The word “posh” is flung at galleries everywhere, but even a fine-art dealer like Douglas Udell offers gorgeous work for under $1,000, and most commercial galleries offer instalment plans
In business at his namesake 124th Street gallery for 46 years, Udell also sells five- and six-figure works, contemporary and historic. Surrounded by two Picasso etchings, a hand-pulled Colville print and an original A.Y. Jackson in his comfortable showroom, he explains his responsibilities to buyers. “If I want to be in business tomorrow, I have to know everything about that work on the wall and be able to reveal it to you. If I sell you that Colville print and it’s been damaged by light — and I know it, and you don’t, and you find out — I might as well not be in business.”
Whether you’re buying from a gallery or collecting street art from Adriean Koleric, the rules are the same. You can’t do it from your couch — you have to go to it. (Admittedly you could buy art off the Internet, but will you really find something that moves you?)
Photo: Adriean Koleric, a.k.a. thinkITEM, drops his artwork around Edmonton. Credit: Fish Griwkowsky.
Edmonton artist Koleric leads his @thinkitem Instagram followers to free art he drops on the streets in a social media scavenger hunt. Fans of his pop art bump into each other frantically during the chase. “I don’t walk up and give it to them — they take the time to look for it,” Koleric laughs after taping tiny framed images under the High Level Bridge in -27 C. “I’m adding minutes to their lives with that little exercise.”
Looking for art in galleries takes work too, says Udell. “You need to go around and search out really what’s in this city. Go in and talk to the dealers. They want to tell you what they have, as a benefit to them and you. Talk to them all! There’s no way any dealer around here wouldn’t want to help you. Only in New York do you find the girls at the front with their nose in the air; and I know the people in the back want to talk.
“But you have to go and look. The more you look, the more you know. The more you get to know, the more fun it becomes.”
REALLY? WE’RE NOT A CITY OF ART COLLECTORS?
“I’m not sure how much collecting is going on here,” notes David Candler, of gallery DC3 Art Projects. “Obviously I’d like to see that change. It’s different here, even compared with cities like Toronto and Montreal, where you’ve got really active, active, active collectors, who are travelling and buying off the secondary market and very high price-point works.”
Photo: This large-scale prints by Karen Kunc (As if, as though) is part of SNAP’s incredible 30th anniversary portfolio, but available separately for $300 each. Credit: Fish Griwkowsky.
SNAP Gallery’s executive director April Dean pipes in, “People around here don’t spend money on art, they literally don’t. There is a ton of money here. Everyone has a right to have a framed Oilers jersey above their fireplace, but they should think about where that money’s going. But artists in Edmonton are so accessible, there are so many venues where you can just walk in and put money right into the pocket of artists and non-profits.
“I don’t understand why anyone would go to Ikea and think they’re buying art — that’s insane.”
HOW DO YOU START?
Linda Wedman is the chief operating officer of the Works International Visual Arts Society, which takes over downtown with its namesake festival annually in June. She encourages us to hit the galleries — like those along 124th Street — as well as artist-run shows and events like The Works. People often see art, she says, “and that’s how it starts. They pick up the bug somehow, and are inspired. Then away they go! A good place to start is what you liked, what you just saw. Do you have that kind of budget?”
Wedman consults with corporations seeking art, and figures she has started “80 collections in my day. A really great way to start a collection is with the emerging artists.”
She stresses “if that artist is available at the gallery, shop at the gallery! You just built the industry. But not all emerging artists are in the gallery. That’s why maybe you want to spend a little time in some of the alternative venues.”
Besides the Works, which is a great place to buy, events like the recurring Royal Bison and On the Spot Pop Up Craft Sale bubble with ridiculously cheap finds. Credo, Café Mosaics, Blue Plate Diner and Elm Café are just a few examples of restaurants acting as local artist nursery galleries, with prices in the double and triple digits. And attend Latitude 53 gallery’s Ice /Land Parka Patio on Feb. 22.
HOW WILL THE GALLERIES HELP YOU?
Short answer, in every way possible. One of the most exciting new galleries is DC3 at 10567 111th St., run by the articulate and passionate David Candler who, as he puts it, works at his day job “100 hours a week to keep it going.” DC3 is an ongoing experiment, a gallery both highly conceptual and commercial. Candler’s first goal when someone walks in is conversation. “I’m trying to bring an awareness and a discussion about contemporary art to Edmonton because I think it’s been lacking, to excite people in a way that I became excited. The art of our time, that is being created now, those are the things that will be the remnants of our society.
