Review: Douglas Breault at Carole Calo Gallery

Photography, grief, and memory are linked. Joan Didion, in her autobiographical chronicle The Year of Magical Thinking shares the advice that in order to get over the death of a family member one must “let them become the photograph on the table”. For photographer and mixed media artist Douglas Breault, his art practice often centers on the elegiac, and beyond that on the mournful quality of memory that can embed itself in the photographic image. A solo exhibition of Breault’s photo-based work at Stonehill College’s Carole Calo Gallery allows viewers to experience the artist’s immersive use of photography to probe these potent themes in ways that are beautiful and deeply affecting.

Breault’s exhibition, evocatively titled who decides where a roof ends, includes straightforward photographs exhibited alongside works that blur the bounds of photography, sculpture, and assemblage. In addition to photographs, Breault employs found objects: a whistle, a pane of glass, a clamp, a block of wood with a nail jutting out. The sum of all these parts is a collection that probes ideas of home, memory, grief, and the ways in which vision and remembrance are shaped.

One of the through lines in Breault’s work is light, both in specific forms - like a lamp or a flame - and the general light which acts as the foundational tool in all photography. The lights in Breault’s work feel like demarcation points but also hint at the ephemeral nature of all things. Times change, passages occur, lights are snuffed out. Much of Breault’s art is connected to his own experience of familial grief and the expressive and poetic elements of his visual work have a magnetic quality for others with similar experiences.

Breault describes his exploration of loss in his statement by saying, “My curiosity questions the limitations of a photograph to accurately depict a life, contemplating how an image can be unfolded or obscured to describe a person or place that is paradoxically missing.”

Breault is one of the most promising photographic practitioners in the Northeast. In addition to his work as an artist, he is also the Exhibitions Director at Gallery 263 in Cambridge and has also taught art at area colleges, including at Bridgewater State University, Babson College, Holyoke Community College, and the Rhode Island School of Design. He earned his BA from Bridgewater State and his MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University. I previously interviewed Doug for my Fine Art Insights podcast, and he also exhibited work in the exhibition Housewarming at my Project Space in Providence.

For emerging artists studying art at Stonehill, and for those who are able to visit Breault’s show at the Carole Calo Gallery, his work offers an exciting alternative to the staid and static interpretations that photographers regularly present. In a world full of images, often consumed through cold screens as social media content, the engaging and inventive way in which Breault manipulates photography to make it real and present merits recognition. His photographs go beyond the expected and break out of the frame to become something entirely new.

Breault’s solo exhibition at Stonehill College is one of the best shows to see right now in New England and offers a chance to fundamentally change the way viewers read photography.

Douglas Breault’s exhibition, who decides where a roof ends, continues through January 26, 2024 in the Carole Calo Gallery at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts. Learn more about Breault’s work at his website www.douglasbreault.com, or follow his studio work on Instagram at @dug_bro. Click on the images below for expanded installation views.

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Cooperative Galleries and the Future of Local Art

The market for fine art is ever-evolving and while most news about the gallery field focuses on blue chip outposts in major cosmopolitan centers the vast majority of working artists operate within their own regional communities dotted around the United States. The average artist will never see their work acquired by a museum, will not receive an institutional retrospective, and likely will struggle to find robust gallery representation. At the same time, the demands on retail gallery owners in smaller cities are constantly increasing. Rents, and the other myriad expenses associated with small business, are ever on the rise, while the pool of individuals interested in buying art remains relatively static. Looking towards the future for artists with regional scopes, one bright spot might be artist-run cooperatives that bring together makers around the idea of shared benefits.

Many communities around the country are home to long standing cooperative galleries. In the northeast, a number of these organizations count their longevity by the decade. The ways in which artists’ cooperative galleries operate can vary wildly, but the core tenants usually fall somewhere along the lines of a group of artists joining together to pay rent on a storefront where they all can show their work. Often, each participating artist is granted a section of the space where they can continually share a rotating body of artworks. Sometimes, the exhibition opportunities cycle between active members. Typically, each member of a cooperative is expected or obligated to donate several hours a month to monitor the gallery and greet guests, while in return the gallery takes a smaller than usual commission when works sell. There are some trade offs involved.

Whereas a traditional commercial gallery is (at least ideally) managed by a fine art professional who has both curatorial acumen as well as sales and networking ability, a cooperative might be run collectively by dozens of artists, each with their own goals and objectives. While gallerists will take a 50% commission on average though, the typical commission in a cooperative is something like 25%. Artists in a cooperative gallery can expect to also pay membership dues that can range from a few hundred dollars a year to hundreds of dollars a month, with some cooperatives instituting sliding scales or varying membership tiers to make dues more equitable and accessible.

The demands on small galleries, whether cooperative or owner-run, are huge. Each month a gallery needs to sell enough art to pay rent, utilities, insurance, marketing fees, and other incidentals like paint, labels, collateral materials, and reception expenses. For a retail gallery, the added expense of staff salaries and health insurance can prove insurmountable. In a cooperative, the necessity for profit is spread broadly across the artists involved and there is often no gallery manager to pay. While the panache and expertise of a career gallerist can provide a high level of value to artists represented by them, the freedom and flexibility of a cooperative has a value of its own, particularly for artists who feel overlooked by the gallery system.

