An Interview with New Hampshire's Pillar Gallery

Small, independent galleries that focus on local artists are a hugely important element of our creative ecosystem. In Concord, New Hampshire, PILLAR Gallery is filling an important need by curating contemporary art and putting on compelling shows. This artist-run exhibition space is a younger venue, but one that is contributing a great deal to the region already. To get a sense for the gallery, you can explore a 3D tour of their very first exhibition by clicking here. I had a great conversation with co-founders Mike Howat and Fallon Rae about the work PILLAR is doing and what is next for this space, which you can find below.

Can you share an overview of the philosophy behind PILLAR Gallery + Projects?

PILLAR is an exhibition space in Concord, NH. We work with emerging and mid-career artists to curate thematic group exhibitions that pull from the diversity of current artmaking in the Northeast and beyond.  With a maximalist approach to curation, we believe in exhibiting and celebrating a wide range of materials, studio processes, experimental approaches, cultural backgrounds, and artistic voices. Centered around defined curatorial themes, we work to make our exhibitions reflect the current landscape of artmaking and make contemporary art accessible.

PILLAR hopes to be just that, a pillar in the community, where we make ourselves a bridge for artists, collectors, and viewers at any stage of their journey to enjoy a third space where we hope to bring in unique shows. From our free events such as our openings or Drink + Draws to collaborating with State Street Kitchen, our neighbors next door, to have classes and Friday Night Dinner Pick-ups we try to make the space as open as possible. 

Ceramic by Boyan Moscov and monotypes by Rachel Burgess in the exhibition As the Light Wanes at PILLAR in 2024.

What does it mean to you as two artists to run a gallery space and share the work of your peers? How does that inform your practice?

We believe that the way we curate changes our practice because of our methods of finding the work we show in our space. From our visits to artist’s studios where we explore their hidden archives or traveling to New York City to be a safe insured vessel for artwork to make its way to the gallery and avoid the hassle and risk of shipping delicate work. Some of those artists include Kevin Xquies, Sung Won Yun, and Melody Boone who we were so thankful to showcase their pieces and help facilitate delivering work to other galleries in the area. 

This travel gives us inspiration and ideas that energy back to our practices. Howat is an urban landscape painter so this travel has been the subject of paintings. While Rae is interested in digging through artist’s spaces and their techniques.

How does the cultural landscape in New Hampshire compare to other cities or regions? Strengths and weaknesses?

New Hampshire presents a unique environment for creatives, though it lacks a central "hub" for the arts. Many galleries focus on landscape art, but we aim to bring in diverse work that encourages people to visit from near and far. Our most recent show drew attendees from Philadelphia, Texas, and Upstate New York, demonstrating that interest is growing for contemporary shows that reflect on current issues to gather people for observation and conversation. 

An installation shot from NANO, PILLAR’s answer to the popular tradition of small works shows.

What are your goals for your winter open call?

Our goal for the winter open call was to showcase a broad spectrum of work from artists in the region and beyond, offering a platform for over 60 artists and more than 100 pieces of art in our 200 sq. ft. gallery space. We also aimed to connect buyers with emerging artists and foster new relationships in the community.

We are hopeful our summer open call “The Print Shop” will be another opportunity for artists to share their work with us. We will also be collaborating with Kimball Jenkins, a local art school and exhibition space, to have classes in their print studio and a coinciding exhibition. 

How can artists best position themselves to share work in a space like yours?

We have an Artist Residency open call and “Artist Of The Month” will be opening up more opportunities for artists to share their work with the public. We also will be running our 2nd Sound & Color Festival in October and having opportunities locally for murals. 

What are the most important things you’ve learned so far in having this space?

The most important thing we have learned running PILLAR is probably being a trustworthy place for artists to share their work.

What is a success or accomplishment that you are most proud of so far?

There are so many things within our first year we have accomplished a considerable amount of success within our 200 sq ft and community. 8 Exhibitions at PILLAR working with over 125 artists in the space including an Artist Residency with Tracy Hayes that coincided with the Sound & Color + Kimball Jenkins Sculpture Garden. Being published in Artscope, Art New England, Concord Monitor, Hippo Magazine, and more. We also are so proud to receive  “Best Of NH” Award for Best Group Exhibitions.

A sculpture installation in downtown Concord, NH, facilitated by PILLAR. The show featured work by Damion Silver, Ryan Swedenborg, and Adam Pearson.

There are many challenges facing small and mid-sized galleries. What are some that you wish more people understood?

We truly appreciate the gratitude and kind words, but we also want to share that our time and effort are stretched across many responsibilities. While we’re dedicated to this cause, it's important to remember that this is not our full-time job, and we are balancing it alongside the demands of everyday life. In times like these, any on-the-ground help, donations, or empathy would be incredibly meaningful and appreciated. One of my favorite quotes from another local gallery owner is “We do not need more idea people, we need more boots on the ground people to do the work” 

Also, rejecting others is so difficult, but the more galleries stick to their guns on their creative vision the more people will be interested in seeing what they are showing and why it is important to the curators. The more we respect curation as an art form itself the better artists, viewers, and collectors will appreciate the conversation. 

What do you see as the future of small galleries like your own?

There have been an explosion of small galleries that come and go, but we would like to see more comradery and a more unified version or collaboration. Working together to be the best is how we can be the most successful. 

What’s next for PILLAR Gallery + Projects?

