The art of the print with Jeff Bergman, director of Pace Prints

Jeff Bergman
Director
Pace Prints

THE HISTORY OF PRINTMAKING DATES BACK AS EARLY AS THE 15th CENTURY. IN GERMANY, INDIVIDUAL PRINTS OFTEN DEPICTED RELIGIOUS IMAGES AND WERE CARRIED BY CRUSADERS ON PILGRIMAGE. FROM CIRCA 1402 TO 1425, THE FIRST PHASE OF THE WOODCUT DEVELOPED, HAND-COLORED AND INCREASINGLY COMPLEX IN WHICH SINGLE IMAGES ON A BLANK BACKGROUND EXPANDED TO INCLUDE LANDSCAPE AND ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS. IN 15th CENTURY ITALY, PARTICULARLY IN THE CULTURED NORTHERN CITIES, SUCH AS FLORENCE AND MILAN, THE RENAISSANCE MOVEMENT STIMULATED ARTISTS’ RECEPTIVITY TO EMBRACE PURELY AESTHETIC AND DECORATIVE CREATIVE PATHS.

TODAY, PRINTMAKERS NOT ONLY CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN THE LEGACY OF TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES BUT ALSO TO EXPLORE NEW INNOVATIVE PROCESSES AVAILABLE THROUGH MODERN TECHNOLOGY.

PACE PRINTS, LOCATED IN NEW YORK UPTOWN AT 32 EAST 57th STREET OFF MADISON AND IN CHELSEA AT 521 WEST 26th STREET, IS A WORLD-CLASS PUBLISHER AND DEALER FOR MODERN MASTER AND CONTEMPORARY PRINTS THAT IS A WORLD CLASS PRINT PUBLISHER AND GALLERY.

Dick Solomon
Founder, Pace Prints

FOUNDED BY RICHARD SOLOMON, IN 1968, PACE PRINTS IS A EXCEPTIONAL  RESOURCE FOR BOTH CONTEMPORARY AND MASTER PRINTS OFFERING AN EXTENSIVE ROSTER OF INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED ESTABLISHED AND CUTTING-EDGE ARTISTS. PRINT EDITIONS HAS ALWAYS PROVIDED THE ART ADVISOR AND COLLECTOR AN OPPORTUNITY TO ACQUIRE WORKS BY CONTEMPORARY LUMINARIES AS CHUCK CLOSE, SOL LEWITT, ED RUSCHA AND FRANK STELLA WITHIN MORE MODEST BUDGETARY PARAMETERS.

http://paceprints.com/

TODAY, THE LRFA BLOG IS DELIGHTED TO INTRODUCE JEFF BERGMAN,  DIRECTOR OF PACE PRINTS, TO INFORM US ABOUT THIS VITAL AREA OF ART-MAKING.

JEFF, MANY THANKS FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION. HOW DID YOU FIRST BECOME INTERESTED IN ART?

Well first off, thanks for involving me in your project!

The Aldrich Museum
Ridgefield, Connecticut

I became interested in art as a child.  My grandfather was a graphic artist for a Jewish Department Store in Midtown.  I had been drawn to visual art from an early age but my formative experience with contemporary art was at The Aldrich Museum in Ridgefield, CT.  I was a student docent there in the mid-90’s when Harry Philbrick was running the program.  He went on to run the Aldrich for many years.  He and Nina Carlson trained high school age kids to really discuss the work they saw.  We were grounded in the physical first and then went on to make our own associations.  We were handed research materials like a grown up docent was and were given an education.  I loved being in front of art and having those conversations.  I still do.

Wassily Kandinsky
Illustrative composition in
Point and Line to Plane

WHAT EDUCATIONAL STEPS DID YOU TAKE TO DEVELOP THIS INTEREST?

Beyond the Aldrich, I went to a public HS that had a surprisingly good Art History course.  After HS I went to Hampshire College in Amherst, MA and did a concentration in Art History and Theory, writing my thesis on Wassily Kandinsky’s text Point and Line to Plane.  Hampshire allowed me to craft my own course of study.  I took classes at Smith and Amherst often, utilizing resources at all 5 colleges.

Studying Kandinsky and the Bauhaus in an undergrad program alongside brilliant professors was a true gift.  Sura Levine, a brilliant scholar and a good friend to this day, was my advisor from day 1.  Hampshire had contemporary artists teaching innovative courses and I took a sprawling foundation class with Walid Raad, Jacqueline Hayden and Joan Braverman that introduced me to much of the art theory I would dive into over the next 4 years.  We were told to buy the recently deceased John Berger’s slim treatise Ways of Seeing that first day of class.

FEATURED PRINT
Kate Shepherd
Teddy 2016
Monoprint
40 1/4 x 60 1/2 inches
Unique
Published by Pace Editions, Inc.

Later I took courses with Barbara Kellum at Smith and Christoph Cox at Hampshire that allowed me to think more critically about the theory and critique of visual art.  Ultimately I was happy to ground my studies in Kandinsky’s concrete notions at the birth of abstraction.

Sol LeWitt: Prints
Installation view
September – October 2016
Pace Prints

HAD YOU ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTED IN PRINTMAKING OR WERE YOU INITIALLY DRAWN TO PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURE?  WHAT ARTISTS FIRST RESONATED WITH YOU AND HOW DO YOU EVALUATE THEM TODAY?

Printmaking was something I came to during college as I looked at the work of Bauhaus artists, and generally at the work of early 20^th century art in Europe.  Initially the work that really excited me was Kandinsky’s which was always on view at the Guggenheim and MoMA and then Sol LeWitt at the Aldrich and Mark Rothko at the Tate (now Tate Britain).

My good friend Katie Commodore who is an artist and printmaker was always kind enough to let me see what she was working on at RISD so I got a sense of contemporary printmaking that way.

FEATURED PRINT
Robert Rauschenberg
Cock Sure 1993
Color silkscreen, hot wax, silver pigment dust and acrylic
Edition of 17

IN THE NEXT LRFA POST, JEFF WILL INFORM US OF HIS PROFESSIONAL HISTORY AS CURATOR, SCHOLAR AND DEALER IN PRINTS.

PLEASE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HIS EXPERTISE AND DEDICATION TO THIS FIELD, AND ASK THIS GENEROUS GUY ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.

THANK YOU!

 

A focus on quality: Van de Weghe Fine Art’s exhibition history

ALEXANDER CALDER
Three Segments, 1973
Hanging Mobile
VAN DE WEGHE FINE ART
November 2001 – January 2002

THE ART MARKET EMBRACES MANY WAYS OF DOING BUSINESS. PRIVATE DEALERS AND GALLERIES OFTEN CONCENTRATE ON A PARTICULAR MEDIUM, SUCH AS PRINTS OR PHOTOGRAPHY, A SPECIFIC PERIOD RANGING FROM OLD MASTERS TO CUTTING-EDGE CONTEMPORARY ART, OR A DISTINCT GENRE SUCH AS REPRESENTATIONAL OR ABSTRACT. AN ESSENTIAL DECISION FOR A GALLERIST OR DEALER IS WHETHER TO REPRESENT WORKS FROM THE PRIMARY OR SECONDARY MARKET AS A DIFFERENT SET OF CONSIDERATIONS FACTOR INTO THAT DEFINING CHOICE.

 

FRANK STELLA
Catal Hüyük (level VII) Shrine VII .45, 2000.
Aluminum and stainless steel
12’8″ x 14’4″ x 11’2″ (3.86 x 4.37 x 3.4 m)
VAN DE WEGHE FINE ART
November 2001 – January 2002

THE FIRST SALE OF A WORK OF ART EITHER FROM AN ARTIST’S STUDIO OR FROM A GALLERY DEFINES THE TERM “PRIMARY MARKET”. THE “SECONDARY MARKET” REPRESENTS WORKS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN SOLD AT LEAST ONCE AND FIND THEIR WAY BACK ONTO THE MARKET. THERE ARE MANY REASONS COLLECTORS CHOOSE TO DEACCESSION A WORK APART FROM THE OBVIOUS LIQUIDATION OF AN ASSET, AMONG THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO UPGRADE TO A MORE SIGNIFICANT WORK BY THAT ARTIST, TO PROFIT FROM A SIGNIFICANT SURGE IN THE VALUE OF THE WORK SINCE ITS INITIAL PURCHASE OR TO DIVERSIFY THE HOLDINGS IN THEIR COLLECTION.  SOME GALLERIES DEPEND ON SECONDARY MARKET SALES OF ESTABLISHED ARTISTS OR ARTISTS’ ESTATES TO SUPPORT EXHIBITIONS OF WORKS BY THE EMERGING OR CUTTING-EDGE ARTISTS THEY REPRESENT.

