What is your ideal office?
We usually meet weekly to workshop show ideas, touch base on gallery operations and catch up. Max and Alyssa’s living room seems to be working the best for us so far. Basically we need somewhere where ten-to-fifteen people, plus our babies and dogs can sit comfortably and all hear each other clearly. A truly ideal office would be part living room, part conference room, part children’s playground, and perhaps a kitchen/bar as well.
What idea has made a defining impression on you?
One strategy we’ve used with great success is intergenerational shows. We know so many strong artists working who are in their sixties and seventies, whose work often gets overlooked. We’ve done several shows, for example Mernet Larsen and Jonathan Butt, John Dilg and Karsten Krejcarek, where the conversation between an older artist and a younger is very rich.
What was your most difficult decision?
Probably moving to the Lower East Side. We were evicted from our original space in Queens where we had been operating happily for many years, and had to decide if we wanted to make such a huge change. It was a stressful transition, but now that we are in Manhattan, it is hard to imagine being anywhere else.
What is your most treasured belonging?
Our new gallery desk made by one of our members, Jeff DeGolier. It has a panel that is covered in translucent glitter.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Staying together for so long. Making decisions with so many people. Providing opportunities for the artists that we work with.
What are your aspirations as an art dealer?
To show work that may not have the opportunity to be seen otherwise, and support the artists we work with.
How does collaboration affect your creative process?
Every idea is workshopped by the whole group. Ideas and proposals evolve and grow constantly with input and critique.
What does community feel like?
Love and family—for better and worse. Knowing people more fully, strengths and weaknesses and all, and knowing better who to tap when. Also, when artists who we’ve worked with give back to us—in particular, a few who’ve made gifts to us, but also people like Melissa Brown and Carla Edwards who did performances at a temporary space, both about predicting Regina Rex’s futures. This was right as we were transitioning to our new space, and it was such a vote of confidence to witness their support at a critical time in our trajectory. They were amazing!
How do you find and select your artists?
We find artists in various ways—through personal connections, seeing work in other shows, and pure serendipity. Since there are so many of us involved in the gallery, the majority of artists we work with come out of our constantly growing network, which is, by nature, very large.
