The LRFA blog welcomes Meg Malloy, partner at Sikkema Jenkins & Co. gallery

Meg Malloy
Partner
Sikkema Jenkins & Co.

SIKKEMA JENKINS & CO. ENJOYS A LONG AND RESPECTED HISTORY IN THE CONTEMPORARY ART WORLD FOR DISCOVERING EMERGING ARTISTS WHO GO ON TO GAIN GREAT CRITICAL AND COMMERCIAL SUCCESS AND SUPPORTING ESTABLISHED CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS WHOSE CAREERS THEY NURTURE. LOCATED AT 530 WEST 22nd STREET IN THE WEST CHELSEA ARTS DISTRICT IN NEW YORK CITY, THE GALLERY WAS FOUNDED IN 1991 BY BRENT SIKKEMA AS WOOSTER GARDENS. BRENT SIKKEMA BEGAN HIS GALLERY WORK IN 1971 AT THE DIRECTOR OF EXHIBITIONS AT THE VISUAL STUDIES WORKSHOP IN ROCHESTER, NEW YORK. HE OPENED HIS FIRST GALLERY IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, IN 1976. MICHAEL JENKINS, WHO HAD WORKED ON PROJECTS WITH THE GALLERY SINCE ITS OPENING IN 1991, JOINED AS DIRECTOR IN 1996, AND BECAME A PARTNER IN 2003.

Sikkema Jenkins Gallery
530 West 22nd Street
Chelsea, New York

SIKKEMA JENKINS & CO. WAS ORIGINALLY LOCATED ON WOOSTER STREET IN SoHo AND IN 1999 MOVED TO ITS PRESENT CHELSEA LOCATION SUBSEQUENTLY UNDERGOING EXTENSIVE RENOVATION AND EXPANSION.  THE GALLERY IS AN EXTREMELY INVITING ENVIRONMENT, WITH A DEDICATED AND ACCESSIBLE STAFF EAGER TO EDUCATE AS WELL AS TO PLACE WORKS.

MEG MALLOY, A PARTNER AT SIKKEMA JENKINS, IS THE PERFECT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE OPEN UNPRETENTIOUS SPIRIT OF THE GALLERY AND THE LRFA BLOG IS DELIGHTED TO WELCOME HER TODAY.

MEG, THANK YOU, IN THIS BUSY SEASON OF THE ART YEAR, FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO THE LRFA BLOG.

Vik Muniz: Surfaces
Current exhibition
Sikkema Jenkins & Co.

WHAT WERE YOUR EXPERIENCES GROWING UP THAT ENCOURAGED AN INTEREST IN ART?

I was born in Chicago and raised in Glencoe, a suburb north of the city. I am the oldest of six.   My mother had wanted to be an artist, and going to museums was a part of my childhood.  The Art Institute also had a great outreach program and before any school trip there, museum docents would come to school and educate us about what we might see.  My parents were involved in a local theater group and I took part in the youth version, always on the management side as a producer or v.p.-  never as a performer.    In high school and college, friends and I used to take the train to the city and to go the Art Institute.  We would just wander.  I was always struck by Georgia O’Keeffe’s Sky Above Clouds, which was installed at the top of a grand staircase at the museum: it seemed so majestic, and it motivated me to read her biography. I loved thinking about her work, and what sounded to me like an impossibly exciting life in art.

 

Georgia O’Keeffe
Sky Above Clouds

DID YOU PAINT OR HAVE AMBITIONS TO BECOME A PROFESSIONAL ARTIST?

 I never had any talent for art making, though  I enjoyed it.  I really thought I would go into publishing. I worked on the school newspapers in both junior high and high school.  One close friend did have parents who were collectors, and another had a mom who ran a gallery downtown.    

WHAT WAS YOUR ACADEMIC BACKGROUND, AND HOW DID IT LEAD YOU INTO THE ART WORLD?

 I went to The University of Illinois at Champaign Urbana and studied Comp Lit.  

My plan was to follow my favorite aunt’s career path in publishing.   Because comp lit is interdisciplinary, we often looked at visual art. My interest in its history was piqued, and I added art history classes to my course of study.  I was a resident advisor and had a number of artists on my floor  – I  loved visiting their studios and talking about what they  were doing.