THE ULTIMATE CRITERIA FOR WORKS IN THE SECONDARY MARKET IS QUALITY : THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE WORK IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ARTIST’S OEUVRE, PROVENANCE, ITS EXHIBITION HISTORY, CONDITION, AND RARITY IN THE MARKET.

AS A DEALER AND GALLERIST, SINCE ITS OPENING IN 2000, VAN DE WEGHE FINE ART HAS FOCUSED ON SECONDARY MARKET WORKS OF ART, SETTING THE HIGHEST STANDARD OF WORKS OF IMPECCABLE QUALITY BY ESTABLISHED MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY MASTERS IN THE CONTEXT OF EXHIBITIONS THAT DEEPEN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THESE ARTISTS.

THE LRFA BLOG IS VERY PLEASED TO WELCOME CHRISTOPHE VAN DE WEGHE BACK.

CHRISTOPHE, IN 2001 YOU OPENED A BEAUTIFUL, EXTENSIVE SPACE ON 23rd STREET IN CHELSEA WITH AN INAUGURAL EXHIBITION OF MONUMENTAL SCULPTURE BY FRANK STELLA, RICHARD SERRA AND ALEXANDER CALDER.

RICHARD SERRA
Kamakura Keystone, 1987
3 Hot-Rolled Steel Plates
VAN DE WEGHE FINE ART
November 2001 – January 2002

HOW DID THE MOVE FROM YOUR FIRST GALLERY ON EAST 76th  TO MUCH LARGER QUARTERS AFFECT YOUR EXHIBITION PROGRAM?

I decided to buy the space in Chelsea, and closed on September 13, 2001. I was crazy to do it then but I made the deal with the broker, Howard Reed, shook his hand, and did it! 

I have kept my concentration on the secondary market, specializing in work by modern, post-war and contemporary European and American artists. The gallery offers historically focused exhibitions, all accompanied by publications, that impact art historically as well as on the secondary market. It is my intent to promote works of quality, offer scholarship and value to our collectors.

http://www.vdwny.com

RICHARD SERRA
Where I’ve Always Come From, 1969/1981
VAN DE WEGHE FINE ART
February – May 2002

WHAT WERE SOME OF THE EXHIBITIONS IN THE 23^rd STREET GALLERY THAT RESONATE THE MOST STRONGLY WITH YOU?

In February 2002, the gallery presented Richard Serra’s Prop sculptures. The exhibition was the first to focus on this dimension of his work, one of the most important series in his oeuvre. These sculptures are formed as metal plates, bars and falls of lead or steel. As a young man, Serra first encountered the material, lead antimony, used in commercial sheet metal, pipes and castings when working as a young man at steel mills and shipyards  to help send himself to school.

I wanted to deal with the volume, weight, mass, and directionality of the space … to make the volume of the space tangible, so that it is understood immediately, physically, by your body; not so that the sculpture is a body in relation to your body, but that the volume, through the placement of the sculptural elements, becomes manifest in a way that you experience it as a whole.–Richard Serra, 1992, Art of Our Time: 1950 to the Present, Walker Art Center. 

The exhibition was an incredible monumentally scaled installation involving a whole crew and engineering specialists. Our gallery walls needed to be reinforced to sustain the weight of the sculpture.

BRUCE NAUMAN
Neons, Sculptures, Drawings
Van de Weghe Fine Art
October 17 – December 14, 2002
Installation view

Another exhibit I was very pleased to organize was a historical exhibition of the works of Bruce Nauman. Nauman’s contribution to the aesthetic practice at the turn of the 21^st Century has been nothing short of astounding. He has really been a sort of father figure for contemporary artists in the same way that Picasso was for his generation. He was a pioneer of new media such as video in the 60s and installation in the 70s and the exhibit included a wax version of Nauman’s iconic Henry Moore Bound to Fall, two early resin and fiberglass works from 1965 and a wonderful array of over twenty works on paper including a seminal group of drawings from the 60s based on the artist’s body as well as large-scale works that relate to his neons and sculptures.

 

ANDY WARHOL
Self-Portraits 1963-1986
Van de Weghe Fine Art
Installation view

An exhibition of which I am particularly proud is Warhol Self-Portraits: 1963 – 1986, that we held in April/May 2005. It was the first New York show devoted to Warhol’s images of himself and included  more than thirty-five paintings, with examples of almost all of the self-portrait images that Warhol made throughout his career.

I very much liked how many different variations exist. We would not be able to put together this exhibition today as the insurance would be prohibitive and I’m happy to have been able to do it when I did.

ANDY WARHOL
Self-Portraits 1963-1986, Van de Weghe Fine Art
April 20 – May 27, 2005

IN OUR NEXT POST, CHRISTOPHE WILL CONTINUE TO TRACK THE HISTORY OF GALLERY EXHIBITIONS.

CHRISTOPHE HAS A PARTICULARLY ASTUTE KNOWLEDGE OF  MASTER ARTISTS AND THE MARKET. DO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO POSE ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE.

THANK YOU ALL FOR FOLLOWING THE LRFA BLOG!

 

 

Setting a high standard: Van de Weghe Fine Art opens in 2000 with a Warhol exhibit

Current Exhibition
HENRIQUE OLIVEIRA
Van de Weghe Fine Art

THE ART EMPIRE CREATED BY LARRY GAGOSIAN IS OFTEN SCRUTINIZED AND ANALYZED AS ARE MOST HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL OPERATIONS IN EVERY INDUSTRY. IN 2016, PHAIDON PUBLISHED “MANAGEMENT OF ART GALLERIES”, A UNIQUE RESEARCH PROJECT ANALYZING THE INNER LIFE OF ART GALLERIES BY MAGNUS RESCH, ART MARKET ANALYST, TECH ENTREPRENEUR AND PhD IN ECONOMICS. ONE OF THE UNDISPUTED CHARACTERISTICS OF GAGOSIAN’S SUCCESS, A NETWORK OF 16 OUTSTANDING GALLERIES AROUND THE GLOBE, IS THE INDEPENDENT, ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT OF ITS DIRECTORS.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0714873268/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=magnusresch-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0714873268&linkId=c7800f188d45652867475947b6ce55b9

CONFIRMED BY CAIT MUNRO IN AN ARTICLE ON ARTNET, AUGUST 5, 2015:

With spaces all over the world, Gagosian relies on a team of trusted directors to manage day-to-day operations and liaise with big-name artists and collectors. Each employee is reportedly assigned to manage an artist, while collectors are assigned to whomever they dealt with upon first contact.

IN 2015, JOURNALIST BRIAN BOUCHER, A CONTRIBUTING EDITOR TO ARTNET news TOOK A LOOK “INSIDE GAGOSIAN GALLERY’S TALENT FACTORY”, TRACKING THE PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF “FORMER STAFFERS WHO HAVE GONE ON TO DO GREAT THINGS ON THEIR OWN”.

THE ARTICLE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN COMPLETE WITHOUT A PROFILE ON CHRISTOPHE VAN DE WEGHE, FOUNDER AND OWNER OF VAN DE WEGHE FINE ART, 1018 MADISON AVENUE, BETWEEN 78th AND 79th STREET IN NEW YORK.

http://www.vdwny.com/

Christophe van de Weghe

Christophe van de Weghe, New York dealer

After spending seven years as a salesman with Gagosian, from 1993 to 2000, Christophe van de Weghe has gone on to run a Madison Avenue gallery. Van de Weghe exhibits at top art fairs like Frieze Masters, Art Basel, TEFAF and FIAC. He deals in modern and contemporary artists from Carl Andre and Francis to Rudolf Stingel and Christopher Wool.

 

Carl Andre
Third Copper Square, 2007
Andre / Calder/ Judd
August 1 – September 2, 2010

When asked what was the best thing he learned from the master dealer, Van de Weghe was unsentimental: “How to buy and sell artwork!”

One thing you probably didn’t know about the Belgian-born dealer is that from 1986 to 1989, he was an accomplished professional tennis player, ranked among the top 500 in his class worldwide by the Association of Tennis Professionals, he told artnet News.

https://news.artnet.com/market/gagosian-gallery-art-world-talent-factory-349742

CHRISTOPHE, WELCOME BACK TO THE LRFA BLOG. TO CONTINUE…

GAGOSIAN IS AN EXTREMELY POWERFUL INTERNATIONAL FORCE IN THE ART WORLD, REPRESENTING ARTISTS’ ESTATES, ESTABLISHED CONTEMPORARY MASTERS AND CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS WITH ACKNOWLEDGED CRITICAL AND COMMERCIAL RECOGNITION.

