Art island
Spencer's Spa, Megan Mulrooney, Bou'Lange, Taverna Tony's, The Huntington, Parker Palm Springs, MORE
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What’s your favorite specialty bookstore?
I need a caterer for a casual summer party. Any ideas?
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LA RESTAURANT LINKS: Highland Park’s Wildcrust announces summer seafood series • Chef Perez Garcia, from Alta and Ceviche Project, opens Tacos Royale • That sidewalk dining shed that was your favorite place to sit at your favorite LA restaurant? It’s gone now.
GOODS & SERVICES • FOUND Spa
Spencer’s gifts
It’s true: Seemingly every it-girl in Los Angeles has gone gaga for Spencer’s Spa, the New York City import that first brought approachable, refined massages and facials to West Hollywood at the end of last summer.
WORK • Thursday Routine
Seenster
MEGAN MULROONEY • owner • Megan Mulrooney
Neighborhood you work in: West Hollywood
Neighborhood you live in: Laurel Canyon
It’s Thursday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
It’s Thursday morning at the gallery, and we have three exhibitions on view in our three spaces on Santa Monica Blvd. One of our collectors will drop in and we’ll grab a coffee from Thunder Road Cafe down the street (the cafe works with local roaster Petrol Coffee, whose roastery is on the East Side). Sometimes I wonder if collectors come to the gallery to see the art or to grab a cup of the most delicious brew in WeHo.
We’ll head back to the gallery and sit at our Waka Waka table (she, the table, is always the employee of the month — we commissioned her from Los Angeles-based design studio Waka Waka in 2024). Then we’ll discuss the program — what we refer to as our roster of artists — and look at the works in the viewing room from artists like Flora Temnouche, Piper Bangs, Ethan Cook, or Maria Szakats.
It’ll be hard not to notice our signature scent, Mint Condition, from our favorite Adlan candle, purchased from our chic neighborhood design store Stock Studio. Meanwhile, our mostly female gallery team is spread out among the three galleries which sit kitty-corner to one another. We cross the street so many times a day that one of the Google Earth images featured me crossing Greenacre, our cul-de-sac and cross-street that gives the gallery its iconic Dead End sign in front of its building.
What’s on the agenda for today?
Ahead of install today, 50 local artists are delivering their paintings for the monumental group show “Love to Hate” curated by artist Brittany Fanning. The curator’s idea for the show is to explore the catharsis of complaining, rooted in humor and a shared frustration with the times we’re living in. The exhibition’s premise is, “Even within a broader sense of chaos, we fixate on small irritations, the overly friendly Trader Joe’s cashier, the sound of someone chewing, slow walkers, pickleball existing, as a way to cope. That collective ‘fuck this’ impulse becomes a kind of release, turning everyday annoyance into something communal, humorous, and strangely satisfying.” In our other two spaces are paintings from DTLA-based Kevin Yaun’s new Inside-Outside series and Lincoln Heights’ based Josh Cloud’s sculptures. Josh Cloud makes ceramic sculptures that begin as sketchbook self-portraits and are built outward into large, totemic objects — vessels whose faces are buried under accumulated weight, carrying bowls of rocks, orbs, or other objects on their heads.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
Local lunch favorites include the recently opened Bou’Lange French-Japanese bakery which replaced fan-favorite Genghis Cohen (which I’d been frequenting since I was nine years old). Then for Negronis, or if you prefer martinis, and the best burger in town, we’ll head to my friend Ben Shenassafar’s place, The Benjamin.
Other local favorites, which I need to shout out as they have been feeding me for years, include Angelini Osteria & Alimentari, Sycamore Kitchen, and Jones. RIP to Gigi’s which housed an incredible Andie Dinkin mural! Also two competing places for my heart are Tower Bar and Chateau Marmont: I wouldn’t be an Angeleno if I didn’t visit a hotel restaurant at one point of the day. If I were brave (or dumb enough) to head to Malibu on a weeknight (the traffic alone gives me nightmares), I’d dive into Taverna Tony’s.
How about a little leisure or culture?
Since I live and breathe art, I would always recommend downloading SEE SAW to see all exhibitions in the area (the app is also available in cities throughout the world). We are also part of GALA which gives you a great map of all the galleries throughout Los Angeles. Then I always pay homage to institutions like LACMA, MOCA, CAAM, The Hammer Museum and the oh-so-special Getty Villa.
What was your last great vacation?
My family traveled to Japan’s art islands in April of last year, specifically Naoshima and Teshima. We were privileged to see the permanent installation of Christian Boltanski’s Les Archives du Cœur at the Benesse Art Site. Since 2008, Boltanski has been recording the heartbeats of people throughout the world. The recordings may be listened to by visitors. It’s also possible to record your own heartbeat here. Five months before my mom died, she recorded her heartbeat. I keep the recording on my desk at the gallery as a testament to her and the resilience within human connection.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
Paintings by Grace Bromley and RF. Alvarez, both artists whom we work with. I love living with our artists’ work.
What store or service do you always recommend?
I always recommend my aesthetician, Alisha Doyle, for facials. I also can’t recommend a trip to The Huntington in Pasadena enough. I’m a total fangirl of their director Christina Nielsen. The way she explains the museum’s duty to engage the next generation of budding botanists, bibliophiles, and art enthusiasts will have you swooning!
Where are you donating your time or money?
Tree People, a local organization that inspires people to come together to grow a more climate-resilient Southern California. TreePeople stewards more than 3000 acres of land in the Santa Monica Mountains, protecting these spaces for the benefit of future generations. It also holds a special place for me, as it’s the location of my mom’s memorial bench.
WORK & PLAY LINKS: Legendary Japanese multi-brand retailer Beams opening first stateside flagship in Arts District • Highland Park’s York Boulevard transformed by tsunami of private equity investment, people aren’t happy • Is a shift at Erewhon the new press tour?
CULTURE & LEISURE • Road Rage
Switzerland vs Bosnia & Herzegovina • SoFi Stadium (Inglewood) • Thu @ 12p • club 107, row 6 $864 per ($680 lowest avail)
Belgium vs Iran • SoFi Stadium (Inglewood) • Sun @ 12p • sec 204, row 5 $1139 per ($883 lowest avail)
NASCAR Cup Series • Naval Base Coronado Street Course (Coronado) • Sun @ 1p • t 3 fsb, row 20 $257 per ($243 lowest avail)
GETAWAYS • Palm Springs
Desert oasis