Kara Walker
Turbine Commission Tate Modern

Then  I took a museum studies class and decided I should go into museum education.   With that goal in mind, I decided to go to grad school in art history, and ended up at UC Berkeley. There I had a job at the art museum bookstore, and then became the intern for Connie Lewallen, a wonderful curator and human being.   She ran the Matrix program, which focused on one contemporary artist at a time in a frequently changing exhibition program, always with an accompanying brochure.  I loved the variety and the engagement with the artists and their ideas.  It was compelling.  I also became the de facto house sitter for the curators — all of whom had great contemporary art and libraries, and I loved being immersed in those environments.

Erin Shirreff
San Francisco Museum of Art

SO MANY INFLUENCES LEADING YOU TO NEW YORK AND A CAREER IN THE ARTS. IN OUR NEXT LRFA BLOG, MEG WILL  DETAIL HER FIRST EXPERIENCES IN THE NEW YORK ART WORLD.

PLEASE JOIN US!

Amber Berger, the profile of a young collector

AMBER BERGER, CO-FOUNDER OF SALTHAUS, AND HER HUSBAND CAME TO NEW YORK TO ENJOY THE ENERGY AND OPPORTUNITY THAT THE CITY CAN OFFER. ONE OF ITS GREAT DELIGHTS IS THE WEALTH OF ART THAT IS AVAILABLE TO VIEW AND TO ENJOY, ON EVERY LEVEL, FROM MASTERPIECES IN OUR NUMEROUS MUSEUMS TO ART FAIRS AND STREET FAIRS, ESTABLISHED GALLERIES AND EMERGING ONES.  THE LRFA BLOG IS ALWAYS INTERESTED IN UNDERSTANDING WHAT AND WHY PEOPLE COLLECT AND AMBER HAS OFFERED TO SHARE HER PERSPECTIVE AND POINT OF VIEW IN TODAY’S LRFA BLOG.

AMBER, WELCOME BACK!

WHEN DID YOU FIRST DEVELOP AN INTEREST IN ART? DID YOU VISIT MUSEUMS AND/OR GALLERIES GROWING UP, WITH YOUR PARENTS? WERE THEY COLLECTORS?

My mother is a fine artist so art has been a big part of my life since I was young. I grew up biking with her around the neighborhood and watching her paint nature scenes. We always went to museums in our own city as well as any city we visited.  I loved learning about the different techniques and have always admired oil on canvas, the texture just speaks to me.

Daniel Dens

WHAT PROMPTED YOUR FIRST PURCHASE AND WHAT WAS IT?

My husband and I bought an apartment together before we got married which began our personal interest in art. Living in the NYC there are so many incredible galleries, museums and art fairs to attend that helped us get a sense of what style we liked. Walking on the city streets, street art was our first love.  My husband could not get this one artist out of his mind that he saw in Soho on the street years ago so when we were ready to purchase art for our apartment we tracked him down, named Daniel Dens, and went to his loft in Williamsburg. It was a memorable experience going through rolls of art in his studio until we found the perfect one. It was a blue painting of Bridget Bardot with bright yellow writing on top that said “Merci beau-coup, Ciao I’ll call you later.”

WHO ARE THE OTHER ARTISTS YOU COLLECT?

Craig Allen, Julien Vos Andres, Jonas Sunset, Jonathan Robles, Curtis Kulig, Tanc, Bob Taber, Ole Aakjaer

Craig Allen

HOW IMPORTANT IS THE POTENTIAL INVESTMENT VALUE OF A WORK TO YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND?

We mainly go with our intuition, interested in pieces that move us and evoke a sense of emotion. Of course, we check with friends who are our advisors to make sure we are not making a poor investment but as young collectors we are not as concerned about the potential investment if it made us feel something.

HOW WOULD YOU CHARACTERIZE THE STYLE OR GENRE OF WORK THAT YOU HAVE ACQUIRED SO FAR AND WHAT DIRECTION ARE YOUR PURCHASES TAKING?

We love emerging artists usually in modern art and landscape photography. We have been into street art since the beginning and it has been amazing to watch how much that market has exploded over the last 10+ years.

Tanc

DO YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND AGREE ON YOUR PURCHASES? DO YOU NEED TO OR IS IT COLLECTING DRIVEN BY ONE OF YOU MORE THAN ANOTHER?