Artists are constantly seeking new venues to show and sell their work. The pressures on small owner-run galleries are fierce and the need for gallerists to show works that are highly salable is very real. So for many artists, the alternative of being in community with fellow makers while having a more equitable stake in a gallery operation might be an appealing alternative to the grind of seeking gallery representation and answering to the whims of the marketplace. As the field for regional galleries continues to change, cooperative galleries have enormous potential to create dynamic spaces for artists of all backgrounds to exhibit their work within and beyond their communities.

Nearby Gallery Exhibits Strong Trio with Into the Ether

While New Englanders enjoy a culturally rich region, there are always precious few opportunities for local artists to see their work exhibited in high quality spaces. Nearby Gallery in Newton, Massachusetts, was founded during the pandemic to share the work of emerging and mid-career art-makers in their community. On view through July 13, 2022, the gallery’s current exhibition Into the Ether is the product of an open curatorial call hosted by the space. The resulting show brings together works by Massachusetts artists Monica DeSalvo, Tatiana Flis, and Rob Trumbour. The exhibition is excellent and serves as a testament to the talent of the exhibiting artists as well as the vision of those behind Nearby Gallery.

Nearby Gallery’s dramatic brick clad main space sets off artworks on display.

Featuring work in a variety of media, from prints and collage to hand-made books and sculpture, Into the Ether is a survey of three artists probing issues around loss, grief, and fragility. Many of the artworks on view are achingly sensitive and entice audiences to experience them with a distinct depth of feeling. 

Monica DeSalvo is an artist and graphic designer based in Arlington, Massachusetts. Much of her work is influenced by her caregiving for her late father, who experienced dementia. DeSalvo was one of the artists featured in a strong recent installment of the Attleboro Arts Museum’s lauded 8 Visions Exhibition. Into the Ether provides viewers an opportunity to see another selection of DeSalvo’s work thoughtfully presented alongside two fellow artists who also relish in craft, surface, design, and texture. One standout is her Resting on Water, a collection of ten small mixed media works that juxtapose forms and invite close examination. Lines and surfaces appear to buck and sway, throwing the viewer off course and challenging them to recalibrate. A graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, DeSalvo is an active exhibitor and is now a Core Member of SoWA’s Fountain Street Gallery. 

Monica DeSalvo’s Resting on Water on view at Nearby Gallery.

Tatiana Flis creates works that are, like DeSalvo’s, multi-layered and incisive. The overlaps between Flis and DeSalvo tend to be a keen sensitivity towards design and construction of images. In Flis’ Prairie Night, multiple ambiguous geometries overlap and interplay across the surfaces of a large triptych. Nearby, a monoprint titled What Goes Unseen #1 sees Flis’ technique played out on a smaller scale. The installation of two works at such divergent sizes alongside one another shows off how the artist’s sense of structure, composition, and precision serves her artmaking in whatever format she chooses. Working out of a studio in Millbury, Massachusetts, Flis has exhibited widely. She completed her BFA at the Ringling College of Art and Design in Florida and earned her MFA at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan.

Prairie Night and What Goes Unseen #1 by Tatiana Flis.

Rob Trumbour is both an art-maker and an architect. An associate professor at the Wentworth Institute of Technology, Trumbour earned his Master of Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin and his MFA at MassArt. His contributions to Into the Ether push boundaries and meld media from sculpture to printmaking to create a cohesive body of work. At the heart of the show, Trumbour’s Before Half of Two is a three-dimensional work that tilts into and out of space. Created using burnt out fallen tree limbs in cast concrete, the sculpture has the aroma of fire. Another strong entry by Trumbour is his collection of carbon composite prints titled Becoming, in which burnt casts are employed again. The finished pieces play with language and obsolescence. Trumbour’s work is complementary to that of Flis and DeSalvo, bringing to bear different forms of making with no less attention to detail.

Rob Trumbour’s triptych of prints titled Becoming.

Nearby Gallery bills itself as an “artist-owned showroom and community art space”, but it could also be called one of the sleekest venues in the region. A vast space by retail gallery standards, Nearby Gallery offers artists the opportunity to share their work in an environment where viewers can step back and look at things more deeply. A large open gallery at the front of the space is clad in brick, while two smaller rooms at the rear counterbalance the aesthetic with pristine white walls.

In addition to Into the Ether, a collection of works in a range of scale and style by other artists associated with the gallery are on view in their own space. The resulting installation is something akin to a contemporary salon show, celebrating many talents at once. Both the main show and this space offer works at accessible price points, with many pieces on offer at less than $500.

Another space within Nearby Gallery is dedicated to an eclectic display of many artists’ work.