WHAT PROMPTED YOUR DECISION TO LEAVE AND OPEN YOUR OWN GALLERY?

After seven years, I had accumulated great experience and was doing well financially, but it was in me to have my own business. I had an entrepreneurial spirit from the start, liking the challenge of taking risks.

In 2000, I had heard about a small space on 76^th Street between Park and Madison that housed Per Skarstedt, and I was very interested. After seven years, it was time to do it! I asked Larry if he would have lunch with me and told him I wanted to show him something, that I wanted him to see a space and was thinking about opening my own gallery. “I need your blessing, Larry, everything I know, I’ve learned from you and it is very important that you agree it’s time to fly with my own wings. There was one artist, in particular, that I was very close to that I wanted to exhibit. Larry said it was a very good idea and to do it. My first sale, in partnership with Larry, was a Warhol and it sold quickly. 

 

ANDY WARHOL: Works on paper from the early 60’s
An illustrated catalogue, with an essay by Gerard Malanga, who worked with Warhol during the ‘60s

THE INAUGURAL EXHIBITION AT VAN DE WEGHE FINE ART IN NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2000, WAS ANDY WARHOL: WORKS ON PAPER FROM THE EARLY 60s. EVERY WORK WAS FIRST-TIER, WARHOL’S MOST ICONIC IMAGES:  THE CAMPBELL’S SOUP CANS, DOLLAR BILLS, AD LOGOS AND CELEBRITY PORTRAITS. THE EXHIBIT INCLUDED RARE, HAND-MADE WORKS ON PAPER AS WELL AS UNIQUE SILKSCREENED IMAGES. THE EXHIBIT WAS DOCUMENTED WITH AN ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE WITH AN ESSAY BY GERALD MALANGA WHO HAD WORKED WITH WARHOL DURING THE 60s.

http://www.vdwny.com/publications/andy-warhol

CHRISTOPHE, YOU SET A PRECEDENT WITH THIS EXHIBIT IN LAUNCHING SHOWS WITH HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE AND CURATORIAL IMPORT. HOW DID YOU DECIDE ON THIS SHOW AND WHAT DO YOU RECALL OF THE PUBLIC’S RESPONSE AT THE TIME?

When I opened the exhibit on 76^th Street with Warhol’s Works on Paper From the Sixties I was able to obtain some great loans culled from a number of private collections. The exhibit provided a great opportunity to document Warhol’s talent as a draftsman and his experimental use of techniques that trace his path from the handmade to the ready-made.

One day during the show, I was sitting in my office and two people called, one a prominent Hollywood star and the other a famous singer in a well-known band. I was very proud that these people, whom I didn’t know, would call me to ask about the exhibit and that I had taken the leap to have my name on the door.

I soon outgrew the space and moved to 23^rd Street between 10^th and 11^th Avenue in Chelsea.

LVR ASIDE TO CHRISTOPHE

I remember stopping by 76th Street to see an exhibition and visit with you. You sounded me out about taking a big space in Chelsea. I must have been playing devil’s advocate (“the voice of reason”) and I clearly remember your reply. 

“This is the right time for me to do this. I have no wife and children yet and can take the risk”.

It rang so true. I was impressed by Christophe’s self-awareness and sense of purpose. I was certain the move would be expansive in every sense.  It is so nice when one’s powers of prediction prove  true – and in this case, it was accurate and  then some!

 

VAN DE WEGHE FINE ART
2003
521 West 21st Street

IN OUR NEXT BLOG POST, WE WILL TRAVEL TO CHELSEA AND THE OPENING OF VAN DE WEGHE FINE ART IN A  4000 SQUARE FOOT GALLERY SPACE. THE NEW LOCATION AFFORDED THE GALLERY THE OPPORTUNITY  TO PRESENT  MORE EXTENSIVE EXHIBITIONS AND SIGNIFICANT LARGE-SCALE WORKS.

PLEASE JOIN US!

Revisiting Abstract Expressionism: Edward Dugmore, opening tonight at Loretta Howard Gallery

EDWARD DUGMORE
1961 B-3, 1961
Oil on canvas
95 1/2 x 83 1/4 inches

ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM, AN IMPORTANT AND INTRINSICALLY AMERICAN ART MOVEMENT DOMINANT IN THE 50s AND 60s,  ESTABLISHED AMERICA AS THE CREATIVE AND INTELLECTUAL CENTER OF THE POST-WORLD WAR II ART WORLD. ITS SPONTANEITY, EMOTIVE MAGNETISM AND ENERGETIC SPIRIT EXEMPLIFIED AMERICA’S GREAT ECONOMICAL AND CULTURAL POST-WAR BOOM.

WHILE THE CIRCLE OF FIRST GENERATION OF ABEX ARTISTS IS ETCHED IN OUR ART HISTORICAL LEXICON, A SIGNIFICANT GROUP OF SECOND GENERATION ABEX ARTISTS ALSO MERITS RECOGNITION AND CRITICAL ACCLAIM.  EDWARD DUGMORE, AN ABSTRACT PAINTER WITH TIES TO BOTH COASTS, WAS REPRESENTED BY THE DISTINGUISHED STABLE GALLERY IN NEW YORK IN THE 50s, HOWARD WISE IN THE 60s, AND GREEN MOUNTAIN GALLERY IN THE 70s. AS A STUDENT AT CAL ARTS UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONIST MASTER, CLYFFORD STILL, DUGMORE ALSO ENJOYED A PRESENCE IN THE WEST COAST ART WORLD.

LORETTA HOWARD GALLERY, LOCATED IN A BEAUTIFUL GROUND FLOOR SPACE IN CHELSEA AT 521 WEST 26th STREET, SPECIALIZES IN CLASSIC POST WAR AMERICAN ART WITH AN EMPHASIS ON ARTISTS WHO CAME INTO PROMINENCE IN THE 1950s AND 1960s. http://lorettahoward.com/about

IN THE SPRING OF 2014, THE GALLERY CURATED AN IMPORTANT RETROSPECTIVE OF WORKS BY  DUGMORE, ANCIENT EVENINGS: A RETROSPECTIVE OF EDWARD DUGMORE, FEATURING PAINTINGS FROM EACH DECADE THAT TRACED THE ARTIST’S CREATIVE TRAJECTORY OF MORE THAN 50 YEARS.

http://lorettahoward.com/content/ancient-evenings-retrospective-edward-dugmore

 

GALLERY INTELL/YOU TUBE INTERVIEW WITH LORETTA HOWARD, May 29, 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCMeTl-dWVw

 

THE LRFA BLOG IS DELIGHTED TO FEATURE LORETTA HOWARD’S  FORTHCOMING EXHIBITION, EDWARD DUGMORE: THE SIXTIES, AN EXHIBIT CURATED FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE ARTIST’S RELATIONSHIP TO THE AMERICAN WEST. FOR EVERYONE NOW IN NEW YORK, OR ARRIVING SHORTLY FOR THE FORTHCOMING AUCTIONS AND ART FAIRS: ADAA’s ART SHOW  AT THE PARK AVENUE ARMORY, http://www.artdealers.org/ AND THE ARMORY SHOW AT NAVY PIERS. https://www.thearmoryshow.com/,

THE EDWARD DUGMORE  EXHIBITION AT LORETTA HOWARD GALLERY OPENS TONIGHT, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23rd AND CONTINUES THROUGH SATURDAY, MARCH 25th, 2017.

http://lorettahoward.com/content/edward-dugmore-7

 

EDWARD DUGMORE
Aspen Quartet, 1961
Oil on canvas
69 1/2 x 85 5/8 inches

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Edward Dugmore: The 1960s

February 23 – March 25, 2017

Opening Reception: February 23, 6 – 8 pm

Loretta Howard Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of major canvases by Edward Dugmore from the 1960s. The works on display trace the artist’s engagement with the American West. This affinity developed at an early age in part from an interest in Native American life that began while looking through his fathers National Geographic magazines.

The 1960s marked a period during which the artist turned his field of vision away from the city and mined visual representation for inspiration. For Dugmore, the Rocky Mountains, which he experienced as a visiting artist to the Aspen school of Art in 1961, became a mystic symbol. Dugmore’s mountainous topographies avoid direct visual reference instead embodying the tectonic drama of the landscape as a catalyst for spiritual reflection. This romantic impulse can be traced to English poet and painter William Blake who’s own ambition was to render the contemplation of nature as a transformative experience.

