Mara McCarthy, founder of the Box gallery in Los Angeles, announced the closure of the boundary-pushing commercial space on April 24 after 19 years. The gallery, which opened in 2007 in LA's Chinatown and later moved to the Arts District in 2012, was known for spotlighting under-recognized post-war and contemporary artists, including performance pioneers Barbara T. Smith and Simone Forti, moving-image artist Stan Vanderbeek, and political artist Wally Hedrick. McCarthy described the gallery as a "punk version" of New York spaces, grounded in humanity and community. The closure was driven by declining sales of her father Paul McCarthy's work, collectors turning away from experimental art during the pandemic, and the devastating Eaton Fire in 2025 that destroyed Mara's home and her parents' home in Altadena.
The Box's closure marks the end of a vital chapter in LA's gallery landscape, as it was among the first galleries to move to the downtown Arts District, predating major arrivals like Hauser & Wirth. The gallery's legacy lies in its role as a curatorial project and artist-run space that consistently challenged good taste and propriety, mapping LA's avant-garde past while redefining its present-day art terrain. Its programming centered artists who were not marketable but informed LA's artistic legacy, and its approach demonstrated how commercial galleries can champion overlooked histories with motivated collectors. The loss underscores the fragility of experimental spaces in a market increasingly risk-averse and affected by climate disasters.