Nearby Gallery’s Into the Ether offers three sensitive takes on issues of concern to many. Whether marveling at the artistic acumen of any of the three artists, or reading into their works for meditations on loss and impermanence, there is much to appreciate in this show and it is well worth seeing before it closes on July 13.

Nearby Gallery is located at 101 Union Street in Newton Centre, Massachusetts. The gallery is open Wednesday and Thursday 1-6pm, Friday and Saturday from 1-8pm, and Sunday from 11am - 4pm. Into the Ether continues through July 13. Learn more and plan your visit at www.nearbygallery.com.

South Coast Art Celebrated at DeDee Shattuck Gallery

Community-based art organizations serve a number of important roles and among them naturally is their capacity to give artists space to celebrate their town or region. South Coast Artists (SCA), a non-profit collective of creatives based in Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, is one such organization. On view through May 29, 2022, SCA is hosting its Spring Invitational Exhibition at DeDee Shattuck Gallery in Westport, Massachusetts. A richly varied salon-style show, the exhibition includes many highlights which find inspiration locally and further afield.

Featuring one hundred and seventy-five artworks by seventy-five SCA artists, the group’s Spring Invitational Exhibition is an opportunity for viewers based in the South Coast area to explore a survey of artworks by their neighbors. Works on view boast a wide range of media, from paintings and photographs to metal, ceramics, and mixed media. The styles employed are equally diverse and run the gamut from intense photorealism to gauzy abstraction. The show fills the generous exhibition space nearly from floor to ceiling and merits a lengthy visit.

Nearly two hundred works are on view in the exhibition at DeDee Shattuck Gallery in Westport.

Among the highlights in the show, many draw on themes specific to the South Coast region, which SCA defines roughly as the towns of Westport and Dartmouth in Massachusetts and Tiverton and Little Compton in Rhode Island. The scenic localities have close ties to both the farming and maritime communities, which both show up repeatedly throughout the exhibition. 

In Road Kill, a super illustrative painting by JP Powel, a gnarled and leafless tree takes up the foreground of a landscape sliced through by the sun-dappled asphalt of a country road and the stone walls which characterize the area. Carolyn Baker’s, Toven, a multi-part work executed in painted wood and vinyl, hints at compasses and nautical maps in an inventive format.

The coastal connection shows up in many artworks in the exhibition. Ron Fortier probes whaling history in his paintings, one of which features a ghostly sailing ship with flames rising from the deck under moonlight. Barbara Healy’s painting, Waiting, focuses on the prow of a sailboat within the context of the marbled surface of water. Not all of the artists look outdoors for their subjects, though. Jim Wright’s Austere Interior is a pensive meditation on domestic space.

A variety of media and stylistic approaches abound in the Spring Invitational Exhibition.

While some of the favorites pull from local places, other strong works in the show find inspiration elsewhere. A collection of three portraits by Dina Doyle utilize punchy primary colors to set off their subjects in highly refined oil paintings. Nearby, a large-scale image of a cactus by Elizabeth Larrimore invites viewers to look more closely at an abstracted view of a familiar botanical subject. 

Abstraction is the basis for yet another subset of works on view. Alongside a staircase in the center of the gallery, a series of works by Marjorie Jensen, William Kendall, Beth Russo, and Cindy Sachs explore varying aspects of non-obective art making. Jensen’s mixed media work, which includes a rough-edged canvas surface, is particularly appealing.

The range of media in the show is wonderful. A series of wool felt paintings by Stephanie Stroud have a fantastically tactile quality. Serena Parente Charlebois exhibits an image of a piazza using another novel method: a gilded photograph on vellum. The result is a modern day illuminated manuscript.

The architecture of DeDee Shattuck Gallery encourages visitors to look to the landscape beyond the artwork.

DeDee Shattuck Gallery, which is playing host to the SCA Spring Invitational, is one of the region’s premiere exhibition venues. Housed in a spare and barn-like building within a pastoral setting, the gallery is a place where any artist would be delighted to see their work. The main exhibition space is soaring and light, and windows and the four corners of the structure look out onto the bucolic landscape of Westport. The quality of the gallery elevates this exhibition of artists connected with and dedicated to their locale.

In a show packed with local inflection, perhaps those most celebratory of the South Coast are submissions by Josie Richmond. Employing intaglio printmaking combined with velvety encaustic, Richmond layers imagery of nearby flora and fauna on maps detailing the intricate contours of the many coves and inlets that define the South Coast. Inventive and enjoyable, they are full of community pride.

The South Coast Artists Spring Invitational Exhibition is a celebration of local art made in and around a series of charming towns nestled by the sea. The show at DeDee Shattuck Gallery invites visitors to travel to Westport to experience a fine array of artworks as well as the environment that inspired their authors. With its walls piled high with art of the region, the exhibition is an ideal opportunity to discover art made on the South Coast. 

The South Coast Artists Spring Invitational Exhibition is on view at DeDee Shattuck Gallery at 1 Partners Lane in Westport, Massachusetts, through May 29, 2022. Gallery hours are are Wednesday - Saturday from 10am - 5pm each day and Sunday from 12 - 5pm. Learn more at www.dedeeshattuckgallery.com, or at www.southcoastartists.org.