EDWARD DUGMORE
Maine #35, 1965
Ink on paper
19 x 24 inches

Equally important were Dugmore’s yearly trips to Washington, Maine, where he and his wife purchased land in 1960 along with fellow artists Ernie Briggs and Anne Arnold. A selection of ink drawings from the early 1960s highlights the important influence of this environment on the artist’s paintings of the next ten years. Dugmore sketched, often times interpreting the landscape through its reflection in the Medomak River and nearby saltwater coves.

THE NEXT LRFA POST FEATURES EXCERPTS FROM AN INSIGHTFUL ESSAY ON THE CURRENT EXHIBITION BY HOWARD HURST, DIRECTOR AT LORETTA HOWARD GALLERY AND CONTRIBUTING WRITER AT HYPERALLERGIC.

MANY THANKS TO LORETTA AND HER GALLERY TEAM FOR SHARING THIS EXHIBITION WITH US.

Welcome to Lisson New York with gallery director Claus Robenhagen

CLAUS ROBENHAGEN
LISSON GALLERY
photo credit: Max Logsdail

LISSON GALLERY, FOUNDED IN LONDON IN 1967 BY NICHOLAS LOGSDAIL,  IS ONE OF THE MOST  INFLUENTIAL AND RESPECTED INTERNATIONAL GALLERIES SPECIALIZING IN CONTEMPORARY ART. SINCE ITS INCEPTION, LISSON HAS SUPPORTED AND DEVELOPED THE CAREERS OF ARTISTS WHO HAVE TRULY TRANSFORMED OUR AESTHETIC AND INTELLECTUAL UNDERSTANDING OF ART. IN ANTICIPATION OF FRIEZE NEW YORK, AND THE NEW YORK AUCTION SEASON,  LISSON GALLERY NEW YORK IN CHELSEA OPENS TO THE PUBLIC NEXT MONDAY, MAY 2ND, WITH AN EXTRAORDINARY INAUGURAL EXHIBITION OF WORKS BY THE LEGENDARY CARMEN HERRERA, SOON TO BE HONORED WITH A RETROSPECTIVE AT THE WHITNEY MUSEUM.

http://www.lissongallery.com/

Lisson Gallery
New York

 

THE BEAUTIFUL NEW CHELSEA SPACE LOCATED AT 504 WEST 24th STREET , FLOODED WITH NATURAL LIGHT AND DESIGNED BY STUDIO MDA AND STUDIO CHRISTIAN WASSMAN, IS HOUSED IN A NEW BUILDING LOCATED UNDER THE HIGH LINE THAT CONNECTS 24th TO 23rd STREET. ITS ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN HONOR THE FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENTS OF THE HIGH LINE AND THE EXISTING PARK STRUCTURE.

Lisson Gallery
504 East 24th Street
New York, NY

http://www.lissongallery.com/news/lisson-gallery-new-york-to-open-on-3-may-2016

IN ANTICIPATION OF LISSON NEW YORK, THE LRFA BLOG HAS GREAT PLEASURE IN INTRODUCING MY FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE, CLAUS ROBENHAGEN. CLAUS PROVIDES A RICH PERSPECTIVE ON THE LONDON ART MARKET AND A DEPTH OF KNOWLEDGE AND ENTHUSIASM FOR THE VITAL ARTISTS THE GALLERY REPRESENTS.

Carmen Herrera

CLAUS, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO THE LRFA BLOG. I ALWAYS LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU, YOUR PROFESSIONALISM AND UNFLAGGING KINDNESS AND PERSEVERANCE.

HOW DID YOU FIRST BECOME INTERESTED IN PURSUING A CAREER IN THE ARTS?

While I was growing up parents took me to galleries and museums – I always thought these were important places for education and reflection.

WHAT WERE YOUR ACADEMIC PURSUITS? WHERE THEY IN THE AREA OF ART OR OTHER FIELDS?

I studied art history at the University of Copenhagen.

YOU WORKED FOR OVER A DECADE AT GALLERI NICOLAI WALLNER IN COPENHAGEN. IS THIS WHERE YOU GREW UP AND WENT TO SCHOOL?

My family is from the Northern part of Denmark – Aalborg, while the city is mostly known for industry, it does have a beautiful art museum designed by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto in the 1960s.

Kunsten Museum of Modern Art
Aalborg

WHAT WAS THE SCOPE OF YOUR EXPERIENCE AS A DIRECTOR AT NICOLAI WALLNER AND HOW WOULD YOU CHARACTERIZE THE ROSTER OF ARTISTS THE GALLERY REPRESENTED?

The gallery opened in 1993 and at the core of the program was this wonderful group of Danish artists who true to their time work in a quite activist, engaging manner.

Jakob Kolding
Galleri Nicolai Wallner

This could take the form of art with a societal agenda like in the works of Jakob Kolding or a more personal approach found in the videos of Peter Land. Obviously the program expanded since then and has also come to include older, international artists like Dan Graham, Richard Tuttle.

Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
Denmark

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE DANISH ART SCENE AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES IN COPENHAGEN?

There are a number of great art institutions in Denmark with Louisiana Museum of Modern Art as the most famous. Copenhagen is small and the art scene reflects that – however I do feel things are changing. There is now a wonderful Nordic art fair CHART happening in August that brings in a number of international visitors. http://chartartfair.com/

CHART ART FAIR
August 26 – August 28, 2016
The Courtyard of Kunshal Charlottenburg during the fair.

CLAUS ROBENHAGEN, OF LISSON GALLERY, IS AN EXTREMELY WELL-INFORMED AND PERCEPTIVE GALLERIST. PLEASE DO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HIS PRESENCE ON THE LRFA BLOG AND DIRECT ANY QUESTIONS TO US ABOUT THE LONDON GALLERY SCENE AND THE INTERNATIONAL ART MARKET.

THANK YOU ALL FOR FOLLOWING THE LRFA BLOG!

A unique position in gallery management with Kristen Becker of Marianne Boesky Gallery

Julie Dault
Maker’s Mark 2015
Installation View
Marianne Boesky Gallery New York
Photo credit: Jason Wyche

BOTH THE NON-PROFIT AND COMMERCIAL SPACES IN THE CONTEMPORARY ART WORLD SHARE MANY COMMON GOALS: BOTH ARE ON A MISSION TO CURATE EXHIBITIONS OF QUALITY AND CRITICAL SIGNIFICANCE THAT DRAW ATTENTION AND SUPPORT OF   THE ARTIST’S WORK, TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC AND TO ACT AS A CULTURAL RESOURCE FOR THE VISUAL ARTS. THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NON-PROFIT AND FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS IS OBVIOUS. A COMMERCIAL GALLERY DERIVES ITS CONTINUITY AND EXPANSION FROM SALES REVENUE, THE LIFE BLOOD OF ANY BUSINESS, WHILE NON-PROFIT MUSEUMS AND EXHIBITION SPACES RELY ON GRANTS, DONORS AND VOLUNTEERS. KRISTEN BECKER EMBRACES THE COMMUNALITY OF INTEREST BETWEEN THE TWO IN HER UNIQUE POSITION IN MUSEUM ENGAGEMENT AT MARIANNE BOESKY GALLERY.

KRISTEN, WHEN DID YOU JOIN MARIANNE BOESKY AND WHAT PROMPTED YOUR DECISION?

In March of 2014 I went on a trip to Marfa, TX with my friend Ricky Manne who is a director at Marianne Boesky Gallery. He and I had discussed doing a bit of a road trip to the art mecca, and while we were there I mentioned to him how I wanted to find a way of incorporating my Museum Studies background (which focused on non-profit administration) with my existing career in the commercial gallery world. At Luhring Augustine I had initiated a few trips to smaller museums that perhaps didn’t have the travel budget to come to New York often. I visited these institutions, saw the exhibition spaces, met with the curators, listened to programming ideas, and was able to make some interesting headway in terms of placing wonderful artworks in their collections and getting some of the less visible gallery artists some exposure. It was a win-win-win! I wanted to find a way to have that mutually beneficial pursuit become a larger part of my job, and Ricky suggested I sit down with Marianne to find out whether she’d be interested in having me on staff in this rather unorthodox position.

