Smooth jazz settles in the background as light shines through, illuminating the Euclid Gallery in the front space of Hammel, Green and Abrahamson, Inc.’s office, where the main entrance is located. HGA is a Southern California architecture design studio where my father works. HGA specializes in theaters, music halls and creative spaces.
Currently, the gallery features artist Bruce Johnson’s work. Larger paintings decorate the Euclid Gallery’s walls, with frames holding smaller pieces. Johnson’s former gallery was located in Altadena, California. However, the Eaton fires swept through Altedena Jan. 7-31, 2025, destroying over 9,000 structures. Among these structures was Johnson’s gallery.
Johnson was able to salvage a few pieces of his work. One of those saved pieces is now on display at the Euclid Gallery. The painting features a dog sitting atop a boat near a cliff, primarily in black and white.
Peter Wilson works at HGA as the office director for both the Los Angeles and San Diego firms. Wilson said that as office director, he oversees the ambiance of the office, ensuring the workspace is welcoming and engaging. After a year of fires in Los Angeles, Wilson said the meaning behind each piece amplified.
“It’s really amazing— both the creative spirit and making sure that we keep going. The fact that any of his pieces were salvaged, the fact that he didn’t lose everything, is amazing,” Wilson said. “It’s really inspiring to see that, A, some of his work survived and, B, that he’s still creating.”
Carolyn Gajito began working at HGA a few months before the Johnson exhibition. This show was the first she had seen during the setup process. She said it is an amazing opportunity to build community within the workspace, and the gallery provides her with a sense of hope.
“When I look at the artwork in the gallery, I think of it as a new beginning in the sense of just he’s not completely starting from scratch,” Gajito said. “He does have to think of going in a new direction in a way. How do you rebuild from this tragedy?”
In addition to local artists, HGA employees are given a chance to be featured in the gallery to demonstrate their hobbies and passions outside of architecture. As architects, many have outside passions such as welding, sketching, or sculpture, Gajito said.
“I think it’s a really great way to just see what’s going on in the community,” Gajito said, “but also what is going on within people’s artistic creative process in the office.”
When HGA wasn’t using their art gallery, the office environment was stiff, Gajito said. However, now that they are using the space, the environment feels inviting, which Gajito said highlights the importance of having artwork in a creative workspace.
“We’re invested in our local communities, and we’re invested in being creative. So what better way to do that than to bring in local artists and to have a space to have events like this, where people can come in and see the art?” Wilson said. “It also sets the tone when we have clients walk in the door, or prospective new colleagues or employees walk in the door. It’s to walk in and to say ‘Oh, this is an art gallery space,’ rather than walk in and say, ‘Oh, this is a boring office.’”
Gajito said the exhibition felt especially personal after hearing about how the paintings survived the fires. While interviewing Johnson about his work prior to selecting him, she learned that the art was made entirely for his own enjoyment, without the intention of being priced or shown.
“There is a difference when someone is creating something with the intention to exhibit and sell, rather than creating something just for their own creative process, for their own intention,” Gajito said. “That’s his approach in a lot of his work, where he would actually describe that nothing in this exhibition is titled. Everything is untitled because he’s creating it for himself, and it’s for his own enjoyment, which I think is quite nice.”
Christina Delgado is the practice group leader for HGA’s arts and culture group. Delgado said the backstory behind Johnson’s pieces gave her belief in resilience after the fires. Delgado said the art inspires her creativity every morning.
“It means a lot. When I started working here, the way our parking garage is set up is that you can come in through a back door or a front door. And after a while, I started coming in through the front door because I wanted to start my day entering through a beautiful space,” Delgado said. “Looking at beautiful things— there’s such a way just to set your intention for the day, which is to look at somebody’s work and creativity.”
Delgado said the artwork is impactful and important to start the day off right. She said the curiosity the art evokes encourages and motivates employees to explore new ideas.
“I feel different things with every exhibit. I think this exhibit, particularly, I would describe it with curiosity. It invites me to start my day with curiosity, which is perfect for a creative profession and managing the teams that I do,” Delgado said. “It’s also the curiosity of the story behind each piece and what his journey has been and what he’s going through now. So, it’s just a great mindset to start the day.”