DeDee Shattuck Gallery is located at 1 Partners Lane in Westport, MA, and will host the South Coast Artists Spring Invitational Exhibition through May 29, 2022.

Making a Community Exhibition at the Providence Art Club

When telling the story of the local art community in any state, region, or locality, it is important to share a broad scope of what contemporary visual artists are making. Over the last year, here on my website, I have begun developing a program of virtual juried exhibitions to highlight artists from all over the country. When I jury them, I work to pick artworks that are of high quality and that are reflective of what was submitted by applicants. I don’t try to reframe the submissions to suit my own perspective, but rather select a body of work that is both representative and also exciting. On view now through May 7, 2021 at the Providence Art Club, a physical exhibition I helped to organize has the same aims. Namely, that goal is to share a broad view of the community of artists who are at work in the State of Rhode Island today.

The Rhode Island Community Invitational Exhibition is the first such exhibition held at the Club in recent years. The Galleries of the Providence Art Club have been exhibiting artworks by members as well as non-member artists for over 130 years. Since 1885, the Club’s main gallery has been housed at 11 Thomas Street on picturesque College Hill. In the ensuing decades, it has played host to exhibitions that included the work of artists ranging from Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot to Ellsworth Kelly. Although the Club mounts a popular annual National Open Juried Exhibition and often partners with other organizations to exhibit the work of non-member artists, most of the exhibitions remain member-focused. In recent years we hosted a reciprocal exhibition with a peer arts organization in Boston and displayed a juried scholarship exhibition for Rhode Island college students. The current show was born out of an idea for an exhibition that would allow us to share recent artworks by more of our neighbors from across the State of Rhode Island.

One wall of work at the Rhode Island Community Invitational Exhibition, on view through May 7.

Sometime before 2020, I pitched the idea of a Community Invitational Exhibition, in which the Club’s gallery staff could select artists and invite them to exhibit in a diverse group show. Although the pandemic disrupted our plans and our schedules, we were finally able to make this show a reality and it is on view through May 7. I think that the resulting collection of work provides a fun and engaging view into what artists across the state are creating. I thought it might be of interest to artists to know how such a show comes together.

Together with my gallery colleagues Abba Cudney and Brianna Turner, we assembled a list of well over 100 non-member artists based in Rhode Island with whom we thought we might like to work. In putting together this roster we aimed to list artists who worked in a breadth of media, in a range of styles, who focused on varying themes and who came from all over the small state. As we determined which of the Club’s three galleries we would use for the show, we edited down our list but still invited over 50 artists to be featured in the exhibition. Due to scheduling conflicts and other commitments, a number of invited artists were not able to take part this time so the completed show includes about forty talented artists.

In the exhibition, viewers can see a cross section of Rhode Island artists are making today. There is realism and abstraction. There are paintings, drawings, prints, and photographs. There is sculpture, glass, and works in ceramic. The featured artists live in towns and cities dotted across the state and come to the exhibition with a wide variety of expertise, education, and unique contributions to the art community. Because artists tend to wear so many hats, the exhibitors on view also have other credentials outside their respective practices. Some are gallery owners or directors, several are teachers or professors, and some are small business owners. Longstanding and mid-career artists are showing alongside younger and emerging art-makers. The exhibition even includes artists who are still studying in undergraduate programs at schools like Rhode Island College and The Rhode Island School of Design.

Another view of the exhibition in the Art Club’s historic Maxwell Mays Gallery.

One of the benefits of working in a small place like Rhode Island is that everyone knows everyone. As we considered an artist, that individual’s work might lead us to the work of another. There is also the digital happenstance of finding a new artist by accident online while searching for something or someone unrelated. The process of making our list was lively. The tools we used to create our list included both traditional avenues like gallery rosters and past exhibitions we had seen, as well as more novel means like social media. A number of the artists in the show became known to us solely through Instagram. 

With our list of prospective artists assembled, we invited each participant to pick one artwork they were most excited to exhibit. Some artists asked for our feedback or gave us a choice between three or four equally lovely paintings. Others decisively sent us their submission within hours of being invited. All of the works submitted are of high quality and the entire collection works together very well. There are points of visual comparison and overlap as well as of difference and opposition. It has the feeling of a competitive national exhibition, even though every artist is based in Rhode Island.

When installing this Community Invitational, we thought carefully about sizes, media, and the potential aesthetic connections between seemingly divergent objects. We anchored walls with large works and then built collections of more intimately scaled items around them. In the corners of the historic gallery, we highlighted some of the fantastic three-dimensional pieces that were submitted. Across the exhibition, we worked to pair items in order to help viewers gain a better appreciation for each individual piece. The result is a cohesive show in which viewers can spend a long time looking at a plethora of great items.

One of the groupings in the Rhode Island Community Exhibition on view at the Art Club through May 7.

