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!

The art of Installation Art at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery

Tomas Saraceno
Installation View

INSTALLATION ART IS SITE-SPECIFIC, A  THREE-DIMENSIONAL WORK SIGNIFICANT IN SCALE THAT TRANSFORMS OUR PERCEPTION OF A SPACE. THE TERM GAINED CURRENCY IN THE 1960s TO DESCRIBE AN ARTIST’S METAMORPHOSIS OF AN INTERIOR, OFTEN FOR A TEMPORARY PERIOD OF TIME, CHARACTERIZED BY THE ARTWORK’S PHYSICAL DOMINATION OF THE ENTIRE SPACE. INSTALLATION ART  INVITES THE SPECTATOR TO LITERALLY ENTER INTO THE  WORK OF ART, OFTEN ENGAGING NOT ONLY THE VIEWER’S SENSE OF SIGHT BUT OFTEN HEARING AND SMELL.

ONE OF THE EARLIEST INSTALLATIONS WAS YVES KLEIN’S THE VOID IN PARIS AT GALERIE IRIS CLERT,  A 1958 PRESENTATION, RADICAL FOR ITS TIME, OF AN EMPTY WHITE INTERIOR IN A COMMERCIAL GALLERY. ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CONCEPTUAL SPECTRUM, A YEAR LATER THE SAME GALLERY WAS TRANSFORMED BY ARMAN’S FULLNESS, WHEN THE ARTIST CRAMMED THE SPACE WITH RUBBISH SO THAT THE WORK COULD ONLY BE VIEWED THROUGH THE STOREFRONT WINDOW. 

 

IN NEW YORK, EARLY INSTALLATIONS INCLUDE JIM DINE’S THE HOUSE AND OLDENBURG’S THE STREET. IN APRIL, 1966, AT LEO CASTELLI GALLERY, ANDY WARHOL CREATED TWO SEPARATE INSTALLATIONS: A ROOM FILLED WITH SILVER HELIUM PILLOWS, SILVER CLOUDS, ANOTHER COVERED WITH HIS COW WALLPAPER, BOTH CHALLENGING OUR PRECONCEPTIONS OF THE NATURE OF ART AND APPROPRIATE MATERIALS.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65obeVlgD9E

 

SINCE ITS INCEPTION, TANYA BONAKDAR GALLERY HAS DEMONSTRATED AN IMPRESSIVE COMMITMENT TO THE CHALLENGES OF CONTEMPORARY ART AND THE GALLERY ARTISTS IT REPRESENTS WITH ITS DEDICATION TO EXHIBITING AND PLACING SITE-SPECIFIC INSTALLATION WORKS IN PRIVATE COLLECTIONS AND MUSEUMS. THE GALLERY, LOCATED IN THE HEART OF CHELSEA AT 521 WEST 21st STREET,  PROVIDES ARTISTS WITH THE TRUE MEANING OF ARTISTIC LICENSE BY SUPPORTING THEIR NON-COMMERCIAL PROJECTS THAT EXPAND THE POSSIBILITIES OF SCALE AND SCOPE. http://www.tanyabonakdargallery.com/

IN TODAY’S LRFA BLOG,  RENEE COPPOLA, GALLERY DIRECTOR, WILL DOCUMENT SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS IN THE TWENTY YEAR HISTORY OF THE GALLERY EXHIBITIONS.

Charles Long
Untitled
2010
aqua-resin fiberglass and latex paint over steel with found objects
51 x 51 x 32 inches; 129.5 x 129.5 x 81.3 cm
DETAIL

TANYA BONAKDAR OPENED THE GALLERY IN 1994 ON PRINCE STREET IN SOHO. WHO WERE THE ARTISTS THAT MADE UP THE OPENING ROSTER OF THE GALLERY? HOW DID TANYA BECOME INTERESTED AND INVOLVED IN THEIR WORK AND WHAT PROMPTED HER TO OPEN A GALLERY?

Many of the artists who were showing at the gallery in the early years have enjoyed a long, productive relationship with Tanya and the gallery. Uta Barth, Charles Long, Olafur Eliasson, Mat Collishaw, and Ernesto Neto are just some of the artists who were shown in Soho during the 1990s and still exhibit with us today. Tanya is very interested in showing international artists, as they provide a great range of perspectives and different ways of seeing the world.  She has been consistent in this respect, and the gallery’s roster of artists represents a very diverse group.