Sarah Sze
“Triple Point”
55th Venice Biennale U.S. Pavilion

MARIANNE HAS ALWAYS HAD AN EXTREMELY ACUTE ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE SIGNIFICANT TALENT IN EMERGING ARTISTS. WHO ARE SOME OF THE LUMINARIES THAT BEGAN THEIR CAREERS AT THE GALLERY?

Marianne is quite well-known for being instrumental in the careers of Sarah Sze and Lisa Yuskavage as well as Yoshitomo Nara and Takashi Murakami. With Nara and Murakami she truly opened the door to a new aesthetic world by giving those artists exposure in the U.S. and encouraging collectors to see the value in this rich perspective. http://www.marianneboeskygallery.com/

Takashi Murakami
Mr. Pointy
Brooklyn Museum

There are always periods of growth and the early 2000s was a great time period for us – we continue to represent a number of artists who have a long history with the gallery.

Barnaby Furnas
First Morning (Installation View)
Marian Boesky Gallery, 2015
Photo credit: Bill Orcutt

Barnaby Furnas opened his sixth exhibition at the gallery on September 10^th, Donald Moffett will have a fifth solo show this spring at both our Chelsea and Lower East Side locations, and Rachel Feinstein has shown with us for almost fifteen years.

DONALD MOFFETT
Oil on linen with wood panel support
Photo credit: Christopher Burke

Around 2008 we added to the program again with artists like Jay Heikes and Anthony Pearson, and I love being involved with a gallery history that is consistent but also progressive.

DEAN LEVIN
Surface Support (ISO), 2015
UV curable ink on mirror polished steel and accompanying drawing
Diptych, each panel: 93 x 45 inches 177.8 x 101.6 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York

WHO ARE SOME OF THE EMERGING ARTISTS THAT THE GALLERY HAS RECENTLY ACCEPTED AND WHAT ARE THE PROJECTS IN WHICH THEY ARE INVOLVED?

Dean Levin joined the gallery a year and a half ago and I am enjoying watching his practice evolve. He has a background in architecture and became known for creating these incredibly seductive convex paintings- they speak to an American history of painting while also giving visual winks and nods to the artist’s hand and its inherently beautiful flaws.

Installation view:
The Armory Show 2014, Barricade I, August 7 – September 12, 2014
Marianne Boesky Gallery Booth, New York, New York

Serge Alain Nitegeka is another artist whose work is incredibly physical and quite architectural in nature. His paintings, sculptures, and installations stem from a personal history of forced migration. Transgressing borders, crossing lines, and negotiating spaces all play a significant role in how he approaches the studio. He just had a solo exhibition at the Savannah College of Art and Design and is currently included in the South African pavilion in the 56^th Venice Biennale. We will have a solo show of new work in Chelsea in March of this year.

Julie Dault
Maker’s Mark
Installation View
February – March 2015
Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York
Photo credit: Jason Wyche

WHOSE WORK, IN THE CONTEXT OF THE NEWER ROSTER IN THE GALLERY, PARTICULARLY RESONATES WITH YOU AND WHY?

Julia Dault’s show this past February serves as a highlight for me as I was a big fan of her work before being hired by Marianne. One of my first weeks at the gallery I put together a small internal reference publication of her show at the Power Plant, a fantastic contemporary art museum in Toronto (the show later traveled to the Contemporary Art Gallery in Vancouver). Julia’s work is textural in so many ways and studying the install shots and understanding the layers of each piece built my enthusiasm even more. That show was incredible in terms of layout, install, and pacing- there was so much kinetic energy.

The Power Plant
Toronto, Canada

 

THE GALLERY HAS TWO ADDITIONAL SPACES, EACH WITH A DISTINCT CHARACTER AND PURPOSE OF ITS OWN, ONE UPTOWN DEDICATED TO EXHIBITIONS THAT PROVIDE AN HISTORICAL CONTEXT FOR THE GALLERY ROSTER OF ARTISTS AND A NEW LOCATION ON THE LOWER EAST SIDE FOR PROJECTS, INSTALLATIONS AND CUTTING-EDGE EXHIBITIONS.

IN THE NEXT LRFA BLOG, KRISTEN WILL DETAIL THE HISTORY AND DIRECTION OF BOESKY UPTOWN AND  BOESKY EAST.

LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS!

The art of gallery management with Kristen Becker, Director Marianne Boesky Gallery

Marianne Boesky Gallery
Armory New York 2014
Installation View
photo credit: Jason Wyche

A CAREER IN THE ART WORLD TRADITIONALLY STARTED WITH AN ACADEMIC DEGREE IN STUDIO ARTS OR ART HISTORY. FOR SEVERAL DECADES NOW, ALTERNATIVELY, AUCTION HOUSES HAVE OFFERED COMPREHENSIVE AND ENGAGING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS THAT PROVIDE NOT ONLY ART HISTORICAL STUDY AND CONNOISSEURSHIP BUT ALSO AN INTRODUCTION TO THE ART MARKET, THE GALLERY WORLD AND TO PRIVATE COLLECTIONS. IN GENERAL, THE IMPACT OF THE GLOBAL ART MARKET AND THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SOPHISTICATION THAT THIS CLIMATE COMMANDS HAS PROMPTED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE SCALE AND SCOPE OF ART MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS WITH A VIEW TO UNDERSTANDING THE ART MARKET FROM THE INSIDE.

ONE OF THE EFFECTIVE AND ALL-ENCOMPASSING METHODS OF ADVANCEMENT FOR A CAREER IN THE ARTS, HOWEVER, WAS ESTABLISHED AT THE ADVENT OF THE GALLERY SYSTEM: THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK IN DIFFERENT JOB POSITIONS IN A VARIETY OF GALLERIES. IT IS REALLY THE BEST WAY TO LEARN FIRST-HAND A GALLERY’S MULTI-FACETED FUNCTIONS AS AN EDUCATOR TO THE PUBLIC, A SUPPORT FOR THE ARTIST AND A SOURCE OF EXPERTISE FOR THE COLLECTOR.

KRISTEN BECKER, AT MARIANNE BOESKY GALLERY, HAS A PARTICULARLY RICH PROFESSIONAL HISTORY IN THE GALLERY WORLD THAT HAD BROUGHT INSIGHT AND EXPERTISE  TO HER CURRENT UNIQUE POSITION AT MARIANNE BOESKY  AS A DIRECTOR SPECIALIZING IN MUSEUM MANAGEMENT. http://www.marianneboeskygallery.com/

Marianne Boesky Gallery booth
Miami Art Basel
December 2015

BOESKY GALLERY OFFERS A RICH TWENTY-YEAR HISTORY OF REPRESENTATION OF BOTH EMERGING AND ESTABLISHED ARTISTS AND OFFERS ITS AUDIENCE A SOPHISTICATED SYNERGY BETWEEN THE TWO. AS EXEMPLIFIED BY THEIR BOOTH AT MIAMI ART BASEL LAST DECEMBER, THE GALLERY’S INSTALLATION OFFERED A DYNAMIC DIALOGUE BETWEEN AN EARLY 60s SALVATORE SCARPITTA  AND SERGE ALAIN NITEGEKA’S 2015 PAINTING.

Diana Al-Hadid: Regarding Medardo Rosso
Marianne Boesky Gallery, Uptown, New York
February 8 – March 19, 2014

A POIGNANT EXHIBITION ORGANIZED IN 2014 AT BOESKY UPTOWN LINKED CONTEMPORARY ARTIST DIANA Al-HADID’S WITH THAT OF 19th CENTURY MASTER MEDARDO ROSSI AND THEIR SHARED AESTHETIC SENSIBILITY AND SCULPTURAL CONCERNS.

.KRISTEN, THANKS SO MUCH FOR OUR CONTINUED CONVERSATION. WHAT IS THE ARCH OF YOUR CAREER PATH THAT BROUGHT YOU TO MARIANNE BOESKY GALLERY?

Upon completing my master’s in 2002 I was hired at Gorney Bravin + Lee. They had an amazing program that included Martha Rosler, Jessica Stockholder, James Welling, Sarah Charlesworth, and Justine Kurland.

Sarah Charlesworth
Still Life with Camera
New Museum

After the gallery closed in 2005 I spent a year working on the Upper East Side at C&M Arts which became L&M Arts in the year I was there. I really enjoyed working for Robert Mnuchin and Dominique Levy, but at that time they did not focus on representing artists and I missed being in Chelsea and being involved with living artists.