I am pleased with the outcome for our first Rhode Island Community Invitational and feel that it captures a snapshot of some of the exciting things being made in Rhode Island now by a wide range of artists. I am personally very grateful to all the exhibitors who, on very short notice, pulled from their inventories to provide us with a stunning array of visual art.

So far, the feedback I’ve received has been quite positive, with participating artists and gallery guests marveling at the multifaceted exhibition. In viewing this show I hope that visitors will chart their own visual connections across the works presented. Hopefully, too, viewers will discover the work of local artists who they might not otherwise know.

I enjoyed working on this special exhibition and hope that those who come to see it gain a deeper appreciation for the fine works of art being made in their community by their friends, acquaintances, and by those neighbors who they have not yet met.

The Rhode Island Community Invitational Exhibition is on view in the Maxwell Mays Gallery at the Providence Art Club through May 7. The show is open to the public Sundays - Fridays 12-4pm each day and admission is always free. For information on this show, you can contact me at the Art Club via email at michael@providenceartclub.org, or by phone at 401-331-1114 x 5.

Balance, Tension, and The Art of Robert Rohm

It is easy to misread sculpture as a static medium, or as one dedicated to inward-looking stillness. Great art, though, can upend such preconceived notions of its genre. One of the best regarded Baroque sculptures, Bernini’s David, for instance, is known for its remarkable torsion. Building up in the subject’s taut body, the drama inherent in tension and expected release is the key to this great work. In Down to Earth, a career-spanning survey of work by twentieth century sculptor Robert Rohm (1934-2013) another artist’s relationship with notions of tension, balance, and even motion is explored in depth. On view through April 25, 2021, at The WaterFire Arts Center in Providence, it includes selections from a diverse oeuvre created over four decades. A remarkable exhibition, it shows off the artist’s use of quotidien elements to create transcendent sculptural forms.

Down to Earth at The WaterFire Arts Center opens with a kinetic wood sculpture.

Rohm, a longtime professor at The University of Rhode Island, was an maker steeped in craft, an educator with a giving character, and an artist unparalleled in his capacity to examine structure through unassuming materials. Whereas predecessors like Bernini sculpted in marble, Rohm preferred rope, lead, encaustic, wood, and rebar. These components are used and reused, resulting in cohesive ties binding the far flung aesthetics of differing bodies of work.

The earliest objects in the exhibition were produced in the heady days of 1960’s conceptualism. The show opens with a rough hewn kinetic work in wood and moves into Rohm’s notable rope sculptures. The enormous rope work, Untitled May 16th, 1969, engages an entire wall but is constructed of simple Manila rope. Exhibited at The Whitney Museum alongside the likes of Carl Andre and Eva Hesse, the piece consists of a sixteen foot tall by twenty-two foot wide grid of two foot squares. Nailed to the wall, the work is based on the interplay between construction and disruption. When Rohm released several of the identical knots from their nails on the wall, the overwhelming grid began to give way and to dive into the viewer’s space. In Down to Earth, viewers see a reconstruction of this work executed to the exacting standards of the artist. This activation of the artist’s original intent is an essential element of conceptual art.

In later works, Rohm explored familiar figurative forms made up of materials like rebar and encaustic. This series is spookily fleshy and corporeal. In one piece, Untitled (Large Cascade), from 1996, a massive hand balances on a lone finger as its iridescent blue surface disintegrates into the sketchy contours of digits shaped in metal mesh. Hands and fingers are a reappearing motif in this group, as are shapely torsos and mantle-like forms empty of bodies. Limbs flexed and tense, or still and resolute shoulders, or a cupped palm, are all fashioned out of elements which could be procured from the hardware store. Rohm was able to play with material, with form, with the tensions between subject and object, in ways that reward the viewer who takes the time to look closely.

A view of Untitled (Large Cascade) in Down to Earth at The WaterFire Arts Center.

A grouping of tables, described in exhibition text as “Platonic work benches”, shows off Rohm’s taste for material as well as his wry sense of humor. Leaden wheels and sleigh runners serve as feet on two such tables, while another is ankle deep in metal buckets. Overhead, shop lights dangle to illuminate mysterious objects. The  whole series is a sampler of sketches in the type of craftsmanship Rohm enjoyed. These benches are strangely personified, totemic, and even altarlike. In one table, the viewer is invited to look through a glass surface into a void below which is shaped in the outline of a basilica or cathedral. Architectural forms undergird crafted objects. The hard lines of this series counterbalance the soft and amorphous edges of other sculptures on view.

Almost a quarter of the space is dedicated to a series of columns, all using rebar in one form or another. In this group, objects within cages seem to defy gravity, with the hand-formed metal canopies being the only thing to stop encaustic balloons from floating away into the cavernous space above them. These works are all about verticality, but also are almost leaden in their weighty footings. They are also largely transparent, with voids between rebar acting as windows onto still other sculptures beyond. Both solid and punctured, they are firmly clung to the ground but aspire to be aloft. The sense of the totemic object found in Rohm’s tables might be noticed here as well, as might a sense of the ceremonial.

