Tracy Park has always had a goal to open a gallery where she can represent emerging and local artists. From contemporary art to pop art and photography, Park’s inventory maintains a diverse collection from artists around the globe as well as local artists from Malibu.
Tracy’s first gallery opened in 2004 in Santa Monica. After hosting a series of successful one-night shows, also known as ‘pop-ups,’ all over Los Angeles, Tracy has been fervently dedicated to supporting both emerging and mid-career artists.
“Most galleries don’t invest in emerging artists because it’s a gamble, it’s a risk, they don’t know if it’s going to be well received,” Tracy explained. “So all these years later, I did it, and I’m so happy because we have so much talent in this community, and I’m happy that I have a place for them to show their work.”
While the gallery has been sitting comfortably at Malibu Lumber Yard for six months, Tracy recently moved to the Malibu Colony shopping center. The new location is surrounded with windows, white walls, and a ceiling that creates a spacious and bright environment. Tracy hopes to stay at the new location at Malibu Colony.
“I loved that location [at Malibu Lumber Yard], it was beautiful, I loved my view from up there, but I didn’t have the visibility because most of those stores are vacant, empty or under construction, and this [Malibu Colony] feels like home to me,” Park said. “What makes me love it is, it really is our local center, where everyone does their day-to-day stuff, where over there is more touristy, but this is home.”
Most recently, Tracy obtained rare, never-before-seen images from Bob Bovis, the tour manager of The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. Thirty-two of the film photographs went on display at the gallery.
One of the artists on display is former Malibu High School student Hunter Blaze Pearson. Born and raised in Southern California, Hunter graduated from MHS in 2018 and began working on his art full time. Hunter’s main focus is fine art, creating pop art paintings and large-scale multimedia works. He works in several mediums, including acrylics, graphite, colored pencil, and resin. He is best known for his custom shoe work, which has garnered the attention of high-profile clients such as singer-songwriter Adam Levine and model Behati Prinsloo.
In the spring of 2018, Tracy and local photographers wanted to organize a show that benefited local artists. Hunter was the recipient of the Malibu Master’s Art scholarship his senior year.
“I said, let’s start an art scholarship for Malibu High School, because they didn’t have one,” Tracy shared. “I’ve been hearing his name but haven’t seen any of his work and then fast forward to when we wanted to do the art scholarship, people applied for it. Hunter was one of them, and that was the first time I saw his work — I was blown away. I also found out that [Hunter] had been doing work for Adam Levine, so he was already a working artist.”
Tracy said she wanted to raise a significant amount of money to really make a difference.
“Fast forward in November, when we had the Woolsey Fire, he lost his house in the fire, so not only did he lose his house, he lost all of his paintings, all of his supplies, everything, so it made me really happy that he was our recipient because he was deserving,” Tracy said.
Hunter said he did his first show with Park in 2020 and has grown his collection since then.
“The proceeds went to one art student, and I was selected…that started me right out of school with an amazing gift,” Hunter shared.
On Saturday, Aug. 13, artists and art enthusiasts gathered at Tracy Park’s gallery to celebrate the new location at Malibu Colony. Among those who attended and had multiple pieces on display was Pearson.
“I’m honored, Tracy treats you like family, she’s an amazing gallery owner and she’s so supportive of everyone and local artists which is a big thing because it’s hard to find people that want to take a chance on anyone,” Pearson said.
Park mentioned how much support she has received from family and friends, including her husband.
“It’s a labor of love,” Park said. “And I’m really happy I have a great partner, my husband is so willing to help me with every project, he’s the only guy I know that doesn’t roll his eyes.”
When it comes to selecting artwork and curating, Park said she has to love it to be able to sell it. What she chooses needs to have a level of quality to be on display.
“That’s the tough thing, the last thing I want to do is break someone’s heart, but if I don’t love it, I can’t hang it,” Park said. “And I feel like there’s a part of me where I feel a responsibility to showcase everyone’s work but I can’t.”
Park said most of the people coming in are expecting quality and if the quality isn’t there she won’t be able to sell it.
“It has to work with everything else, it all has to join together,” Park said.
For more information on the gallery, visit TracyParkGallery.com.
