suzanne shade of the beholder: let’s chat!

i embrace living in the computer age, especially when it comes to collecting art. never before have we been able to see and enjoy the multitudes of choices available at our fingertips. the trick, however, is to be able to steer through all the options and find what we are looking for. when i think of affordable contemporary art, the beholder, directed and curated by suzanne shade, is at the top of my mind. it’s a very well-edited online gallery that literally has hundreds of works to view. upon arrival it’s clear that suzanne has already done the hard work for us, putting lots of high quality, like-minded paintings, drawings and photography in one place, with thoughtful navigation and search tools for our browsing pleasure. really the main difficulty here is deciding which pieces not to purchase. let’s have a chat with suzanne and find out more!

donkey and squirrel by catherine ledner

q: where do you live and where do you create/manage the beholder?
a: i live in the castro district of san francisco with my husband, rob. anh-minh le did an apartment therapy house visit that i think is still online, so you can take a peek there if you want. the unglamorous part is that the beholder happens here, so if you’re picturing me writing this in my pajamas, you’ve got the right idea. i’m a freelance graphic designer as well, and when i go to work for advertising agencies, sometimes it happens there, too.

reception and like satellites by ian dingman

q: how did the gallery come into being?
a: i have always wanted to do something outside of what i was trained to do, and have been really interested in having a business related to fine art. about three years ago i was trying to find art to buy for my home and found that it was difficult to know what work was available even in san francisco. so that’s when i thought of doing something like the beholder, because i knew that there had to be many more people like me who felt the same way i did.

i launched it in december of 2005 with about 15 people: mostly my friends and a few brave artists who believed in what i was doing.

pivot joint by matthew curry

q: what is your criteria for including pieces on your site? are you currently accepting submissions?
a: the work needs to be strong, and i generally need to feel like i respond to most of what an artists does, not just a few pieces. just as important is their overall professionalism… do they understand what it is the site is meant to do, do they communicate well, are they organized? our process is much more DIY than many gallery relationships, so they really need to be on top of things.

christmas rose, larkspur and chamomile by lisa solomon

this year i started my marketplace, which gives artists their own space on the site to sell work directly to collectors. once they get accepted, they can manage and sell as much as they want without me taking a commission. i get a yearly fee for this, and most of the time the artist makes that money back on just one sale. to make a long story short, this allows me to accept and encourage many more artists to be on the site… so i’m always on the lookout for great new talent. one lead i got was from one of my customers. She found michelle armas, who has amazing work (claud, pictured below).

q: what can you tell us about some of the valuable features of your site, namely the seven day trial period for “testing” art in your home and your commissions, which are lower than traditional galleries?
a: the trial was set up because i wanted people to feel like they weren’t locked into a piece just by seeing a photo of it. art is such a big decision, and i wanted folks to really love what they had picked out. strangely, only about four people have returned work in the three years i’ve been doing it. people worry that the artist will feel bad, but mostly they understand.

my commission used to be 20% when i first started, and i’m still committed to keeping it low. i knew that once it goes above 40% artists need to adjust pricing up to get a decent amount from the sale. my costs are lower, but i’m finding out that the costs of events, advertising, and new web development are pretty substantial. so it’s something i struggle with. the marketplace makes that easier because once the artist pays their fee, i don’t have to take a portion each time.

untitled by mike monteiro

q: what are the benefits of purchasing art online, versus in a brick and mortar gallery?
a: it’s the access. to be able to see up to 500 pieces at a time, it gives people a really good overview of what type of work is being created. it frees people to choose what they like on their own without being sold to or told what is good. i trust that most people who come to the site already respond to this aesthetic and know what they like. the other benefit is the freedom it gives artists to choose alternative ways of reaching customers and building their own collector base.

blue swing and yellow kiss by katja ollendorf

q: what do you think is the biggest challenge in running an online art gallery? what is the biggest reward?
a: the biggest challenge for me is that people have a tendency not to view me as a “real” gallery. i’ve actually had artists say that to me in reference to their future… like, “when i get into a real gallery.” that’s kind of a buzz kill, because it reminds me about how important building status and image is to the art world, something that made we want to start this in the first place.

the biggest reward is the amount of people who write and tell me they love what i’m doing. i save my customer’s emails in one folder, and when things get tough, i flip through them for inspiration. they regularly say things like “this is my first piece of real art and i’m so excited to have found you.”

lebenssprung by fabian geyrhalter

q: what do you think we can look forward to in the future vis-à-vis the online art world?
a: that’s a good question. right now prints are the hot new thing, and people are gobbling that up and making a good business of it. since my mission is to encourage people to buy originals, i hope to see artists continue to build their own audience using the web. you see a number of people like lisa congdon and jennifer sanchez (below) making it pretty big without the help of galleries. they have total control and freedom to make their own choices, and it seems to be working really well.

i’d like to see art make as much progress on the web as music has… although the structure of the business is different, you’re still able to see the control shift from the few to the many.

some of us are able to go and see suzanne’s picks in person, because she is currently curating the california dreaming show at rare device in san francisco. the show features seven fabulous artists, including martha rich, suzanne husky and naoki mitsuse (below). california dreaming closes on april 27th, 2008, but the beholder is open all the time.

thank you suzanne!

