In 1967, brothers Alonzo and Dale Brockman Davis opened the Brockman Gallery in Leimert Park, Los Angeles, establishing the city’s first Black-owned art gallery. The gallery became a vital platform for artists of color at a time when opportunities for minority creatives were scarce. This pioneering space is now being honored in a new exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) titled “The Brockman Gallery: Los Angeles, 1967-1990,” which opened recently and will run through January 24.
Alonzo and Dale, originally from Tuskegee, Alabama, moved to South-Central Los Angeles a decade before launching the gallery. Dale was studying art at the University of Southern California, while Alonzo had studied at Pepperdine University. Their gallery was named after their grandmother, Della Brockman, and its iconic logo merged male and female gender symbols with the letter “B” and an arrow, reflecting a progressive, inclusive vision.
Over the course of 23 years, the Brockman Gallery showcased and supported more than 200 artists of color, ranging from emerging talents to those who later achieved broad recognition. Notable artists featured at the gallery included John Outterbridge, Noah Purifoy, David Hammons, Betye Saar, Judy Baca, and Elizabeth Catlett. The gallery played a unique role in elevating Black artists, many of whom had previously exhibited only in libraries, community centers, and church basements.
Curated by Lauren Hanson, with contributions from Dale Brockman Davis, the LACMA exhibition presents over 60 works, including paintings, sculptures, prints, assemblages, and mixed media pieces. These works document the gallery’s evolution from a local arts space into a cultural hub influential in the broader Los Angeles art scene.
Among the highlights is a life-size 1968 photograph of the Brockman brothers with David Hammons. Pieces by Purifoy, such as “Watts Uprising Remains,” incorporate materials from the 1965 Watts rebellion, signaling the intersection of art and activism. Hammons’ “Injustice Case” references the imprisonment of Black Panther leader Bobby Seale, emphasizing political themes of the era. Dale Brockman’s own assemblages, including “Home Is Where You Make It” and the politically charged “Viet Nam War Games,” reflect personal and communal narratives of resilience and protest.
The gallery also extended its impact beyond exhibitions. In 1973, the brothers created Brockman Gallery Productions, a nonprofit focused on outdoor exhibitions, film festivals, community education, and government-funded jobs programs for unemployed artists. They were commissioned in 1984 to contribute to a series of murals for the Los Angeles Summer Olympics, with significant works such as Judy Baca’s “Hitting the Wall: Women in the Marathon” and Alonzo’s “Eye of Consciousness.”
The Brockman Gallery closed its doors in 1990 as Alonzo relocated to Sacramento and Dale shifted his focus to teaching and further art studies. Nonetheless, the gallery’s archive was acquired by the Los Angeles Public Library in 2019, and its legacy continues to inspire through exhibitions at institutions including the Lancaster Museum of Art and History and the Vincent Price Art Museum.
Dale Brockman Davis emphasized the gallery’s role not only within the Black community but in the broader art world, highlighting its contribution to expanding the visibility and influence of Black artists. The LACMA exhibition aims to reflect the gallery’s expansive vision and interconnected artistic community, underscoring that these artists were part of a shared cultural movement rather than isolated creators.