Art Criticism from Afar: Under One Roof at Santa Monica Studios 3026, Airport Arts Center

Santa Monica Studios 3026, Airport Arts Center, Santa Monica, California

By LIAM OTERO February 18, 2026

When you follow the news of the Art World as closely as I do, you find that it is almost inescapable to find a piece commenting on the fraught state of the art market economy or the closure of galleries (Stephen Friedman’s New York and London locations being one of the most recent high-profile examples). However, not all is as dire as it may appear in the midst of the flurry of jarring headlines. On February 22, a milestone exhibition will open at the Airport Arts Center in Los Angeles, California in celebration of 25 years of the Santa Monica Studios 3026. Curated by the art critic & writer Peter Frank, Under One Roof is anticipated to spotlight the works of 32 artists-in-residence who have been a part of this energetic creative hive. 

Barbara Carrasco (Chicana, b. 1955), Detained Girl, 2025, acrylic on canvas. 24 x 36 inches. 

In 2001, one of the Santa Monica Airport’s larger hangars was converted from an aviation storage facility to that of a thriving arts incubator under the dedicated and astute leadership of Yossi Govrin, a Los Angeles-based artist, curator, and philanthropist. As of early-2026, Studios 3026 is now the epicenter of artists in all of Santa Monica comprising over 60 studios and creative spaces spread across 4 airplane hangars and other buildings in addition to having an in-house gallery viewable for free by members of the public … and that’s not all. At the end of 2028, the entirety of the Santa Monica Airport will be decommissioned, which means that this sprawling arts enclave is guaranteed to grow even more exponentially within the next few years!

Annette Kim (b. 1968, New York), California, 2023, corrugated cardboard, newspaper, tissue, acrylic, metal clips, nails. 48 x 138 inches. 

Gregg Chadwick, Arrivals & Departures (June 26, 2015), 2015 - 2016, oil on linen. 48 x 36 inches. 

Within this auspicious exhibition are a diverse array of artists working across disciplines, from painting and sculpture, to printmaking and installation, among reams of other mediums. A few enticing examples to highlight as a sort of teaser to the forthcoming show include: Gregg Chadwick’s narrative paintings that chronicle today’s history-in-the-making events; Alexandra Dillon’s surrealistic subjects that bend the rules of traditional European artistic conventions; Chicana artist Barbara Carrasco’s activist-minded images commenting upon race, sexuality, and gender; Annette Kim’s cartographic mixed media works that combine image, text, and gesture; and the research-rooted, environmentalist works of Iranian-American Leila Youssefi (aka LvL Up Kid). 

I had to stop myself from labeling Studios 3026 as the “Yaddo of the West Coast”, for the exhibition’s curator Peter Frank wisely elaborated in his curatorial statement on the precise role of Studios 3026. On the one hand, it can be loosely described as an artist colony in the way that a place like Yaddo is an archetype, but only insofar as it is an environment that actively fosters artistic expression. Where a place like Yaddo is a residency program that is more operative as a temporal retreat, Studios 3026 is simply a “work-only facility” with the sole objective being for artists “to get art done”, many of whom have been in-residence at the space since its founding almost a quarter century ago alongside those who have joined in more recent years. 

Luigia Martelloni, Connections, 2026, mixed media, wood, globe. 2 ft. x 8 ft. x 2ft. 

Presently, the majority of artists at Studios 3026 are women and / or mid-career artists, although Frank breaks it down further in his statement that the most important demographic to point out here is that of “mature” artists. Hierarchical standards are not enforced as to preferred mediums, styles, or schools of thought that the artists must adhere to, for the end goal of Studios 3026 is to be a space in which professional artists have the freedom to create at will what otherwise may not be attainable at home or in any other environment. 

Alexandra Dillon, Tree of Life, 2014, oil and acrylic on canvas. 30 x 40 inches. 

I have seen my share of arts spaces or residencies that were more lackadaisical or too laissez-faire in their direction, but Studios 3026 truly is the kind of space that is intended for the most serious of artists in need of a physical extension of their creative mind. Having been a Visiting Critic at quite a few art residencies in New York, I am resolute that if and when I find myself in Los Angeles, Studios 3026 just may be the numero uno destination for me to visit to truly comprehend the undercurrents of the Contemporary Art scene of Southern California. WM

Joan Wulf, Meditations (12), 2022, repurposed journals on paper. 51 x 55.5 inches.