Harley Wertheimer has made a name for himself as a tastemaker across Los Angeles’ cultural milieus over the years. And his latest projects bear the traces of a lifelong love for music and its ability to connect. “Your goal is to put yourself at the center of the art-making process,” he explains of his beginnings in the industry, “and see how you can help amplify the message of what the artist is bringing into the world. As my passion grew, it melded into a desire to expand beyond helping musicians.”
Wertheimer, who has curly salt-and-pepper hair and a short beard to match, grew up in LA’s Brentwood neighborhood and spent much of his youth frequenting the Basement, a record store in the Valley. When he moved across the country in 2005 to study at New York University, he landed an internship at Mark Ronson’s radio show, Authentic Shit, and delighted in seeing new acts break out on air. The experience eventually led him back to LA, to Columbia Records, where he fostered then-young talent such as Haim and Tyler, the Creator. In 2017, he cofounded the Columbia imprint Zelig with Brandon Creed and Ronson. When Zelig closed its Hollywood studio, Wertheimer ventured off in a different direction: He took over LA’s beloved ’90s Java-style coffee shop, Stir Crazy. The future of the shop, located on a rapidly gentrifying strip of Melrose Avenue, was uncertain as its owners prepared for retirement. Wertheimer swept in with two friends and a plan to not only save the landmark café but also to create a place for “people to enjoy themselves and create community around it.” While the polished, minimal interior echoes that of a sleek European bistro, the cabin-style wooden façade feels lived-in.
“I’m interested in finding spaces that feel authentic to Los Angeles, that allow me to maintain a bit of domesticity,” says Wertheimer. True to his word, the executive-turned-restaurateur-turned-gallerist debuted Castle out of his living room in a historic chateau-style apartment complex in Hancock Park in early 2022. The sprawling, sun-lit space has made for the perfect exhibition area to showcase works from contemporary artists such as Max Xeno Karnig and Peter Shear. Recently, he doubled down, moving the gallery out of earshot and into a building once owned by Howard Hughes in Hollywood, just up the street from Stir Crazy—and Jeffrey Deitch, too.
Castle’s most recent exhibitions include Victor Boullet and Brian Kennon along with local projects with neighboring galleries, such as Nonaka-Hill. “My goal is to magnify the experience for people,” Wertheimer reflects. But whether in his white cube or a few blocks away at his eatery, his goal is uniquely personal. Wertheimer adds, “I hope that people walk away feeling physically or creatively lifted and nourished.”
