BOHEMIAN FLAIR: Underground exposure

New museum strives to offer unconventional viewing experience

Natasha Young, chief operating officer of White Square Gallery Berlin ? Las Vegas, stands by depictions of legendary musicians inside the facility, 9440 W. Sahara Ave, Suite 180.Dale Dombrowski/View Dale Dombrowski/ViewDavid Stiger admires a digital print by Corinna Holthusen inside White Square Gallery Berlin ? Las Vegas, March 6. Advertisement

Its name contains the word "square," but it's thinking is outside the box.

White Square Gallery Berlin -- Las Vegas, an art gallery at 9440 W. Sahara Ave., Suite 180, utilizes an edgy, industrial, underground feel to let the art speak for itself.

The artwork is displayed on black walls or attached to mesh rectangles which are hung from the open ceiling.

Even the desk was designed by an artist and has same stark, industrial look. Black metal stools allow patrons to sit and ponder the pieces, just like a museum gallery.

"People wander in and go, 'Wow,' " said Natasha Young, chief operating officer. "Then they say, 'Are you from New York?' "

The artwork steps outside the box, as well, to feature untraditional, media-like ink on aluminum sculptures, glass mosaic on wood, digital photo and Mozapaint -- a collage-like treatment utilizing multiple paintings to form one piece of art, Young said.

White Square's first exhibition is titled The Great Seven: Seven Well Known And Progressive Western European Artists from Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Russia. Pieces range between $1,500 and nearly $20,000.

"If you go to New York or Chicago or San Francisco, those are the capitals of American art, mainstream artists," said Bartolomeo Rafael Bialas, brand manager for White Square. "Our purpose is to expose the American public to something different, something underground, something almost Bohemian."

The nearly 1,900-square-foot space has an established counterpart in Berlin, which opened four years ago.

There, Young's business partner Xenia Litvin, chief executive officer, plans to swap pieces from forward-thinking American artists to complement the European artists' work already there. Young called the transoceanic exchange an art bridge.

"We are definitely something new and fresh for the city," Young said.

The gallery had a soft opening on Feb. 2, but will officially kick things off with an invitation-only reception on April 10. For more information, visit www.whitesquaregallery.com.