Rohm’s production was singular, but while early works correlate to those of co-exhibitors like Andre and Hesse, some later objects reflect the sensitivity for materials more common in a different contemporary like Martin Puryear. Rohm and Puryear overlapped for a period and the warmly tactile quality found in Rohm’s work can also be seen in Puryear’s. Finding such stylistic connections between divergent artists is one of the delights of this exhibition.

Rohm was in command of an array of sculptural techniques, but also made enviable drawings. Throughout the exhibition, there is a smattering of works on paper by the artist which are nearly as obsessively textured as the surfaces of his encaustic-covered forms. Recurring objects like pianos, lightbulbs, or the jagged map of Rhode Island appear in these two dimensional pieces. They are lively and colorful. In two-dimensions, they express the same knack for specificity and exactitude that one sees in the artist’s three-dimensional work.

To close out the exhibition, a separate gallery features stage sets the artist created as well as intricate and beautiful maquettes. Rohm used these as the basis for many of his projects, some of which are on view in the exhibition. These tiny alter egos are so fantastically detailed that they could be mistaken for their full size counterparts. Here, macabre subject matter works itself out. Little gibbeted and dismembered figures that recall Goya are examples of such imagery. In another maquette, a window looks onto a winch, where a coiled rope appears on the verge of snapping. Another small sculpture features an electric chair. The tension in these small works is as intense as that in the full scale objects nearby.

The last gallery of the exhibition is lined with maquettes and features stage sets created by Rohm.

As one exits the show, there is a drawing on view Rohm made in the days before he passed away. In this diminutive work, a forest of brown trees parts to reveal a sliver of sky, which transitions through tones of blue. Depending on how it is read, it could either be a scene of dawn breaking or evening falling. This type of tension or ambiguity is poetic, and beautiful, and is present throughout much of the work on view. 

This is a rich and varied exhibition, and one which serves as a necessary primer for Rohm’s significant production over a lifetime. From the 1960’s into the 2000’s, it charts his skillful craftsmanship of core materials and his sensibility for design, balance, and tension in many wonderful forms. 

Down to Earth: Robert Rohm Sculpture, 1963-2013 will run March 24 – April 25, 2021. The exhibit is free for all, donations encouraged. The WaterFire Arts Center hours are: Wednesday – Sunday, 10:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m, Thursday 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. In following Rhode Island’s COVID-19 protocols, all visitors are required to self-screen before entering the WaterFire Arts Center and practice safety rules: keeping a 6’ distance from others and wear a mask at all times. For more information, visit www.waterfire.org.

Below, explore a slideshow of my photographs of my favorite details from the exhibition.

It’s Time for Retail Galleries to Rethink Receptions

It seems that since time in memoriam retail art galleries of all sizes have been putting on parties to celebrate new shows. They go by many names, from the classic “opening reception” to the self-consciously chic “cocktails with the artist”. While the contents can vary - many feature live music, most have wine, cheese, et cetera - the idea is basically the same: if you feed them, they will come. But if you feed them, will they buy, too? On this question the jury is still out. The real inquiry is how can these events be made more engaging in small and mid-sized commercial galleries, and how can they be made to pay?

Receptions, like any aspect of the gallery business, are not cheap. Between promotion, food, drink, music, staffing, and other details, it’s not unusual even for a smaller commercial gallery to spend in the range of $1,000 or more on such events. Considering the often precarious financial situation for these same galleries, does it really make sense for them to spend funds that could otherwise go towards rent, advertising, or specialized staff on throwing a party?

Many gallerists and most artists in regional and local marketplaces cling to the idea that these free gatherings drive sales. At the same time though, any gallerist will also tell you that every gallery has their opening “regulars”. These individuals attend exhibition receptions religiously, delight in the complimentary fare, and have also by and large never bought a thing. That being said, though, many gallery owners will also share that the excitement surrounding opening receptions does result in sales. In many cases most sales occur at or around the opening of a show. But is the party itself the driving force behind this? While the data on this topic is sparse, there are reasons to doubt.

The reason that so many sales occur at openings is because these aptly named events typically open the show and are buyers’ first exposure to the work available. Anyone who has loved a painting or a print or a sculpture enough to buy it knows that no amount of free Gruyère made them pull out their checkbook. Collectors of luxury goods like art require three things: means, motive, and opportunity. While some coaxing doesn’t hurt, broad costly programming seems to be a blunt answer to the question of cultivating patronage of the visual arts. And if a gallerist feels a party is an important way to entice or honor potential or prior collectors, perhaps a private VIP preview is the best way to include such individuals and encourage them to become repeat buyers.

So, if these events just happen to be an opportunity for otherwise motivated buyers to make purchases, then how can commercial gallery owners convert them into profit centers in their own right? One idea, maybe the idea, is to charge for them. A lesson you learn in Business 101 is that if you give any product away for free, the public will see it as worthless. So, if money is invested into exhibition programs like receptions, why shouldn’t there be a fee to attend? They do, after all, have value. They provide a unique first look at exhibitions as well as networking and often educational opportunities as well.

