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.

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.

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.

Five Must-Read Art Business Articles for August 2018

August tends to be a slow time throughout the art market, but there were some interesting stories in the news nonetheless. From the changing strategies of galleries and dealers in the face of new market realities, to a couple of interesting Old Master issues, there is a lot to learn about both old and new in the field. Read on to see links to this month's five selected top stories along with short blurbs to accompany them.

1. David Zwirner appoints curator-cum-Instagram-influencer as its first online sales director—why?
   by Margaret Carrigan via the The Art Newspaper (August 3)
   Carrigan explores the Zwirner's decision to add Elena Soboleva, a self-described "curator, innovator and global art adventurer" to head their online sales. Zwirner is one of the largest galleries in the world, and has seen a huge increase in sales via online in recent months. As they look to corner this market and improve on their strategies in the space, it made sense to reach out to an expert with a following of her own. This posting is likely a harbinger of changes to come at other galleries looking to bolster their digital footprint.
   
    
2. Sotheby’s Posts $57.3 M. Net Income for Second Quarter of 2018, Down 26 Percent from Same Period Last Year
   by Annie Armstrong via Art News (August 6)
   Although overall, Sotheby's saw a steep decline in income from the same period last year, company officials pointed to a bookkeeping issues related to Asian sales to underscore that overall sales remained strong. In Asia, sales were actually up 15% overall which points to the future of the market to some extent. The financial health and sales strength of leading auctioneers like Sotheby's, Christie's, etc. is indicative of the broader condition of the market.
    

3. The Strategies Art Dealers Use to Discount Artists’ Work
   by Anna Louie Sussman via Artsy (August 20)
   Discounts are a regularly used tactic throughout the gallery market and one that remains controversial. Many good collectors insist on discounts while artists tend to push back against them. Sussman's article does a great job of bringing together a nice array of sources in different positions in the field to learn more about strategies behind this practice as well as opinions of it. A great read for artists and gallery professionals alike.
    

4. Italy Revokes Export License for Frick Collection’s First Painting Acquisition in Decades
   by Staff via Artforum (August 24)
   The Frick Collection, one of the great private-turned-public collections in the world, recently made its first painting acquisition in years. Now this purchase of a full length portrait of Prince Camillo Borghese by François Gérard is in jeopardy as the Roman culture ministry responsible for approving export permits has reneged on its initial 'ok' on the grounds that the gallery where the painting was purchased did not fully complete their paperwork and left out important details about the piece. This is a great illustration of just one of many potential pitfalls of acquiring Old Masters in Europe and it will be an important story to follow especially if it heads to arbitration in the Italian courts.
    

5. A large Artemisia Gentileschi painting is coming to auction for the first time ever.
   by Benjamin Sutton via Artsy (August 28)
   Gentileschi is one of the great women artists of the Baroque period, and has seen a renaissance in interest over the last decade or so. The Dorotheum, the great Viennese auction house, will offer a painting of Lucretia by the artist featuring a pre-sale estimate with a high end over $800,000. Of course compared to other Old Master pictures this may not seem like a huge sum but it is significant. Sutton notes that the National Portrait Gallery acquired a self portrait of the artist as Saint Catherine last month for over $4millon. Lucretia will be sold at auction for the first time on October 23 after more than a century in a private collection. It will be interesting to see how the market reacts.

Five Must-Read Art Business Articles for July 2018

In this second installment of what will hopefully be an ongoing series, I outline my five must-read art business articles for the month of July. This month it was very tough to narrow down the five articles I selected. With issues as varied as Brexit, Holocaust Restitution, Copyright Law and other details in the news, I picked a few pieces that I felt covered issues of key concern to a broad audience. There is so much incredible arts journalism being written right now, so be sure to follow these links and explore other stories that interest you.

1. Ending a Seven-Year Dispute, a US Court Rules That Artists Aren’t Entitled to Royalties for Artworks Resold at Auction
   by Eileen Kinsella via artnet (July 9)
   Kinsella was one of the first journalists to break the news that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down a California state law, the 1977 California Resale Royalties Act (CRRA). The law had required fine artists to be paid royalties of 5% when their work is resold. The court ruled that the statute was pre-empted by the Federal Copyright Act, which does not provide for resale loyalties to artists. This is a blow to artists whose works sell for high values in the secondary market after leaving their studios.
    

2. 19th Century Women Artists Get Overdue Recognition—Will Their Market Follow?
   by David D'Arcy via the New York Observer (July 18)
   This piece examines the ascendancy of 19th Century women artists in recent scholarship and exhibitions and questions whether the market for such works, which has often been rather soft, can gain interest to match the renewed energy in the institutional sector. D'Arcy provides a review of the Women in Paris exhibition now on view at The Clark in Western Massachusetts and includes a few market examples. The market for these artists will be interesting to follow going forward.
    