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mutualart.com

have you ever experienced frustration or a lack of organization when it comes to finding art online? i have. i don’t meaning jumping on the laptop and googling art galleries in austin or barcelona. i just never thought there was one single place to find a huge amount of information; to discover new artists, find out about openings and fairs, or collect info about my favorite emerging, mid-career or established artists from all over the world.

until i discovered mutualart.com.

mutualart.com is a brand new website that will make these tasks a simple pleasure for you. it’s a cleanly designed, easy to navigate place that has the cooperation of museums, galleries and publications from all around the world. on the site you will be able to rapidly search for information on hundreds of artists (working in genres from gothic to avant-garde to outsider to neoclassic), find out the most up-to-the-minute news in the art world from 250 different publications and keep up to date on gallery openings and events in dozens of cities.

this is an exceptional site to bookmark if you travel on the weekend to one of the cities in their database and want to find out what’s happening in the galleries and museums there. and i especially like the fact that i can create my own personal filing and preference system and organize the categories, events and artists i like my own way.

they are currently doing beta testing, so head on over to the mutual art site, get your name on the list and stockpile some good art info for yourself.

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david van alphen art and gallery - let’s chat!

you may remember the collages i posted about earlier in the month from local artist david van alphen, but maybe you didn’t know that he is the owner of the dva gallery here in chicago, and founder of the new and exciting slingshot! press, two very cool and affordable places to purchase original and limited edition artwork. for me, looking at david’s artwork is like taking a non-stop flight back to my childhood. i enjoy the dynamic action in the vignettes, i like his thoughtful color combinations and the retro imagery really unlocks some goofy and sentimental memories. also, finding artists who are gallery owners too is a rare and special thing, so let’s have a chat with david and find out more!

q: where do you live, and where is your studio?
a: i live in the western suburbs of chicago, and i turned my basement into my studio.

q: what is your background, and did you study art formally?
a: i have been doodling and painting since grade school. in high school i would sell large paintings for $20, just to get some cash. i took a couple college art classes but dropped out of them both. i hated being told what and how to paint.

q: what is your inspiration, and do you have a message you want to relate through your collection? what are these pieces made of?
a: i love old 70’s ads and graphics. i’ve started creating under the name netherland just because it was such a different style and medium that people have not seen from me before. all the art is acrylic and collage on wood and i put a layer of resin on top to give it that old school worn look.

q: are there any advantages in being a gallery owner and an artist as well? are there any disadvantages?
a: there’s both. the good point is that you meet a lot of other great artists and gallery owners. you also always have a place to hang your own stuff (but i try not to). this last show was the first time in three years i’ve had a solo show for myself. any gallery owner can put his or her artwork in their own gallery but when another gallery asks you to show, it means a lot more. the bad part is that i feel like people are only complimenting my artwork BECAUSE they know i own an art gallery. that was also partially why i started creating work under the name netherland, so people would judge my art without influence on the fact that i have a gallery.

q: can you tell us a little about about slingshot! press?
a: i started slingshot! press mainly because i wanted to make art affordable for everyone. most print sites that do offer low priced prints are not signed and limited numbered editions. i think it means a lot more to have it signed by the artists. it costs me a bit more to send it to them and it takes longer but it’s worth it to the customer. also, i know a lot of talented artists that i wanted to help get their work out there.

(slingshot! print sampling: hamster wheel by paul chatem & archers by kelly vivanco)

q: do you have any advice for up and coming artists from the gallery owner’s perspective?
a: the best advice i can give is to be original. it’s great to be inspired by other artists but i like to look at stuff that is different and not a copy of someone else’s work. also when submitting to a gallery, take the time to take REALLY good photos of your work. the better the photos look, the better chance i’ll want to show them in my gallery.

you can see more of david’s work at his website here or on his flickr stream, and if you’re in chicago be sure to visit the dva gallery. purchase slingshot! press prints right here.

thank you david!

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