Escher GuneWardena, founded in Los Angeles in 1996, came to international recognition for their creative and flexible approaches to a wide range of projects, bringing their diverse interests and talents into play, and cross-pollinating one architectural or artistic discipline with another to achieve innovative solutions. Commercial spaces are treated as conceptual art works, hillside residences emerge as poetic responses to difficult sites. Historic preservation projects, including such icons as the Eames House and John Lautner's Chemosphere, testify to Escher GuneWardena’s sensitivity to, and expertise in, 20th century architectural history. Their presence in the world of contemporary art is confirmed by their numerous collaborations with artists such as Sharon Lockhart, Mike Kelley, and Stephen Prina. Inhabiting both the worlds of architectural history and of contemporary art, the work of Escher GuneWardena reflects the unique conditions of Los Angeles, which has been a stage for 20th-century architecture and is, today, a hub for contemporary art.


Frank Escher, trained at the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH, Zürich), is the editor of the monograph “John Lautner, Architect,” was the administrator for the John Lautner Archive (1995-2007), and serves on the boards of the John Lautner Foundation, the Julius Shulman Institute, and the Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design. He is also an advisor to the Neutra Institute. Ravi GuneWardena, originally from Sri Lanka, studied architecture at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and art history in Florence, Italy, and served on the Hollywood Public Art Advisory Panel for the CRA/LA. He is currently the director of the Los Angeles branch of the Sogetsu School of Ikebana. Escher and GuneWardena have been visiting professors at Cal Poly Pomona, University of Southern California (Escher), and Walsh Distinguished Visiting Professors at University of Oregon. They were recently visiting professors at the Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL, Lausanne) for the 2016-2017 academic year.


Zeke Jones

Andrew Ko

David Ramis

James Cardona

Sarra Starbird

Teresa Piecuch

Stephen Gonzalez, Administration

Tony Aguebor, Finances

Christine Neilson, Neilson Advisory Group, Inc., Business Manager

Meara Daly, Nelsondaly, Public Relations

Sharon Lockhart, Escher GuneWardena, 2004
Escher GuneWardena 2003 by Sharon Lockhart 
No. 8 of 8 in the Los Angeles Forum for Architecture & Urban Design’s Art & Architecture Series