3. The End of Exhibitions? As Attendance Plummets, New York Dealers Are Scrambling to Secure the Future of the Art Gallery by Rachel Corbett via artnet (July 18)
   Corbett outlines what people in the gallery business have known for some time, which is that gallery attendance is on the decline across the board. As individuals seek out new and varied venues for seeing and purchasing works of art, the gallery exhibition seems to be increasingly less relevant. This fact precipitated the inaugural Chelsea Arts Walk, which offered visitors after hours visits with thirty members of the ADAA. This article indicates some of the tactics galleries are using to resurrect their practice; ideas of relevance to those working in every part of the sector.
    

4. Christie's Sales Soar in Strong Art Market
   by Kelly Crow via The Wall Street Journal (July 24)
   Crow is one of the best market analysts working today. In this piece she breaks down Christie's central role in the current market and their astounding success in the first half of 2018. Perhaps most notably, Christie's online-only sales rose nearly 50% to $37.7million. The overall success of Christie's first six months of 2018 was helped in no small part by the once in a lifetime auction of the David and Peggy Rockefeller Collection which made up a fifth of their total revenue for the period. Their sales though, along with competitor Sotheby's, indicate that the market conitues to be going strong.
    

5. How Leo Castelli Changed The Art Market Forever
   by Nate Freeman via Artsy (July 31)
   This great profile by Nate Freeman gives a very accessible introduction to the story behind one of the most legendary art dealers of all time: Leo Castelli. Through his eponymous gallery, Castelli not only shaped the careers of many American artists in the mid twentieth century but also laid the groundwork for the commercial gallery model that exists, almost unchanged, today. Without Leo Castelli, there would never have been a Larry Gagosian.

Five Must-Read Art Business Articles for June 2018

Artists, collectors, and people interested in art often ask me for good venues to learn more about art business and the art market. There are so many great publications and blogs to follow it can be tough to keep up. So, I will be putting together a curated reading list each month to help highlight some of the key stories related to the business of making and selling fine art. This month's listing includes stories on the financial perils of being an artist and insights into the auction and gallery business. I hope you might keep an eye out at the end of each month as I share must-read articles to keep you apprised of the goings on in the art world.

1. Advice for Artists on How to Make a Living—When Selling Art Doesn’t Pay the Bills
   by Carroll Michels via Artsy (June 25)
   In this excerpt from her popular book How to Survive and Prosper as an Artist, Seventh Edition, published recently as an editorial on Artsy, Michels expertly outlines different career options for artists to help supplement their creative work. The majority of working artists do not make their entire living from their work, so this is especially timely and helpful.
    

2. Artists Support Themselves Through Freelance Work and Don’t Find Galleries Especially Helpful, New Study Says by Benjamin Sutton via Hyperallergic (June 14)
   Benjamin Sutton does a great job in this article of breaking down a recent study from the Creative Independent on how artists support themselves. The findings are quite interesting, if not totally surprising. One important note I do not think Sutton mentions though, is that the majority of respondents to the survey were younger artists in the early part of their career. This likely influenced the results.
    

3. Cheim and Read, Storied New York Gallery, Will Close Its Chelsea Space After 21 Years and Transition to ‘Private Practice’ by Eileen Kinsella via artnet (June 28)
   As shakeups in the commercial gallery market continue, news broke this week that New Yorks' Cheim and Read would close its Chelsea gallery space, move uptown, and shift to a private practice model. Kinsella's article provides some excellent background analysis on Cheim and Read, and gives some insights into the change, which is indicative of larger movements in the marketplace.
    

4. Why Guarantees Are Actually Good for the Art Market
   by Doug Woodham via Artsy (June 28)
   In this article, Doug Woodham does a wonderful job of explaining the sometimes obscure process by which major auction houses offer guarantees to consignors. He breaks down the issue giving some very interesting real world examples, highlighting the differences between house guarantees and third party guarantees. This is a useful piece to read for those interested in learning more about the functionality of the auction marketplace.
    

5. Meet the entrepreneurs catering to fresh crop of digitally-savvy art collectors
   by Isabel Togoh via The Irish Independent (June 24)
   This piece covers the incredible rise of Unit London, a gallery in London run by two entrepreneurs in their late 20's. Joe Kennedy and Jonny Burt founded their first space in 2013 and just this week moved into a new 6,000 square foot permanent home in London's Mayfair district. These young gallerists have built an international following for their artists and have utilized social media to make their gallery accessible to a broader range of potential collectors. They are a bright spot in the gallery market and their story provides some solid insights for other gallerists on how to do business.