Pomegranate Underground is a contemporary art gallery that specializes in the different. Owned and run by Adonis Carcamo and Lynzi Edwards, the gallery is moving from a declining Lewisville mall to an entirely digital space, but its mission will remain the same: showcasing neglected work by Texas artists.
“We had very talented friends who were being consistently denied from art galleries because they don’t consider the work ‘fine art,'” Carcamo says. Two years ago, he started the gallery with Edwards to spotlight those artists whose work, in their view, was misunderstood and overlooked.
For the last seven months, you could find Pomegranate Underground in the Vista Ridge Mall in Lewisville. However, with the mall’s financial struggles and the growing popularity of online art galleries, they were forced to close the storefront and keep the art at their home.
“We went from operating out of a space of 3,000 square feet to about 300,” Edwards says.
Pomegranate is currently redesigning its website, transforming it into an online gallery space. When looking at a piece online, customers will have an option to view a virtual wall in a room with a couch, to better understand the dimensions of the art. The colors of the wall can be changed to match your own house, so you can see how the piece at home. Pomegranate also offers prints. If you can’t afford the actual piece, you can still order a print for a lower price.
At the beginning of this endeavor, the pair focused solely on the work of North Texas artists. This year, however, Pomegranate has expanded to all of Texas — 31 artists will be featured in the online gallery. As curators, Carcamo and Edwards have eclectic tastes, with work in prints, sculpture, streetwear, and more. There are paintings of beautifully detailed, vibrant colored skulls as well as a spunky, uncannily lifelike portrait of Christopher Walken by artist Christine Engebretsen. It’s called Walken on Sunshine.
“Pomegranate Underground stands for freedom and individuality,” Edwards says. “We did this for people that don’t get heard, so we root for the underdogs.”
When asked about the name, the couple behind Pomegranate Underground laughs.
“It’s our own little secret, but it’s come to define itself,” Carcamo says. “When you open a pomegranate, it looks weird and crazy inside with a collection of these little pods. But when you eat them, they’re really sweet.” He compares the pods to the collection of unique artists the gallery showcases. “Individually, we can be strong, but together, we can be powerful.”
Younger customers tend to gravitate towards Pomegranate’s quirky art, while older generations snicker or stare, Carcamo says. “We witnessed a lot of banter outside the doors of our last location.”
Pomegranate Underground has built a significant social media presence, hung art in a local coffee shop, and Carcamo sends out a newsletter about the gallery to subscribers. “We want to be the segue that helps the underdogs go from being just local artists to having professional careers.” The gallery also helps embody its owners’ rapidly expanding worldview of inclusivity and self-expression. “We are a lot more perceptive of what’s going on in the world. We are a young generation trying to do big things,” Carcamo says.
To visit Pomegranate Underground, visit its website here.
