Can’t Look Away: Oolong Gallery in Rancho Santa Fe is fueling a new social scene for art collectors and the creative class

Yes, you read this correctly. It’s thanks to Oolong Gallery, located next to Amy Meier, with its strikingly fresh selection. 

“The space may be small for now but the scope of the art program is very big in terms of the curation and attention to detail in selecting artists who resonate with the times we live in and the community we inhabit,” says Oolong Gallerist Eric Laine, fresh off of Art Basel where he represented Sally Scopa at NADA Miami.  

Since Oolong’s arrival, the exhibits have personified Laine’s mix-mastery and dedication to showing the work of contemporary artists and sculptors from the local community. The Berlin-born gallerist has a sixth sense for tracking decidedly local talent with worldly bonafides. 

Exhibit A: Hiroshi McDonald, a sculptor and salt print artist who grew up in Rancho Santa Fe. Oolong’s debut show marked McDonald’s first stateside exhibit since his relocation from Berlin back to North County. He creates his ethereal, salt-soaked works in Del Mar and Palomar Mountain.  

Meanwhile, Oolong’s group show, The Room of Orpheus, riffed on Rancho Santa Fe’s Spanish Colonial roots. The show was a masterclass in materials, inviting viewers to immerse themselves in the interplay of myth and contemporary art with ceramics by  LA artist Jasmine Little, whose work has been featured in the Smithsonian collection. They were in good company with Bianca Juarez, a Rancho Santa Fe artist whose sculptural vessels reference ancient rituals. On this night, guests spilled out of the gallery, mingling on the back patio over wine. 

Bringing international horsepower, art-world heavyweight Udo Nöger exhibited his minimalist works earlier this winter. The German-born veteran painter rose to prominence in Miami over 20 years ago, earning a place into prestigious collections worldwide, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver; and the Art Institute of Chicago, among others. Nöger works in Fallbrook and Rancho Santa Fe, following decades in NY and Miami.  

On the 2025 calendar, don’t miss the solo exhibits of San Diego painter Amy Pachowicz and contemporary artist Dave Kinsey, opening in March. 

Founded in Solana Beach in 2022, Oolong Gallery specializes in contemporary fine art and sculpture from mostly mid-career artists based in Southern California and around the world. Laine, a Washington, D.C. transplant, earned his chops at Marianne Boesky Gallery in NY, the Whitney Museum Biennial, Paula Cooper, 303 and Yale. He lives with his son in North County. 

In addition to gallery visits, Laine works with clients to build collections, bringing his curatorial services to private residences. 

“We are here to offer new and established collectors and art enthusiasts the best possible art works and art services imaginable right on the doorstep,” says Laine.“ We are available by appointment and can bring art to peoples’ homes to experiment with private spaces and options.” 

Oolong’s arrival begs the question: Which is more important to Rancho Santa Fe’s allure: the gleaming banks or the collective presence of an art gallery, fashion boutiques, and the antique store? Since its arrival last fall, social life has whirled around the gallery openings. It’s the convening place where creative people network, exchange ideas, and ultimately shape an artistic scene as a new wave of residents begin to call North County home. 

In a real estate market where lifestyle is prized equally as location, North County has become a major destination, luring prospective buyers from Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, and beyond. 

Oolong hopes to capture this burgeoning class of homebuyers and collectors on the notion that economic performance recognizes the interconnectedness of culture, community, and the economy. In New York City, it’s deemed The Warhol Economy. 

After all, man cannot live on banks alone. 

6030 La Flecha, Rancho Santa Fe, 858 229 2788; Tuesday- Saturday 11 am- 5 pm; Appointments advised with wider availability.