 

James Welling
Brandywine River Museum of Art

Sheri Pasquarella (my previous colleague at Gorney Bravin + Lee) and Pamela Auchincloss reached out to me and offered me a two-pronged position working at Sheri’s advisory service as well as for Pamela’s arts management company. Sheri’s service included collection management and Pamela focused on facilitating university-scale museum shows so it was a great combination of long and short-term project management. In 2007 I decided to go back to the standard gallery structure and was hired at Luhring Augustine. I was a director there until 2014 and during that time I was a sales person and an artist liaison to gallery artists such as Glenn Ligon, Ragnar Kjartannson, and Daido Moriyama. I was able to travel extensively visiting gallery artists, working at art fairs, and seeing museum exhibitions.

Glenn Ligon
Whitney Museum of American Art

WHAT WERE SOME OF THE OUTSTANDING HIGHLIGHTS YOU RECALL FROM YOUR PREVIOUS POSITIONS? DO YOU FEEL THAT THERE WERE PARTICULAR SKILL SETS THAT YOU ACQUIRED ALONG THE WAY IN DIFFERENT VENUES? IF SO, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THEM.

Gorney Bravin + Lee was a great start for me, the staff was small and so I was able to see a lot of what it takes to run a business. Being at the front desk gave me an opportunity to learn about the key figures in the art world and actually my first GB+L opening dinner I sat next to Doug Eklund (photography curator from the Met) so I was over the moon. C&M provided a great framework for understanding the secondary market and gave me access to so many formidable experts. My skill set there was so different, it was more research based and there was not the same immediate connection to the public. One of the memorable lessons I took from my time working for Robert Mnuchin and Dominique Levy is to keep your bosses informed of what you are doing and what you want. By the time I worked for them I had been going to Art Basel Miami Beach for a few years on my own and I intended to go again in December of 2006. The plan was to fly down immediately after work on Saturday and spend all day Sunday seeing as much art I could. When I mentioned to Dominique that I was going she told me she wished she had known earlier so she could have had me go down and try my hand working at the fair. Oddly enough, it had never crossed my mind to tell her and Robert about my interest in this part of the industry because it wasn’t part of my defined job responsibility. She was so receptive to my enthusiasm and it was a strong reminder to be in charge of my career path. I try to remember this when working with colleagues who are early in their career. It is so easy to forget what it is like when you are just trying to gain experience, extending an invitation or asking an opinion can be such a significant and appreciated gesture.

Dean Levin
High, Low and In Between (Five Part Red) 2015
Oil, cotton, and fiberglass reinforced plaster
Courtesy of the artist and Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York

Working for Sheri and Pamela was a great fit, in hindsight because the combination involved the commercial and non-profit arenas. Through Sheri I met some great collectors, one of whom I am still close with almost ten years later. I learned how to trust my own eye and saw how to put together a focused collection. It was a challenge to work for two companies concurrently because it’s almost impossible to divide your time 50/50, but the work I did with Pamela is clearly a precursor to my current role as the point of contact for museums and other art institutions.

My time at Luhring Augustine was particularly fruitful. It was the beginning of a strong time in my career and I stayed at the gallery for a little over seven years. When I first started I was given two artists, and as time went on that list grew and changed. Roland Augustine and Lawrence Luhring were wonderful bosses and gave me the confidence and space to figure out my sales approach. I never felt pressure to compromise my standards to close a deal and that was very empowering. I was particularly aware of how rare that was because around this point I started my own relationships and connections with collectors, curators, and my peers at other galleries and it was clear that others were working off a completely different model.

Melissa Gordon: Memetic Pleasures, 2014
BOESKY EAST, New York
Photo credit: Jason Wyche

IN THE NEXT LRFA BLOG, KRISTEN WILL INFORM US OF THE HISTORY AND CURRENT ACTIVITIES ATMARIANNE BOESKY. AS YOU CAN SEE, SHE HAS GIVEN A GREAT DEAL OF THOUGHT TO VARIOUS APPROACHES TO GALLERY MANAGEMENT AND TO THE SPECIFIC TALENTS THAT BEST SERVE A GALLERY AND THE ARTISTS IT REPRESENTS.

THE LRFA BLOG WELCOMES ALL COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS. PLEASE CONTRIBUTE!

Ryan Lee Gallery: exploring the breadth of contemporary art

ANNE-KARIN FURUNES
Crystal Images VIII (Archivo Fortuny, 1903)
2013
Painted and perforated canvas
130 x 141 3/4 inches

IN FEBRUARY 2015, UNIVERSAL TALENT AGENCY LAUNCHED UTA FINE ARTS, LED BY ART LAW ATTORNEY AND COLLECTOR JOSHUA ROTH, TO FOCUS ON REPRESENTING CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS, A ROLE THAT HAD BEEN AND, OF COURSE, STILL IS, THE PRIMARY PURPOSE AND FUNCTION OF AN ARTIST’S GALLERY. UTA FINE ARTS OFFERS VERY SOPHISTICATED SERVICES, NEGOTIATING INITIATIVES AND FUNDING OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE COMMISSIONS AND PROJECTS AND NAVIGATING NEW TERRAIN FOR THE VISUAL ARTIST SUCH AS ENTERTAINMENT AND MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES, NEW DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMS AND, ESSENTIALLY, CREATING THE ARTIST AS A BRAND. CERTAINLY WHILE IT IS ONLY A VIABLE VEHICLE FOR THE MOST FAMOUS AND SOUGHT AFTER HANDFUL OF ARTISTS IN THE CURRENT PLAYING FIELD, THE LAUNCH OF UTA FINE ARTS SYMBOLIZES THE VERY CLEAR RECOGNITION OF THE CULTURAL ROLE AND POTENTIAL PROFITS THE ART WORLD PRESENTS IN THE CURRENT CLIMATE FOR NEW MARKETS AND REVENUE STREAMS. IT IS PARTICULARLY TIMELY THAT TODAY’S LRFA BLOG EXPLORES THE LONG-TERM COMMITMENT THAT A GALLERY OF THE CALIBER AND DEDICATION OF RYAN LEE OFFERS BOTH EMERGING AND ESTABLISHED ARTISTS.

LET’S CONTINUE OUR DIALOGUE WITH KIM SCHMIDT, DIRECTOR OF SALES AT RYAN LEE GALLERY IN CHELSEA, A GALLERY THAT PIONEERS NEW PROJECTS AND EXHIBITIONS OF NEW ARTISTS AND SUPPORTS THE WORK OF ESTABLISHED ONES.  http://ryanleegallery.com/

MARIAM GHANI
Like Water from a Stone (Vigdel #4)
2014
Digital c-print
30 x 45 inches
Edition of 5

KIM, THE GALLERY HAS NOW ADDED FOUR NEW ARTISTS SUCH AS TIM BRADEN, ANN-KARIN FURUNES, MARIAM GHANI AND JOAN LOGUE. HOW WOULD YOU CHARACTERIZE THEIR WORK AND DO YOU FEEL THAT THERE IS AN AESTHETIC THREAD THAT LINKS THE WORK OF THE GALLERY ARTISTS WORKING IN SUCH A DIVERSITY OF MEDIUM?

Since its inception in 2013, RYAN LEE has exhibited works by pioneering contemporary artists. The addition of these artists to the gallery’s roster followed a recent expansion that doubled the gallery’s exhibition space and the launch of RLWindow, a dedicated exhibition space for single-channel video, installation, and performance that directly engages with the High Line. It also highlights the gallery’s commitment to creating an innovative and thought-provoking platform for contemporary art. Braden, Furunes, Ghani, and Logue are certainly different artists in practice, aesthetic, and media, and even where they are in their career. RYAN LEE is interested in featuring the breadth of contemporary art.

TIM BRADEN
Locomotive, 2015
Oil on panel
48 x 36 inches

THE GALLERY REPRESENTS A STRONG MIX OF ESTABLISHED ARTISTS AND EMERGING ONES. HOW WOULD YOU CHARACTERIZE THE ARTISTS IN THE GALLERY ROSTER? THERE IS CERTAINLY, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, A DIVERSITY OF MEDIUM, AESTHETICS AND CULTURAL BACKGROUNDS.  WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE CRITERIA FOR REPRESENTATION AND WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS IN TERMS OF SUPPORTING THE ARTISTS AS HEAD OF SALES?

There are no specific criteria for representation, although we take into account our individual sensibilities and what fits in with the existing program. We are constantly attending museum exhibitions, gallery shows, artist studios, client collections, etc. and receiving recommendations to check out particular artists. It’s a process that takes time as it’s very much a relationship. We take on artists with the understanding and hope that it’s long-term.

