Without fail, the most common question I receive during Gallery openings is "How do you go about selecting your artists?"
Most of my artists come on referral from another artist. Peer review is very important in the art world, and few people know better what or who is going on in the art world. So that's where I begin.
Sure, I get plenty of submissions from aspiring artists, and it's hard for me to even respond to all of the emails I get, but much like the business world, a personal reference is hard to beat. It also helps to have a lot of friends at the McColl Center for Visual Art and the Arts & Science Council.
Artists Have Resumes Too
Believe it or not, an artist's resume is just as important as a lawyer's or a banker's, as is graduate school, rewards and publication. One of the first things I ask of a new artist is a resume so that I can see where the artist has studied, whether the artist has an MFA (Masters of Fine Arts), in which galleries or museums the artist has shown, any awards the artist has won, and what critical review the artist has received. Sound familiar?
Just like the rest of us, an artist needs training, and innate talent can only go so far. Sure there are artistic geniuses, just as there are mathematical geniuses, but even the masters need training. Fortunately, North Carolina contains some really good arts schools and the McColl Center is one of the best residency programs in the country.
But It's Still Art
But just like anyone else, an artist can look good on paper, and I'm not talking art paper. Because I don't have any formal art training, I rely heavily on friends in the art community for their opinions, but I also draw on my personal experiences to determine what I think is quality art.
As an aside, when people ask me how they can learn more about art, I tell them to get out and see as much as they can. Whether it's a museum or a gallery or a personal collection, there is no replacement for getting out and actually seeing art. I've seen some amazing shows at the Whitney, the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim lately, but I also read ArtNews and Art in America to find reviews on the latest gallery shows and try to get out and see as many as I can. If you have been around me lately, you know how excited I am about the Bechtler.
Back to the point. When I see a new artist, I immediately try to relate it to something else I have seen. This isn't always a conscious action. But I know I really have something when I feel like I have seen an artist's work before, even though I know I haven't. For example, it was only after talking with Ashlynn Browning on Thursday night and learning that more about her influences that I realized why I was drawn to her work.
The painting on the top is "Untitled XV" by Willem de Kooning and is set for auction tonight. It is expected to sell for $5,000,000—7,000,000. The second is "Growing Into Jubilation" by Ashlynn Browning. While there are many differences between these works, there are enough qualities of de Kooning's reflected in Ashlynn's work to reveal its quality.
Yet, it would be a disservice to call Ashlynn's work an attempt to copy de Kooning. What distinguishes Ashlynn's work is her focus on lines. While her painting involves many layers of paint, some times up to 16, that create a depth similar to that seen in de Kooning's, there is a clear intent to juxtapose purposefulness and randomness and intuition and calculation. There is learning and exploration in Ashlynn's work that shows both her appreciation of de Kooning and her intention to develop her own voice.
In the Words of the Experts
I found this passage from Peter Plagens in Art in America to be somewhat insightful. In describing his interests in art and his decision to judge a juried exhibit in Mississippi, Plagens wrote, "I'm interested in what might be called the 'beltline' of art: that large class of earnest, informed, reasonably talented and fairly principled artists...who inhabit a stratum above the thick layer of industrial amateurs and manufacturers of expensive decorative objects resembling paintings that are sold in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Naples, Fla., but below the thin top crust of artiststs who've had, say, four shows over 10 years in good galleries in Santa Monica or Chelsea....The work of 'beltline artists tells you more about a city's or a region's art culture than does the often-anomalous work of a handful of really prominent artists who are frequently prominent precisely because their work is anamolous."
Wish I Had All the Answers
It's never as clear as I have set it out above, but this exercise provides a little insight into my artist selection process. But above all things, art is an immensely personal experience, and I hope everyone will take the opportunity to develop their own interests, especially if that involves coming out to the next Pantone 278 show.
Remember: the Gallery remains open this month at South End Home at 1710 Camden Road. Their hours are Tues - Fri 10:00 am - 5:30 pm and Sat 10:00 am - 5:00 pm.
Hope to see you all on November 5! Marc
