Nightlife and photography meet and mingle at Gallery

By Sarah Feldberg

Wednesday, April 13, 2011 | 11:15 a.m.

In Las Vegas, nightlife isn’t just a business, it’s an art; and when it’s done well, it can be downright stunning.

Enter Gallery nightclub, the second offering in as many months from Diversified Entertainment (the company behind the still-shiny Chateau at Paris Las Vegas) and the new occupant of Prive’s former digs at Planet Hollywood. The club shares a 25,000-square-foot footprint with the Pussycat Dolls Burlesque Saloon—slated to open in May—but it’s Gallery that gets most of the real estate and that really shows off Beverly Hills-based designer Amy Kim’s talents.

When the club opens on April 15, most guests will ride the escalator upstairs to the Chi Showroom and wind their way through an open hallway to Gallery’s main door. Entering through a drawn curtain, they’ll be greeted by walls printed with warm-hued murals of oversized library books and a sitting area with leather and riveted-metal chairs reminiscent of an old-school airplane. Further along, black faux-leather walls with brass portholes open up onto an expansive main room filled with cushy, round VIP booths and red, mirrored tables.

It’s here that the club starts living up to its name. Murals of castles and manors are hung with framed black and white photos shot specifically for Gallery by LA photographer Christian Horan. The photos, which give the room an editorial fashion edge and contrast nicely with the antiqued look of the images underneath, feature models in striking dresses (and strikingly undressed) and continue into the hallway that joins Gallery and PCD Saloon. But there’s more to see than the art on the walls. Above a narrow central dance floor, go-go dancers will show off their moves in black circular nets, and a stripper pole on one end of the room is topped with ornate chandeliers. Two main bars on opposite ends of the club feature backdrops of oddly shaped bottles filled with red liquid, and one boasts a naughty bar top with a shot of a nude model atop a bed of veggies repeated across its length.

And, of course, celebrities will be stopping by Gallery to see and be seen: Kourtney Kardashian celebrates her birthday on opening night with Cee Lo, scheduled for April 16. When the adjoined PCD Saloon starts stripping down next month, one admission ($30 guys, $20 ladies, local ladies free) will be good for both venues. For now, one club will have to be enough. Good thing Gallery is a nightlife work of art.