One reason I think galleries tend to be leery of charging for events is because the art community at large has an idea that even retail galleries are not merely businesses built on art sales but also cultural centers. And as cultural centers, this thinking goes, it is the responsibility of for-profit galleries to provide open, easy, and free access to their spaces at all times. This free access includes receptions and other events. I recently had this exact conversation with a gallerist who was detailing some of the difficulties they’re seeing in their business and they really leaned into this concept, namely the idea that they had a “community responsibility” to run specific programs and events even at a loss. My response was that as a business owner a gallerist’s key responsibilities are to pay their bills, to pay their artists, and to pay staff.

No other for-profit business that I know of is enlisted to provide free catering and entertainment to strangers who don’t pay for their product or service. So, why should commercial galleries? Certainly, as a gallery professional who works in a uniquely historic and public setting, I think it’s very much in the interest of non-profit, mission-driven art centers and institutions to open their doors wide to the communities they serve and to run plentiful free programs, including openings. Small and medium-sized commercial galleries, however, need to open their doors wide to collectors, patrons, and individuals interested in supporting their artists and their exhibition programming with more than just lip service or dreaded “exposure”. And in those settings, this might just mean charging for special events specifically or even charging a general admission fee.

I don’t think the suggestion that a business should charge for a service is a radical one. And if retail galleries charged a small amount to attend special parties and programs, audiences would see that these events do have a value, and more importantly that there is a cost to the small business putting them on. With the income from admission, even from a thinned herd of attendees, commercial galleries could also improve the programming to build out events that are more enticing to the young, sophisticated, upwardly mobile, moneyed class of potential collectors that need to be engaged if the commercial galleries serving local artists are to survive into the future. Millennials, for instance, are interested in such experiences - and high quality ones, too.

A $30 cover for an event that features craft spirits, canapés from a locally owned restaurant, and a demo with the featured artist(s), is not in any way unreasonable and if a buyer is honestly in the market for art, even a piece in the $1,000 price range, it is not inaccessible. Of course it’s tricky to make the numbers work, but this is an industry filled with creative people and something along those lines sounds much more interesting to me than the average reception. And based on my experiences, I bet it would be much more appealing to real potential art buyers too.

Not everyone is in the market for art, and if a $20 or $30 cover charge is too steep for a visitor, then it stands to reason that a $500 or $1,000 art purchase probably isn’t in the cards for them either. Ultimately, art sales have to be the cornerstone of a successful retail gallery situation, but making openings and other gallery programming more profitable is an important step to creating a commercial gallery business model that is more tenable in a rapidly changing environment.

If important retail venues for local artists are going to last, they must be money-making operations and behave as such. Gallery professionals must show that their spaces, their exhibitions, and their work has value. Rethinking receptions and other events as income-generating activity is one step towards shoring up the economic feasibility of the small commercial gallery for the next generation of local artists.

Join Me for Gallery Night Providence July 18!

I would like to invite you to join me for Gallery Night Providence on Thursday, July 18 where I will be the Celebrity Guide for the 5:30pm trolley tour of four galleries in Providence.

This is a free, fun way to get introduced to art spaces you might not otherwise visit and learn more about the artwork on view and the artists who made it. My tour will conclude by 7:30pm.

Our stops will be:

1. City Hall Gallery featuring: Invasive Beauty: New Works by May Babcock and Rebecca Volynsky

2. BankRI Gallery featuring: Paintings by Abba Cudney

3. Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts featuring: Time Zero and Beyond and Hold Up The Hood by Francis Crisafio

4. Gallery Z featuring: European and American Landscapes: Exploring Color, Form, and Light

Gallery Night is free program held on the third Thursday of each month, which allows visitors to park for free at Regency Plaza Apartments (entrance to the parking lot is on Greene Street) and then take guided tours to participating galleries around town.

Seating is limited and reservations are not available unless you make a $10 donation, so do arrive early if you’d like to join my tour. If you have any questions, please email me.

*The header image for this post is Abba Cudney’s Dirty Dishes, which will be on view at BankRI Gallery.

Hope to see you July 18 at 5:30pm!

-Michael

That Must Be Fun: Navigating Misconceptions About Gallery Work

The field of gallery work, especially as it relates to commercial gallery spaces, tends to be somewhat misunderstood. It is certainly not thought of in all quarters as a serious career. As a gallery professional, when I meet someone at a social function and the question of work comes up, the statement “I manage an art gallery” almost always elicits the same reply, particularly from those who don’t work in the arts: “That must be fun.” While work in the art market is stimulating and those of us who get to do it are incredibly lucky, those four words, and the mindset they represent, are indicative of some fundamental misconceptions about gallery work and who gallerists are.