Olafur ELIASSON
Your now is my surroundings
2000
Skylight, mirror, concrete tiles, drain pipe, drywall, insulation
Installation, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, 2000

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF PAST EXHIBITIONS THAT HAVE DRAWN THE GREATEST CRITICAL, MUSEUM AND COLLECTOR RECOGNITION?

So many exhibitions have been well-received by the public and press.  Sarah Sze’s first show at the gallery in 2010 was incredibly popular and led directly to her Venice Bienniale nomination and ultimate commission.  Olafur Eliasson’s show at the gallery in 2000 won the Art Critics of America Award for Best Gallery Show of the Year.  More recently, Ernesto Neto’s exhibition of interactive, crocheted sculptures in 2012 generated great interest from curators, and from there Neto was invited to present a major solo exhibition at the Guggenheim Bilbao.  So it is true that the gallery shows have historically been a catalyst for many major exhibitions.

ERNESTO NETO
SLOW IIS GOOOD
Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York
14 APRIL – 25 MAY 2012

THE GALLERY ROSTER IS EXTREMELY DIVERSE REPRESENTING MORE THAN THIRTY ARTISTS AND COMMITTED TO SHOWING WORK IN A LARGE DIVERSITY OF MEDIA. I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN IMPRESSED BY THE SUPPORT THE GALLERY SHOWS TO ITS ARTISTS IN EXHIBITING WORKS THAT ARE DEMANDING IN TERMS OF INSTALLATION AND PLACEMENT. WHO ARE SOME OF THE ARTISTS THAT FOCUS ON INSTALLATION? WHAT IS THE MARKET FOR THESE WORKS?

Our last exhibition (January 8 – February 14, 2015) is work by Susan Philipsz, an artist best known for often very large-scale indoor and outdoor audio installations.  For our show, Susan will present an immersive, 24-channel sound installation, inspired by 1930s émigré artists, Hollywood film scores, and McCarthy-era censorship.  (This piece was originally shown in the large Hamburger Bahnhof space in Berlin.)  Although on the surface the work seems immense – requiring the space of an entire room and somewhat specialized audio equipment, there is actually great versatility to her pieces that I believe make them quite easy and adaptable and suited for many different types of spaces.  However, it is true that there are many works of art that are large-scale and require much more space than your average painting or domestically-scaled sculpture.  These installations are certainly well-suited for museums and institutions, yet there are also some very passionate and committed collectors who don’t mind devoting a room in their home or office to a major work!

THE GALLERY MOVED TO ITS CURRENT LOCATION AT 521 WEST 21^ST IN 1998. IT WAS AMONG THE FIRST TO EXODUS SOHO AND DEFINE CHELSEA AS THE DOMINANT GALLERY AREA IN NEW YORK. WHAT DID THE NEW SPACE ALLOW THAT THE ORIGINAL SOHO SPACE COULD NOT?

Our move coincided with a period of tremendous growth for the gallery, and Chelsea offered the gallery a possibility to continue with this trajectory of expansion.

OLAFUR ELIASSON
Your engagement sequence
Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York
28 APRIL – 27 MAY 2006

IN 2006, THE GALLERY EXPANDED EVEN FURTHER, ACQUIRING 5000 SQUARE FEET OF STREET LEVEL SPACE. THIS DOUBLED THE SIZE AND CERTAINLY ENHANCED THE GALLERY EXHIBITION CAPABILITIES AND ITS PROGRAMMING. SPECIFICALLY, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE EXHIBITIONS THAT THIS NEW EXPANDED SPACE MADE POSSIBLE?

The first exhibition in the new downstairs space was Olafur Eliasson’s Your Engagement Sequence and really represented how the renovation allowed for new opportunities in regard to the program.  For example, that artwork used light within a totally darkened room, which the artist viewed as an opportunity to explore what he calls the “fifth dimension” of an individualized perspective of the dimensions in space. The enhanced size of the gallery helped make the work even more successful.

IN OUR NEXT LRFA BLOG, RENEE WILL DISCUSS FUTURE EXHIBITIONS WE CAN ANTICIPATE AS WELL AS  A RECENT ADDITION TO THE GALLERY PROGRAMMING -E/I DISCUSSIONS- AN EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIVE YEAR LONG SERIES OF SATURDAY TALKS.

I APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS AND, MOST OF ALL, YOUR READERSHIP!