In a heartbreaking loss to the Long Beach art scene, Dark Art Emporium will close come May 31. One of the region’s most distinct offerings of the dark side of human creativity, it uplifted the local art scene in a way few others have or had.
“We have two more weekends and everything in the gallery is 25% off,” said co-owner Jeremy Cross. “That’s kind of unheard for any gallery discount, so we hope people come out. But more than that, I just want to thank the community for all the support they’ve given us over the years. I am not blaming the community for our closure; if anything, Long Beach has been extremely supportive, and we can’t be more grateful for the friends, family, and patrons who have crowded around us over the past nine years. We created a community and, in return, the community rallied around us. It’s a sad day. No question. But we also have a lot to celebrate over what we’ve accomplished.”
In what Cross calls “an extraordinarily cool” deal with their landlord, they are able to escape without the weight of a lease violation. And the reason behing it all? There are many, almost all of which are due to the severe turn of the economy since the election of Trump.
The reasons behind Dark Art Emporium’s closure.
A severe drop in people reaching into their pockets, for much of anything, let alone art. Timing: They had opted to see if the beginning of this year’s economy would turn; it has worsened. The inability to work with international artists with greater ease, thanks to heightened xenophobic sentiments and border processes… Many reasons lie behind the closure.
And for the Two Jeremys, its third location in the East Village Arts District had everything they wanted. A return to their original neighborhood. An amazing rent price. And the ability to be near their other business, The 4th Horseman. This was all serendipitous. Toward the end of 2023, when Cross and other owner Jeremy Schott had opted to move DAE into the East Village to make way for The 4th Horseman’s expansion, they had also considered closing it.
“It’s been nearly a decade since opening the gallery,” Cross said. “And it’s never been profitable—but it’s sustained itself. Now, we have found ourselves reaching deep into our own pockets to keep it alive. And we just can’t do it on top of our other business… I am not placing it all on Trump but it is certainly connected: We have seen our online sales plummet. And they account for 70% of our sales.”
Thankfully, due to the space being a consignment gallery, the vast majority of artifacts and artworks will be returned to their original. And while much of the work is international—meaning the returning of it will be a pretty penny—it will not linger in the sadness of storage or limbo.
Dark Art Emporium has been serving macabre realness for nearly a decade across three locations.
First, it was at the southeast corner of 3rd Street and Elm Avenue, owner Jeremy Schott had made an immediate home in the East Village by bringing some of the creepiest, freakiest, oddest array of art, magazines, and collectibles this side of Guillermo del Toro’s At Home with Monsters exhibit in Los Angeles. We’re talking taxidermy classes. Figure painting lessons. Rotating group art shows. Movie nights that screen incredible oddities like Poultrygeist: Night of Chicken Dead and Elves. Music nights at Long Beach staples like the former Prospector space.
It then moved into The 4th Horseman pizzeria, giving Long Beach a gift it didn’t even know it needed. Patrons could down beer and slices before menadering into the backdoor, speakeasy-like Emporium gallery to peruse oddities or catch double-artist shows like the one they hosted with PeeMonster and Michele Melcher.
With its latest and current third location, DAE had a homecoming of sorts. Their new spot sits in the very neighborhood where the gallery first launched in 2016.
Dark Art Emporium being closed likely affects actual artists more than anything.
DAE’s signature mix—equal parts punk rock, horror flick, surrealist pop, and outsider oddity—hasn’t just drawn in a niche audience; it’s built a genuine art-buying community. The Emporium isn’t just a gallery people visit but one where artists actually sell. And that’s rare.
“We sold a lot of art,” Cross said. “A lot of local art. A lot of international art. We brought art that is not only not really seen elsewhere in the world but nowhere in the United States. We’re proud of that legacy—which started from day one.”
Anyone who stepped into their original opening in 2016 will remember it wasn’t your typical wine-and-cheese affair: a guy literally stapled himself on site, a sword swallower mingled with curious first-timers, and the walls were lined with unapologetically strange, stunning work. From there, Schott and Cross only doubled down—rotating group shows, vinyl-heavy music sets, cult film screenings, even podcasts—many of them hosted or inspired by the same energy that fueled spaces like The Prospector back in the day.
And that energy? It’s never gone away—but can no longer sustain itself.
Dark Art Emporium, located at 427 E. 1st St., will have its last day of sales on Saturday, May 31.
As an actual artist, who lives here in Long Beach and has shown work at DAE many times, I would have loved to entertain the opportunity to take over the lease. Doing the math, it’d cover my studio costs, storage costs, and let me keep this place open. Wish somebody had even told us artists ahead of time.