The average American rarely, if ever, steps foot in a commercial gallery space. And the majority of Americans have never purchased (and will never purchase) an original work of art. So, it makes sense that most perceptions of gallery work are shaped by popular culture. Scripted television shows like Sex and The City or GIRLS have given us fictional gallery workers like Charlotte York and Marnie Michaels. In the 2003 rom-com classic Love Actually a group of school children snicker at a gallerist’s show of large scale nude photos festooned with Santa hats. And the 2012 Bravo reality series Gallery Girls primarily showed the lives of privileged young women working in the industry. Moreover, recent documentaries and news stories about the art market skewer dealers (alongside others) as shadowy insiders grifting from the nouveau riche. In short, when commercial galleries appear in media they are conversely the object of ridicule about elitism or the subject of suspicion regarding the murky nature of money in the visual arts. And gallery workers themselves are often envisaged as delicately coiffed trust fund babies in need of a hobby.

In addition to this problem of perception in the media, it makes sense that a central conceit of gallery life, the wine and cheese fueled reception, is viewed as a sort of party which gallery staff attend rather than an event which gallery staff work. Anecdotally, at least, it seems that many people see gallery professionals as individuals who have fun for a living. These lucky few spend their days toying with art and rubbing elbows with a bevy of glamorous collectors and talented artists. And in the imaginative mind, this hobnobbing is occasionally punctuated by a glass of Rosé over a sumptuous crudités spread.

Misconceptions about gallery work are not limited to those outside the field. Not long ago, I met an aspiring gallery professional who commented that the best part of gallery work was that curators and directors don’t have to lift a finger, saying, “You just point and people hang it for you.” The disconnect between this comment and the reality of daily life for the majority of individuals who make their living in art galleries astounded me.

So what is the reality for many commercial gallery professionals?

Outside of major hubs like New York or Los Angeles and beyond the walls of mega galleries like Gagosian, Zwirner, or Pace, smaller regionally-based and local galleries tend to be financially precarious and gallery owners are often one-man-bands. This means a gallerist has to possess an incredible array of skills. They must be equal parts curator, writer, preparator, installer, art handler, maintenance supervisor, publicist, public speaker, photographer, graphic designer, accountant, events manager, educator, caterer, bartender, server, and custodian. This isn’t to mention the softer skills of social diplomacy required when dealing with sensitive artists, frugal buyers, and a curious public. This job description would be a tall order for anyone, but when you consider the limited financial incentives involved in the local and regional market it becomes taller still.

The gallerist, in spite of this broad skill set, remains an enigmatic figure. And the pressures of gallery work are often veiled behind the well-crafted façade of the art world. The reality is that employees at the majority of commercial galleries are not, in fact, filing their nails at the reception desk of a white cube on the Lower West Side of Manhattan. But instead, they are engaging in numerous skilled tasks, often across many exhibitions at once. They are, additionally, providing needed services to artists and bringing artwork to the market - often acting as the only professional representation certain locally known artists will ever have.

So, why does it matter if the general public or even art people themselves understand what or who a gallerist is and what their work is like?

Misconceptions about gallery work devalue the labor of gallery professionals. Not only in the eyes of those with an already limited affinity for the visual arts. But also in the minds of those who are genuinely interested in galleries, art, and collecting. An artist once told me that commercial galleries are a racket because gallerists provide virtually nothing in exchange for their 50% commission. This line of thinking is extremely troubling. A good gallery owner, indeed a good gallery professional at any level, does much more. And for this reason gallery workers are worthy of recognition. But the reputation of privilege and frivolity persists. So, too, does the idea of the unfriendly gallery person.

In the popular imagination gallerists are chilly and inaccessible. In reality, though, commercial gallery work is essentially the effort to bring art to new audiences and thereby to new potential clientele. For this reason, gallery staffers must be public people, yet they are often perceived as closed off. This is in part the fault of gallerists everywhere who fantasize that they are the second coming of Larry Gagosian. Gallerists on the lower end of the market who seek to cultivate a reputation for elitism and aloofness do so at their own peril and degrade the reputation of the profession in the process.

Those of us in the gallery field are more often than not amiable people who care about art and artists and work to help them navigate this complicated marketplace insofar as we can. Commercial galleries also provide an incredible, if unspoken, community service in that unlike most art museums they never charge admission. For free, anyone can visit an art gallery and see artwork that is being made by artists right now. And they can often engage directly with the artist, too.

Gallery work is, as many people suspect, deeply enjoyable. But it is also emotionally and physically taxing in its own way. I know many in the business who work around the clock even when the gallery is closed, conducting studio visits, installing purchases in the homes of clients, answering frantic emails from artists on weekends at midnight, to name just a few common tasks. Though the work is often fun, it’s not always easy.

Ultimately, the best way to understand gallery work is to be in the trade. But one can learn a lot by speaking to real world professionals. A little bit of research also goes a long way. Instagram accounts like @arthandlermag, @jerrygogosian, and @contemporarycostanza humorously illuminate some of the things that go on behind-the-scenes. But truly, visiting galleries, reading art news, and following your local gallerist are essential to developing an understanding of gallery culture and the people who make it all happen.

And, if you ever have any questions for your own friendly local gallerist, you should feel more than welcome to email me.

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.