“I was just going to shows and stuff and I saw people living in the warehouse, making their own art.”
Superchief also provided a light in the darkness of LA tragedies.
“This year, LA has dealt with a lot of different tragedies,” he said. “We were a response resource for the community. After the fires, we took the studio and filled it with donations.
“We used our own DIY network to find families, clothes in the sizes they needed and toiletries. It was a crazy fire relief effort.”
The gallery recently helped ICE protestors make “really cool signs” with local artists.
Superchief has maintained this philosophy and love for LA since it moved here in 2014.
“From 2014 to 2020, we were by Skid Row and then the neighbors caused an explosion. They had a butane hash operation.
“A few months after that was the larger explosion that injured firefighters. We were affected by the first explosion.”
Superchief has been in its current space since 2022.
“I love the arts scene in LA a lot. I’m immersed in the DIY punk scene and art. I really got sucked in and fell in love with the creative people. I love it.”
He’s hoping the public does, too. The benefit art show’s run will feature musicians, donated artworks to raffle off, Cumbia night, figure drawing events and makeup workshops.
“We just try to make all of our programs unique to get people to come out and support us,” he said. “Superchief is much more than an art gallery; it’s an important community resource.”