Love, Lust & Desire

There was a positive sea of people at the gallery for the opening of Love, Lust & Desire! You almost couldn't move, but somehow people managed to pick out their favorites and buy them.

Here is Jessica Pappathan, assistant curator at St Anselm College with Amanda McGowan. Jess brought her sister Cassandra Pappathan, a new young writer for the Concord Insider. Cassie wrote a wonderful article about attending the opening called How To Behave At An Art Reception, which is a great primer for first time gallery attendance. As you can tell by the photo- it involved a lot of fun!

Many of the artists were baffled by how the show would go up on the walls with just clips. They had never seen anything quite like it. I have to confess that I took the idea from another gallery which had one wall devoted to "affordable art" hung in this manner.

It has also appealed to a lot of buyers! We have had streams of people coming to the gallery to check it out. The different interpretations of the theme have intrigued viewers. Often times they will go through the show 2 or 3 times because they have missed seeing pieces.

It has been an ever evolving show too. As the artwork is sold, new pieces go up. This has allowed people to take their valentines home.

Another wonderful article appeared in the Concord Monitor, written by Melanie Plenda- you can read it here.

Jay Surdukowski, pictured second from left, a former assistant to me and now a high powered lawyer at Sulloway & Hollis is pictured here with some of his friends. He had several pieces in the show- and definately won the award for bringing the most fans!

North Country Studio Workshops

In February of 2008 McGowan Fine Art hosted a show of participants from the North Country Studio Workshops held at Bennington College. It featured over 40 artists in diverse media . It was such a successful show for us and brought publicity to the NCSW program that we decided to repeat it again in 2010.

In an effort to help this large group show go more smoothly I went over to Bennington College last night to give a presentation on how to work with galleries to the attendees of NCSW 2009. I also spoke about approaching galleries in general. Here I am talking (I hope I wasn't lecturing!) to the participants. About 40 people showed up, which was a decent amount as there were two other options for participants to choose from during the time slot. While I talked quite a bit about the Entry Form for the show to be held in 2010, most people were curious about how to approach galleries in general. Apparently it is a big mystery!

Standard protocol to approach a gallery is to first call to see if they are accepting submissions. While I will look at anything that is sent to me via the mail, there are many galleries that will not. Ask what they would like to see, but the standard package usually includes slides, retail price list, resume, statement, articles, and a SASE if you would like your materials back. Make sure that the images are of recent work and that they are available if the gallery would like to take your work on.

NEVER just send an email with attachments or directing someone to a website. Chances are that a spam filter will toss out your email and unsolicited invitations to look at websites are lacking the personal touch that it takes to get me to pay attention. I receive far too many of them from artists who are scattered all over the world. Our gallery is more regional so I try to mostly represent artists from the Northern new England area. That is another tip- target the galleries you approach to make sure that your work is a good fit with the gallery.

Always keep in mind that when a gallery does not accept your work it is a business decision and not a personal judgement. Insurance restrictions and storage space are always on a gallery director's mind. They are very familiar with what their clientele will like, or not like. Their decisions are based on what is best for their clients, the business and you. If your work is consigned to a drawer, never to be shown it doesn't do anyone any good.

And now a quick word from our sponsor- North Country Studio Workshops which has done such a great job of giving high quality educational opportunities to the artists of New England. They help to make artists and galleries more successful! NCSW brings in nationally recognized artists to lead intensive workshops in their medium. Anyone may attend, but they were developed to primarily give access to professional development for Northern New England artists. Thanks!

Our Littlest Visitors

At McGowan Fine Art we have entertained Brownie Troops, Elder hostel, high school art classes, college level classes and more. They come here to learn what a commercial gallery is all about, what is art or how to be a professional artist. I have always enjoyed these groups- it is a break from my normal routine and I get to do one of my favorite things- talk about art.

I think having groups of younger kids exposed to art is very important. It teaches them to make it a part of their every day life. I think of it as teaching them to be cultural consumers.

This past Wednesday I hosted the World School from Nashua, NH. I had about 20 4-year olds in the gallery along with 8 adult chaperons. They were a fabulous little group of well behaved children- my favorite kind! I think they may have been overwhelmed by the experience but it may come back to them at a later date as having been a fun day. They really focused on the "why you shouldn't touch" speech I had given them earlier and had many questions on my reaction if one of them damaged a piece.

Hands down the most admired item in the whole gallery was my dog Henry. This is a picture of Amanda helping a young boy admire him. They tended to want to crowd in and lay hands on him all at once. He was very patient with them but I think he was a little distressed by the hubbub.