DO YOU FEEL THAT MUSEUM RECOGNITION IS CRUCIAL TO AN ARTIST’S CAREER? HOW SIGNIFICANT IS THE PLACEMENT OF WORKS IN PRIVATE COLLECTIONS THAT HAVE GAINED PUBLIC RECOGNITION.

It’s important that artists are recognized in museum collections and exhibitions because it’s a part of the larger conversation and documentation of art history. We are always working toward having our artists’ work included in important institution and private collections and exhibitions.

JOAN LOGUE
Jasper Johns
from the series 30 Second Portraits (Spots)
1979

A RECENT NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE FOCUSED ON THE NUMBER OF PRIVATE MUSEUMS THAT COLLECTORS HAVE ESTABLISHED, CERTAINLY BECAUSE OF TAX ADVANTAGES BUT ALSO, IN MY VIEW, TRULY BECAUSE THEY ARE IMPASSIONED AND RATHER OBSESSIVE COLLECTORS WITH AN ABUNDANCE OF WORK AND ENTHUSIASM TO SHARE THEIR COLLECTIONS WITH THE PUBLIC.  DO YOU FEEL THAT PLACEMENT IN THESE TYPES OF COLLECTIONS IS CRUCIAL TO ADVANCING AN ARTIST’S CAREER?

Any time an artist is able to exhibit his work to a broader audience, it’s a good thing. Many of these private collections, whether donated to an existing museum or to establish a new one, have excellent pieces and provide an important context for the work included. Some of the top museums in the world began as private collections: the Guggenheim, Neuberger, Phillips Collection, Frick Collection, Hammer Museum, Fondation Beyeler, all excellent collections with phenomenal curators at their helm. So the history of private collections cum museums is quite storied.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE EXHIBITIONS THAT WE CAN LOOK FORWARD TO VIEWING IN THE SEASON AHEAD?

Kakyoung Lee
Dance, Dance, Dance
2012
Installation view

Coming up will be new video animations by Kakyoung Lee that are based on these meticulous drypoints. She explores movement and action as it relates to family, particular for her as a daughter, mother and wife.

We will also show selections from Sandy Skoglund’s True Fiction Two. She revisited highly-stylized photographic work from 1986. Using digital techniques to play with color, depth, and form, the photographs looked to preserve the strangeness of urban decay as a backdrop for urban renewal in American culture during that time. It’s the first time the work has been on view in the US. In conjunction with the gallery show, Skoglund is also mounting her 1979 work, Hangers, for the first time in RLWindown, realizing it as a live performance piece. Every Saturday, there will be periodic performances in the space only viewable from the High Line.

ALEXANDER UGAY
Earth and Shape, 2013-2014
Single-channel video, color sound 16’47”

We are also participating in Asian Contemporary Art Week, with a curated project show by independent curator Leeza Ahmady. Alexander Ugay’s video collage “Earth & Shape,” a film that takes disparate architectural landscapes from different cities and merges them onto a single plane. It’s commenting on the ideas and economics of space and territory.

CONGRATS ON THE WONDERFUL NEW YORK TIMES REVIEW ON SANDY SKOGLUND’S SHOW ON SEPTEMBER 17th! http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/18/arts/design/institute-of-contemporary-art-miami-names-ellen-salpeter-as-director.html?_r=0

AND THANK YOU, KIM, FOR YOUR THOUGHTFUL AND INFORMATIVE CONTRIBUTION.

IN OUR NEXT LRFA BLOG, I AM PRIVILEGED TO SHARE AN ARTICLE BY AN EXPERT IN ART LAW, DIANA WIERBICKI, SENIOR PARTNER AT WITHERS BERGMAN AND GLOBAL HEAD OF THE ART LAW PRACTICE AT THE INTERNATIONAL FIRM. DIANA’S INSIGHT INTO THE LEGAL ASPECTS OF THE ART WORLD ARE BOTH KNOWLEDGEABLE AND ENTERTAINING AND I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR RESPONSE.

 

Entering the gallery world with Ryan Lee’s Director of Sales, Kim Schmidt

Rashaad Newsome
Untitled (New Way)
Video installation
RL Window
RYAN LEE GALLERY

CONTEMPORARY ART HAS BECOME THE MOST DYNAMIC AND VIBRANT FOCAL POINT OF THE GLOBAL ART MARKET, DEMANDING THAT GALLERISTS HAVE A BROAD-BASED KNOWLEDGE OF THE HISTORY OF MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY ART AS WELL AS EXPERTISE IN BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS, ART LAW, VALUATION AND CURATORIAL SKILLS. GALLERIES THAT SUPPORT THEIR ARTISTS AT HOME AND ABROAD REQUIRE A DEDICATED AND HARD-WORKING TEAM TO UNDERTAKE ALL OF THE DEMANDING RESPONSIBILITIES THAT INCLUDE MAINTAINING THE GALLERY’S EXHIBITION SCHEDULE, INSTALLATIONS OF COMPLICATED WORKS, PRESS RELEASES, SALES AND MARKETING AND ORGANIZING EXHIBITIONS FOR THEIR ARTISTS IN MUSEUMS, OUT-OF-STATE AND INTERNATIONAL GALLERIES. AT THE SAME TIME, GALLERISTS MUST CONTINUALLY NURTURE RELATIONSHIPS WITH COLLECTORS AND MUSEUM CURATORS, EXHIBIT AT AND ATTEND THE NUMEROUS ART FAIRS THAT CREATE INTERNATIONAL EXPOSURE FOR THEIR ARTISTS.

Mendi + Keith Obadike
Numbers Station (Furtive Movements)
September 10 – October 10, 2015

KIM SCHMIDT, DIRECTOR OF SALES AT RYAN LEE, A NEWLY EXPANDED GALLERY IN CHELSEA, NEW YORK, IS A SEASONED TRAVELER IN THIS WORLD, ACQUIRING MARKETING, CURATORIAL AND CLIENT SERVICES EXPERTISE TO SUPPORT HER GENUINE PASSION FOR CONTEMPORARY ART.   THE CURRENT TRIO OF EXHIBITIONS SPEAKS FOR THE DIVERSITY OF THE AESTHETIC AND MEDIUMS OF THE INTERNATIONAL  ROSTER OF ARTISTS, BOTH ESTABLISHED AND EMERGING, THAT THE GALLERY REPRESENTS. PAUL HENRY RAMIREZ, ORIGINALLY FROM TEXAS, WHOSE WORK IS CURRENTLY INCLUDED IN A MUSEUM TRAVELING SHOW “OUR AMERICA: THE LATINO PRESENCE IN AMERICAN ART”, CREATES BIOMORPHIC ABSTRACTIONS; THE RL PROJECT HOSTS AN INSTALLATION OF SOUND AND OBJECTS BY MENDI + KEITH OBADIKE AND IN THE RL WINDOW, VISIBLE FROM THE HIGHLINE, RASHAAD NEWSOME’S SILENT VIDEO FEATURES A DANCER WHOSE GESTURES ACT AS A DEVICE TO CREATE HYPNOTIC LINES, SHAPES AND FORMS.

 

Paul Henry Ramirez
Eccentric Stimuli
Installation View
September 10 – October 24, 2015

 

TODAY, THE LRFA BLOG IS VERY PLEASED TO CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION WITH KIM ABOUT THE PROFESSIONAL TRACK THAT HAS LED HER TO RYAN LEE GALLERY. http://ryanleegallery.com/

KIM, YOU JOINED MARLBOROUGH GALLERY IN 1996. AT THE TIME, WHAT WERE YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE GALLERY AND HOW DID THEY EVOLVE?

When I joined Marlborough, Crown Point had closed in New York.  I was hired for sales in the print department and to help grow the business.  It was a completely different world, with many new artists and lot’s of galleries around the globe, and possibilities. There was no dedicated press, so we worked with various ateliers and matched up projects with printers and published some wonderful editions with gallery as well as non gallery artists.   I was able to use the knowledge I had garnered in the medium of photogravure and work on publishing editions in that medium.  I loved it.

One of the things I am most proud of in my nearly 20 years there is the publishing projects that I did with Richard Estes in woodblock.  He had taken a nearly 20 year hiatus from print making, and we embarked on an incredible project and produced a number of editions that are just gems. We worked with Hidekatsu Takada on a number of them, he was a true master. It was a wonderful way to get to know Richard too, and we remain close friends today.

