The Gallery Hangover

To close out the season, founders Yessíca Torres and Rodrigo Aguilar turn the mics on themselves for a candid, wide-ranging conversation that's equal parts reflection and pure fun. They look back on the guests who made this season memorable, revisit the exhibition highlights that defined the year at Dama Gallery, and each reveal the artworks that stayed with them long after the walls were reset. F...

Todd Collart doesn't just collect art; he lives in it. A longtime colleague, a working artist, a dear friend, and one of the most prolific collectors we know, Todd joins us to talk about what it means to build a life surrounded by art: the stories behind the pieces that stay with you, selecting art you love and how collecting is not about decor, it about finding work that connects you to the commu...

Before he ever picked up a brush, Chris Gocong was hitting people for a living. A third-round pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, he spent his career as a linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns, a path that started at Carpinteria High School and ran through Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he studied biomedical engineering while dominating on the field. This week, Chris joins us to tal...

The Last Place Art Club is back on The Gallery Hangover, and this time the trio: Devin O'Reilly Sullivan, Cheyanne Proctor, and Roger Martel are joined by two more original founding members, Baylor Duncan and Elijah Jimenez, rounding out the full picture of the collective. Since their last appearance in June, the group has completed their mural project; a major milestone that's given the collectiv...

Friendship, Fine Art, and Fried Egg Golf This week's episode is a personal one. I sat down with my longtime friend and Dama Gallery's original gallery assistant, Cameron Hurdus, to talk about how we met, the early (chaotic, fun) days of building the gallery, and how that creative partnership grew into producing a short film we're still proud of. Cameron is still officially represented by the galle...

Representation, Reimagined with Art Agent Patti Costello This week, host Yessíca Torres sits down with Patti Costello, a Los Angeles-based agent representing talent across both the visual and performing arts. Patti brings a rare, dual-lens perspective on the industry, and the conversation goes deep into what representation really looks like from the other side of the table, how agents and gallerie...

Recorded the day after REVELRY, the 15th anniversary celebration and the opening of the newest Ventura exhibition. This episode pulls back the curtain on everything that didn't make it to Instagram. The wildest artist stories from anniversary week, the guest who canceled at the last minute, and the real stress of pulling off fifteen years of work in a single night all get an honest airing. Then, w...

Fresno-based artist Michael Reece joins The Gallery Hangover to talk process, identity, and how his practice has evolved into gallery representation with Dama. Known for hard-edged, non-representational work blending acrylic, metallic paint, and photo transfer collage on birch panel, Reece walks us through the painstaking layering technique behind his pieces and the recurring architectural motif d...

We're kicking off Season 3 with a founders-only sit-down, no guests, no filter. Yessíca and Rodrigo pull back the curtain on what really happens behind the scenes of running a gallery: the travel, the grind, the commitment nobody sees. We cover a recent ripple effect from one artist's unprofessional behavior.  What that actually costs a gallery, a show, and the artists who did nothing wrong. We're...

In this episode of The Gallery Hangover, Yessíca Torres sits down with renowned tattoo artist turned fine artist Permanent Mark (Mark Walters) for an in-depth conversation about reinvention, creativity, and a lifetime dedicated to art. Known around the world for his decades-long tattoo career, the television series Permanent Mark , and his travels studying traditional tattooing with master artists...

In this day time founders episode of The Gallery Hangover, Yessíca Torres and Rodrigo Aguilar trade the gallery walls for a day on the road, sharing the conversations, discoveries, and unexpected moments that shape life behind the scenes of Dama Gallery. The episode follows the pair through a whirlwind day in Downtown Los Angeles, from an unforgettable lunch with supermodel and entrepreneur Cindy...

On the latest episode of The Gallery Hangover Podcast, host Yessíca Torres sits down with Lindsay Vacek for a conversation that drifts between fine art, commercial photography, design, travel, and the realities of building a creative life around passion and instinct. Known for her ethereal underwater photography shot entirely with natural light, Lindsay shares how she developed her unmistakable vi...

In this episode of The Gallery Hangover , hosts Yessíca Torres and Rodrigo Aguilar sit down immediately following the opening reception at Dama Gallery's Downtown Los Angeles location for an unfiltered conversation about the realities of exhibition making. Recorded in the aftermath of opening night, they discuss the pressures of installation week, the challenges of preparing a major exhibition, an...

In this episode of The Gallery Hangover Podcast , host Yessíca Torres sits down with Los Angeles-based photographer and mixed-media artist Janet Milhomme to discuss her artwork currently featured in Forma y Función at Dama Gallery in Ventura. Drawing from a distinguished career in journalism, photography, and visual storytelling, Janet shares how observation, narrative, and technical precision con...

Season 2 kicks off with host Yessíca Torres and friend, show producer, and Pacific + Main co-founder Rodrigo Aguilar reflecting on a relationship that spans more than 16 years of friendship and nearly 15 years of building businesses, creative projects, and community together. In this candid premiere episode, the duo shares the origin story behind Pacific + Main, the evolution of Dama Gallery, and...

In the seventh episode of The Gallery Hangover, gallerist Yessíca Torres sits down with painter Jem Atwater to discuss her evolving practice and deep connection to the Ventura art community. Based at Pacific and Main Creative Workspace, Jem reflects on the positive impact of having a dedicated studio environment, both for her own growth and for the collaborative energy it fosters among artists wor...

In the sixth episode of The Gallery Hangover, gallerist Yessíca Torres hosts the first group conversation of the series with the founders of The Last Place Art Club, Devin O’Reilly Sullivan, Cheyanne Proctor, and Roger Martel. Recorded in Yessíca’s former studio, now home to the collective, the setting underscores a full circle moment as a new generation reshapes the space and the surrounding art...

In the fifth episode of The Gallery Hangover, gallerist Yessíca Torres sits down with painter Gabriel Islas to discuss his evolving practice and the launch of PALS, a newly formed plein air painting group that is quickly setting a new standard for a rising generation of landscape painters. Known for his atmospheric oil paintings, Gabriel draws from firsthand experience painting across some of the...

In this episode of The Gallery Hangover, gallerist Yessíca Torres sits down with photographer Edgar Takoyaki following his latest exhibition at Dama Gallery Ventura; Before The Fall . Working exclusively in film, Edgar shares travel based photographs captured across Japan and Taiwan, using 35mm and 120 medium format to create images rooted in patience, precision, and lived experience. Edgar also s...

In this episode of The Gallery Hangover, gallerist Yessíca Torres sits down with artist Sara Koenig following her exhibition at Dama Gallery Ventura; Before The Fall . Known for her collage based practice, Sara explores themes of identity, representation, and cultural influence through layered compositions that reflect both personal and collective narratives. The conversation centers on her artist...

In the first episode of Gallery Hangover , host Yessíca Torres sits down with painter Malachi Arthur following his participation in Before the Fall at Dama Gallery. A 26 year old oil painter from Sacramento, Malachi brings a practice rooted in expressive color, layered imagery, and a deep commitment to social and political awareness. The conversation centers on his works Whitey On the Moon and Wha...