We are hopeful to have more exhibitions. Our next exhibition “Currents” will be open Feb. 9- Apr 4, 2025 with our opening reception Feb. 23 2-5 PM. We also are having an open call for our Artist Residency due Feb 15th and another collaboration with the New Hampshire Potter’s Guild for our Mother’s Day Mug & Flower Vase Show happening May 16,17, and 18. We are also having a Print Open Call releasing next month for our Summer Open Call.

PILLAR Gallery + Projects is located at 205 N. State Street in Concord, New Hampshire. Learn more about the gallery at www.pillargalleryprojects.com, or follow them on Instagram at @pillar_galleryprojects.

What Has Your Gallery Done For You Lately?

One of the questions I hear most frequently from artists is “how do I get my work  into a commercial gallery?” For most artists who operate primarily within a local and regional marketplace, this is a complicated question. Even in a culturally rich region such as the Northeast, the ratio of commercial galleries and art dealers to artists is deeply uneven with artists outnumbering venues enormously. Although many artists state their interest in breaking into the commercial gallery market, I rarely receive questions about what comes next. Namely, how to maintain a relationship with a gallery and examine its worth to an artist’s practice and business.

Because artists are so interested in being represented professionally, and because these resources are so scarce, artists tend to accept just about anything from their local gallerist. Commercial galleries are for profit businesses in which a gallerist makes their living representing the work of a select “stable” of artists. Particularly in these venues, certainly more so than non-profit arts collaborative, associations, or other membership-based organizations, commercial gallerists have a special responsibility to serve the artists they represent in a variety of areas.

In this post I will examine a few key areas where artists should be particularly critical of their gallery’s performance.

Reputation

Your gallery should have a good reputation. While its not always easy to discern a gallery’s standing in the community, it is simple to explore how a gallery interacts with other organizations, artists, and with the broader public. You can assess a gallery’s reputation by asking artists, collectors, and other galleries who have worked with them who they are and what they’re about. If a gallery has a reputation for being slow to pay their artists, or unethical, or disorganized, there may be some truth behind it. Ultimately, the gallery’s reputation will also become your reputation if you align your brand with theirs.

Mentorship
Your gallery should provide mentorship about your work. The gallerist should encourage your best work and discourage your weak material. How can a gallerist do this? A quality gallery professional will have the education, experience, and connoisseurship necessary to help you improve your work. For this reason its important to truly examine the qualifications of dealer or gallerist you’ll be working with when considering any gallery. Whether you like it or not, your gallerist should take a critical view of your work and thereby help you to grow, evolve, and improve both as an artist and as an art businessperson.

Marketing

Your gallery should be marketing your work specifically in addition to promotions for shows in which your work is included, or for the gallery itself. A good gallery relationship should not only include space on the wall but also an increased knowledge of your work in the marketplace. If your gallery has a poor website, a small following on social media, a weak mailing list, or rarely mentions your work publicly then it may be time to rethink the relationship. The gallery should be sharing your work with their audience, and you should tell your followers about your relationship with them.

Sales

Your gallery should be selling your work. And they should aid you in holding the line on your prices. A quality gallerist will help their artists find a price point for their work that validates the effort and materials involved but also reflects the realities of the marketplace. Again, a good gallerist should have the experience necessary to this task. They should be able to help artists set a reasonable price for their work and maintain it. As an artist, you too should be aware of the marketplace for work like yours in your area and be honest about its salability.

Collectors

Your gallery should connect your work with collectors of all varieties, not only frequent collectors (who are few and far between at the regional level), but also with first time art buyers and other customers who are seeking simply to buy work for their home or office. A few top tier regional galleries will be able to place work in permanent collections within corporate or institutional settings, but these opportunities are rare and the competition is fierce.

Networking

Your gallery should provide opportunities for you to meet their audience at events as well as through studio visits or other means. There should also be opportunities to connect with your fellow artists and members of your local art community. A professional gallery should be connected to the key individuals in the arts nearby, as well as have a broad array of fans and followers who regularly attend their openings, programs, and other events.

In addition to these topics, there are probably too many other considerations to mention in this short post, but there are a few key issues to consider. The first is that there are no strict qualifications for owning and operating a commercial art gallery and the talent pool in smaller commercial galleries is quite variable. If a gallerist has no educational background in the visual arts, few connections within the art community, or seems to own a gallery mostly for their own enjoyment, a question might be raised about their suitability to handle your work professionally and effectively.

Another issue is that often, smaller galleries focus on a few key artists at the expense of their broader stable. If your work is never on view and it’s hard to get your gallerist’s attention, you should examine the real value of the relationship honestly. It is also important to remember that you must always be assessing the quality of your gallery, their services, and their effectiveness. If things aren’t going well, you should have a conversation with your gallery professional. Communication is key to developing healthy and mutually beneficial relationships.

With all of the above considerations in mind, it is also important to remember that the pressures on small local and regional commercial galleries have never been greater. Between skyrocketing rents, and the many costs involved in operating a brick and mortar business of any kind, the profit margins can be razor thin or non-existent. Considering your gallery’s position will help you to put yourself in their shoes.

Ultimately, no small gallery can completely shape the market for an artist’s work and it is extremely important that artists take responsibility for their own professionalism and maintain their own art business vigilantly. Doing this will give you the wherewithal to thrive in the market even in spite of the sometimes precarious position of small local and regional galleries.