I started traveling extensively for Marlborough almost as soon as I arrived, and we began participating in many of the small museum fairs around the country. It was a great way to meet clients and promote our artists.  I still do many of those fairs today, and it remains a really enriching experience.  The museum relationships that have grown out of this have been tremendous, and I have wonderful friends and clients all over because of it.  People are so grateful when you go to them, visit their homes and collections, and help in all aspects of collecting. This is what I love the most in what I do – the relationships that evolve and develop with your artists and collectors.  And, everyone eventually comes to New York, and they seek you out and come to the gallery.

Donald Sultan
Installation View

I stayed with Marlborough for nearly 20 years, working also with painting and sculpture. It was very enriching, and my role there kept changing and growing. I came to know many of the artists so well, and developed deep friendships that I treasure. There was really never a dull moment, with something always happening, an exhibition always about to take place, a fair about to open, a client walking through the door. After so long I think change is really healthy, and joining Jeff and Mary was a very organic process. I had known them both for years, and they were growing and had a need. When they opened the new space last year on West 26^th street things just aligned, and I never looked back. It has been a great transition, and I love being part of Ryan Lee and Mary Ryan Gallery, and being in Chelsea. I had closely followed and respected their programming, and was impressed by the artists that they were working with.

Ryan Lee Gallery
Installation View

DO YOU HAVE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN PURSUING A CAREER IN THE ART BUSINESS?

My advice for almost anyone starting out in the art world would be to do an internship or more than one. There are so many areas that one can consider in the art world, and I think until you try you won’t know if the gallery world suits you.  It can be a very hands on experience, and I always believed in really mentoring my interns, if they were good, showed promise and wanted to work hard and learn.  Many of them went on to work with me and generally in the art world, and I am in touch with so many of them still today.

There are a lot of misconceptions about working in the gallery world – popular culture really portrays it as an industry where we all come in dresses and court clients over cocktails at art fairs.  While there is that, there is so much more that happens behind the scenes.   It is really hard work, long days especially during installations, fairs and openings.  You need stamina and a sense of humor. And working in a public space is definitely not for everyone.

Certainly anyone pursuing a career in the arts should consider interning to get a flavor of what it is all about.  The Museum world is so different from the gallery world, which is so different from the auction world, and the only way to really know is to try.

IN THE NEXT LRFA BLOG, WE WILL LEARN MORE ABOUT RYAN LEE GALLERY’S ARTISTS AND ACTIVITIES. I APPRECIATE ALL YOUR COMMENTS AND SUPPORT. KEEP READING!

Kim Schmidt, Director of Sales at Ryan Lee, introduces the gallery’s expansion

Kim Schmidt
Director
Ryan Lee Gallery, New York

RYAN LEE GALLERY WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2013 AS A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN MARY RYAN, A SEASONED GALLERIST AND PRINT EXPERT, AND JEFFREY LEE TO EXHIBIT AN INTERNATIONAL ROSTER OF BOTH ESTABLISHED AND EMERGING ARTISTS AND TO PROVIDE A PLATFORM FOR THE FIRST NEW YORK EXHIBITIONS OF THEIR WORK. RECENTLY RELOCATED TO A NEW SPACE IN CHELSEA AND DOUBLING ITS SIZE, RYAN LEE  HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADD A UNIQUE EXHIBITION SPACE, RL WINDOW, VISIBLE FROM THE HIGH LINE, THAT FEATURES VIDEO, INSTALLATION AND PERFORMANCE WORKS. THE GALLERY IS A WELL-DESIGNED AND MULTI-DIMENSIONAL VENUE, LOCATED AT 515 WEST 26th STREET, IN CHELSEA. http://ryanleegallery.com

 

RL Window
View from the High Line
Chelsea, New York

LAST YEAR, KIM SCHMIDT JOINED THEIR TEAM. KIM CONTRIBUTES HER EXTENSIVE EXHIBITION, ART FAIR AND GALLERY EXPERIENCE IN THE GALLERY WORLD AS DIRECTOR OF SALES. KIM, A COLLEAGUE AND FRIEND, WAS A FORMER DIRECTOR AT AND HEAD OF THE PRINT DEPARTMENT AT MARLBOROUGH GALLERY FOR NEARLY TWO DECADES.  I WAS DELIGHTED TO LEARN ABOUT HER MOVE, A BIG DECISION AFTER NEARLY 20 YEARS AT MARLBOROUGH, AND EQUALLY PLEASED THAT KIM AGREED TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE LRFA BLOG.

Ryan Lee Gallery
Installation view

KIM, WHAT INSPIRED YOUR ORIGINAL INTEREST IN ART?

I grew up in NYC and was always going to galleries and museums as a kid.  I loved it, and was passionate about art, museums, and especially photography.  My parents were very into the arts, and collected a bit…..and slowly over the years built a small collection. I loved witnessing that.  Much of that is now with me and my sisters, and a lot of it is really great by my obviously more discriminating standards of today!

I remember as a kid growing up in the city, hanging out at Rizzoli bookstore and browsing art books and learning about artists that I knew and that I didn’t.  My dad gave me books on Irving Penn – Worlds in a Small Room – and Cartier Bresson – The Decisive Moment – when I was young – I still have them. I think I knew then that I was going to get into the arts.  We built a darkroom at home, and I was sort of obsessed with photography.  I read and looked at everything I could, became patiently proficient in black and white printing, taking classes at ICP and continuing in high school and college, and with that came the deep love of photography that I still have today.

Donald Sultan
Installation View

HOW DID YOU DECIDE TO WORK IN THE GALLERY WORLD? WHAT IS YOUR EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND AND PROFESSIONAL HISTORY?

I spent my freshman and sophomore years of college in Europe, traveling and studying art history and architecture.  Then I went to Georgetown which had a small but strong Art History department, and free museums which I could not get over. I spent a lot of time on the mall.   During college, I returned home every summer and interned at galleries. I loved it!  I worked my butt off, and knew this is what I would do.

My last semester at Georgetown was spent doing my thesis and knowing I would come back to NY and work in a gallery.  The Art history background was wonderful, but it was being in the space, working with the clients, getting to know the artists and the relationships that I was building even then that was crucial.  It was a really easy transition for me, a very organic process graduating from school and starting work.   The practical experience was so valuable.

RICHARD DIEBENKORN
Green, 1986
etching, aquatint and drypoint in colors

MARLBOROUGH HAS ALWAYS HAD A VERY STRONG GRAPHICS DEPARTMENT, PUBLISHING EDITIONS OF BOTH GALLERY AND NON-GALLERY ARTISTS IN A DIVERSE RANGE OF MEDIUMS.  I ALWAYS ASSOCIATE THE MARY RYAN GALLERY AS WELL AS A STRONGHOLD  FOR BOTH POST-WAR AND CONTEMPORARY PRINTS BY AMERICAN CONTEMPORARY MASTERS WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED SO MUCH INNOVATION TO THE LANGUAGE OF PRINTMAKING SUCH AS JASPER JOHNS, RICHARD DIEBENKORN AND DAVID HOCKNEY AND GREAT 20th CENTURY BRITISH AND AMERICAN PRINTMAKERS SUCH AS STANLEY WILLIAM HAYTER AND BLANCHE LAZZELL.

Jasper Johns
JASPER JOHNS (B. 1930)
0 Through 9
lithograph, 1960
ULAE

DID YOU BRING A KNOWLEDGE OF PRINTMAKING TO YOUR JOB WHEN YOU JOINED MARLBOROUGH GALLERY?

Before joining Marlborough I was with Crown Point Press, a print publisher based in SF.  We had a wonderful 3,000 square foot space in Soho, and I was there at the height of a great print market.  I loved it, learned so much and got to work with some of the best: John Cage, Richard Diebenkorn, Thiebaud, Ruscha, Clemente, and at that point I started collecting on a small scale.  Kathan Brown, the owner of Crown Point was so supportive of this, and I still have most of the many wonderful things that I acquired during my years there. I still keep in touch with so many clients, colleagues and friends that I worked with then, many of whom are still collecting today.  Many of whom come to me today to sell and to buy as their tastes or finances change.   It was the perfect place to begin a career in the arts, and my love for prints continues to grow.

Ed Ruscha
Hourglass 1988
Aquatint and drypoint

IN THE NEXT LRFA POST, KIM WILL SHARE HER EXTENSIVE EXPERTISE ON PRINTMAKING AND ITS MARKET. KIM IS ENTHUSIASTIC AND KNOWLEDGEABLE. PLEASE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HER PRESENCE ON THE LRFA BLOG – WE WELCOME QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS.

THANKS FOR READING!