FERNBERGER

Fernberger

Emma Fernberger founded her namesake gallery in January 2024 in the Melrose Hill neighborhood with a focus on intergenerational artists, namely women-identifying, with a global perspective. She formerly worked at Hotel in London and Bortolami in New York.

What gaps did you notice in LA’s gallery scene when you decided to open your gallery?

LA has a ton of really fantastic emerging art galleries, and it has a bunch of really fantastic galleries that feature more established artists. What I saw as something I could add to that bigger picture was a gallery that featured an intergenerational mix of artists that were both from LA and not.

Was there anything that was surprisingly easy about building your gallery and developing a reputation in LA?

The best galleries, to me, are ones that are guided by the taste of the person at the helm, and not just a response to market trends. You spend a lot of time worrying, “What is the vision of the gallery? What is the point of doing all this?” And I think it's something that kind of just reveals itself over time as you pursue your own interests. I think of my role as being a professional enthusiast. Your guiding principle has to be your own taste and excitement.

How did you develop your taste, and what do you look for in an artist or collaborator?

I think the greatest relationship that a gallerist can have with an artist they work with is that of a co-conspirator. That's something José Freire, who I used to work for, would say. In terms of art, I look for things that stop me in my tracks and make me slow down. I tend to want to be in the presence of works that have a sort of phenomenological quality. That can take any form: conceptual, painting, sculpture, film.

Do you have any predictions about artists, movements, or themes that will be popular in 2025?

I think there's going to be a pendulum swing away from speculative, flash-in-the-pan art. A lot of people got really excited during the pandemic and made decisions that were based on financial gain, and now a lot of that [art] is essentially worthless. That's brought a healthy skepticism back. I'm hopeful that people are going to start looking with their eyes a bit more than their ears.

How will the wildfires impact LA’s gallery scene and the selling of art in a city post-disaster?

Los Angeles, and Angelenos generally, strike me as being really resilient. This is a city full of optimistic visionaries who historically turned a desert into an oasis. It's not a surprise that we're victims of a climate disaster—the writing's been on the wall—but I think it's a population that is predisposed to bounce back. Everyone I know seems pretty eager to get back to work, so hopefully that's what will happen.