My husband and I luckily have very similar tastes so it has not been an issue to date. He actually has a great eye for art and we bounce ideas off each other all the time. We never set out to purchase art, it usually just happens when we come across a piece we want to bring into our home.

HOW DO YOU FEEL THAT YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND LOVE OF THE CRAFT OF JEWELRY HAS INFLUENCED YOUR TASTE IN ART?

Both industries involve craftsmanship so I truly treasure the fine details and understand that even when something may appear easy and simple, it is usually just the opposite.

WHO ARE SOME OF THE ESTABLISHED ARTISTS THAT YOU PARTICULARLY ADMIRE AND WISH YOU COULD COLLECT?

I love color so Jackson Pollack always brightens my day and butterflies are symbolic for my family so I have a natural soft spot for Damien Hirst. As for more recent artist I have been watching RETNA for years and still kick myself for not purchasing it years ago when he first came on the scene.

Curtis Kulig

DO YOU INTEND TO CONCENTRATE ON EMERGING ARTISTS AND HAVE THE FUN OF SEEING WHICH OF THE ARTISTS YOU’VE PICKED BECOME ESTABLISHED?

Yes I think that is my passion. We love watching people rise into stars so tracking the artists we have purchased or admire and watching where they land is a thrill.

THE THRILL OF THE CHASE AND OF THE HUNT AND THE REWARD OF HAVING A GOOD EYE ARE INTEGRAL TO THE HEART AND MIND OF EVERY COLLECTOR WITH WHOM I SPEAK. IT IS GREAT THAT YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND HAVE THIS SHARED PASSION AND CAN EXPLORE THE ART MARKET, GALLERIES AND MUSEUMS BOTH HERE IN NEW YORK AND WHEN YOU TRAVEL.

IN OUR NEXT LRFA BLOG POST, THE LRFA BLOG WILL FEATURE SALTHAUS, THE REMARKABLE HALOTHERAPY CENTER THAT AMBER FOUNDED JUST OVER A YEAR AGO. IT IS AN OASIS OF WELL-BEING AND THOUGHTFULLY DESIGNED, IMPECCABLY DETAILED AND AN UNEXPECTEDLY WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE. I WENT WHEN IT OPENED JUST AS A SIGN OF SUPPORT AND I WAS ASTONISHED AT HOW EFFECTIVE IT IS AND HOW RELAXING AND SEDUCTIVE AN EXPERIENCE!

https://www.salthausny.com/

UNTIL THEN!

 

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 contemporary art scene with curatorial expert, Jessica Hodin

FEELING HUMAN
Installation, Bleecker Street Arts Club
Co-curated by Jessica Hodin and Adam Mignanelli
Courtesy, Bleecker Street Arts Club

THE BLEECKER STREET ARTS CLUB IS AN INNOVATIVE  GALLERY SPACE AND EXHIBITION PLATFORM FOR BOTH EMERGING AND ESTABLISHED ARTISTS. FOUNDED BY STEPHEN WERTHER AND DANIEL BENEDICT, BSAC SUPPORTS A CREATIVE COMMUNITY OF ARTISTS, ART COLLECTORS AND DEVOTEES BY OFFERING AN EXCITING AND ORIGINAL PROGRAM OF EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS IN A RELAXED, SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT.  HOUSED IN A LANDMARK BUILDING AT 305 BLEECKER STREET, NEAR WASHINGTON SQUARE IN NEW YORK,  THE EXHIBITIONS ARE PRESENTED IN AN INFORMAL SETTING WITH INVITING PLACES TO SIT AND CHAT AND SPEND TIME WITH THE ARTWORK. THE BUILDING, FLOODED WITH NATURAL LIGHT, IS ART DECO IN STYLE AND OFFERS ITS AUDIENCE TWO FLOORS OF EXHIBITION SPACE AND A PRIVATE ROOF TERRACE.  IT IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE IN THE THINKING OF ART CURATORS AND DEALERS WHO ARE INSIGHTFUL ABOUT FRESH WORK BY THE BEST NEW ARTISTS IN THE CONTEMPORARY ART WORLD AND KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE WORK OF ESTABLISHED  ARTISTS WHO INFLUENCED THEM.

IT IS NO SURPRISE TO ME THAT JESSICA HODIN, CURRENTLY MANAGER OF THE CROWDFUNDING INITIATIVE FOR ART BASEL, HAS ORGANIZED SOME STELLAR GROUP EXHIBITIONS AT THE BLEECKER STREET ART CLUB AND WAS ITS MANAGER AND CHIEF CURATOR.

http://bsacny.com/

JESSICA, WELCOME BACK TO THE LRFA BLOG. AS WELL AS ADVISING ART BASEL’S CROWDFUNDING, YOU WORK ON CURATORIAL PROJECTS. ONE EXHIBITION YOU CURATED I FOUND COMPELLING WAS ENTITLED Meet Your Maker IN WHICH YOU INTRODUCED THE WORK OF FIVE ARTISTS WHOSE INSPIRATION STEMS FROM POP CULTURE, COMIC BOOK REFERENCES AND THE LEGACY OF MODERN PAINTING.

Devin Troy Strother
Courtesy Bleecker Street Arts Club

WHO ARE SOME OF THE ARTISTS YOU SUPPORTED AND EXHIBITED AS DIRECTOR OF THE BLEECKER STREET ARTS CLUB?

As Director of the Bleecker Street Arts Club I tried to strike a balance between showing established and emerging artists, keeping in mind that the best way to promote emerging artists is to show them alongside a program of established ones. For example showing Joyce Pensato alongside Todd James and then newcomer Devin Troy Strother. At the beginning of their careers I showed Matt Mignanelli, Violet Dennison, and Dean Levin. Mid-career artists included Ryan Wallace and Agathe Snow. And I was very lucky to have been able to include works from Paul McCarthy and John Chamberlain in a group sculpture show.

 

HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY THE WORK OF EMERGING ARTISTS AS ONES THAT HAVE STAYING POWER AND MAKE A UNIQUE CONTRIBUTION TO THE CONTEMPORARY ART MARKET?

I think the artist has to have a perspective that is clear in their work. Doesn’t matter what that perspective is, but the work needs to be coming from a conceptual place, and not just an aesthetic one. Once you have that as the groundwork for an artistic practice, the rest is entirely subjective and there’s no telling who or how many people will like it.

Joyce Pensato
“Whose Eyes”, 2007
Enamel on paper
29 x 23 inches
Courtesy Petzel Gallery

HOW DO YOU DETERMINE THE PRICE STRUCTURE FOR YOUNGER ARTISTS WHO MAY NOT HAVE GALLERY REPRESENTATION AS YET AND NO SECONDARY MARKET TRACK RECORD?

Well to be fair, I’ve never exactly been in a position to do this. Most of the artists that I showed at BSAC had prior sales upon which to base their pricing or had gallery representation that determined their prices.

If an artist is introducing their work into the market it is important to keep the prices low in order to move the pieces into collectors’ hands, but the most important thing to consider is placing the work in the RIGHT hands. We all know that the prices for contemporary art in the market these days are somewhat ridiculous but as a young artist you have to be able to resist the temptation to take advantage of that. I think that the key is using relevant market comps to find the humble balance between offering up your art as a “luxury” good and devaluing it by basically giving it away.

Mira Dancy
“Psychic INvite”, 2014
Acrylic and ink on canvas
69 x 66 inches
Courtesy Bleecker Street Arts Club

WHO ARE SOME OF THE ARTISTS THAT ARE PARTICULARLY EXCITING?

Too many to even name! Right now I’m really into the work of Haroon Mirza, Anna Betbeze, Jonas Lund, Petra Cortright, Joseph Hart, Mira Dancy, Sean Raspet, Devin Troy Strother, Letha Wilson, Adriana Minoliti, Jon Raffman, Elaine Cameron-Weird, and Alex Chitty.

IN OUR NEXT POST, IN ANTICIPATION OF MIAMI ART BASEL, JESSICA WILL INFORM US OF THE UNIQUE AND STELLAR SUPPORT THAT THE ART BASEL CROWDFUNDING INITIATIVE AND KICKSTARTER HAVE ESTABLISHED. THE INITIATIVE CELEBRATED ITS ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY AND ALREADY SUPPORTS 25 NON-PROFIT ART PROJECTS.

YOUR PARTICIPATION IS WELCOME – LEARN ABOUT THE ABCI AND ASK ANY QUESTIONS THAT WILL INSPIRE YOU TO SUPPORT THIS VERY WORTHY ENDEAVOR.

UNTIL THEN…THANKS FOR READING!