“I do encourage the artists I’m working with to think about having lower price-point things for people who fall in love with their work and aren’t able to look at five figures for a large canvas. Trying to find something to slot in becomes an important way to build the artist’s market, but also in helping collectors who are passionate and don’t have the level of resources they might want to be able to bring.”
Price ranges here can start in the low hundreds, scaling into the tens of thousands for larger works by established, institution-collected artists.
Photo: SNAP executive director April Dean with the gallery’s quarterly, SNAPline. Subscribing to this gets you a handmade print four times a year. Credit: Fish Griwkowsky.
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Over at SNAP (10123 121st Ave.), executive director April Dean says “prints are an amazing place for someone who wants to start an art collection. We’ve been commissioning four artists a year for 25 years to do limited-edition prints, so we have this history of prints that are still for sale, and we sell them for an incredibly affordable price. You can go to Elm (Café) for a coffee, waltz into the gallery, talk to me for half an hour about art and life and then flip through 25 years’ worth of prints and pick one up for $50.
“I love talking to people about art. I want to hear what they like. It’s not me trying to sell them something, but find something they genuinely connect with. That’s what art in one’s home should do.”
HOW DO YOU KNOW IT WILL LOOK GOOD AT HOME?
Almost every commercial gallery allows you to test drive art, often for free. They’re banking, of course, that you won’t be able to return your adopted puppy to the pound. Some, like Udell, offer leasing, while the Art Gallery of Alberta’s rental program is one of the oldest around. “This is the greatest way for people to make a decision, by renting art,” nods Ania Sleczkowska, the AGA’s art rental and sales manager. “Last year we had 70 sales, and 50 of them came from trying art out. We’ll always have names like Phil Darrah, John Freeman, Arlene Wasylynchuk, but we’re also pointing to young, talented artists having exhibitions here.” She notes the collection is moving toward abstract photography and even installation, including work by Lyndal Orborne who’s currently headlining a show at the AGA.
AGA rentals go for two per cent of the work’s value, and up to six months’ rental can go toward the purchase price if you get attached. Art bought from the AGA gives 70 per cent to the artist. Commercial galleries usually split the sale 50-50.
I REFUSE TO GET OFF MY COUCH! YOU CAN’T MAKE ME!
OK, if you’re really that busy, grumpy or lazy, there are still options. Back to Dean at SNAP: “We have a level of membership called sponsor membership. For $150 annually you get four limited edition prints in the mail, and it comes with a publication that has news about that artist. Your money goes to support new art and new writing, and then you get art in the mail.”
Edmonton artist Erin Elizabeth Ross has a gallery presence for her larger works and sells art through Instagram followers. Credit: Fish Griwkowsky.
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It being 2014, social media has to be mentioned at least once more. Full-time artist Erin Elizabeth Ross has a fourth-floor studio on 104th Street. On her walls are animals, prairies and fires. Posting photos of her “more fun” experiments on Instagram, she accidentally discovered a pocket market, selling art, phone to phone. (It still needs to be physically picked up, sorry).
But technology is “great for art the same way it’s great for everything, instant access in the palms of their hands. The work I sell on social media tends to be smaller, tends to be more affordable.” Ross says the magic range is about $150-$300, her drawings of crystals being in especially high demand. She’s sold about 40 pieces this way. “ Her Instagram account: @erinerosssss. No, really. “That’s the power of social media,” she says. “I was getting calls from strangers.”
Linda Wedman is the chief operating officer of the Works International Visual Arts Society, which takes over downtown with its namesake festival annually in June. She encourages us to hit the galleries — like those along 124th Street — as well as artist-run shows and events like The Works. People often see art, she says, “and that’s how it starts. They pick up the bug somehow, and are inspired. Then away they go! A good place to start is what you liked, what you just saw. Do you have that kind of budget?”
Wedman consults with corporations seeking art, and figures she has started “80 collections in my day. A really great way to start a collection is with the emerging artists.”
She stresses “if that artist is available at the gallery, shop at the gallery! You just built the industry. But not all emerging artists are in the gallery. That’s why maybe you want to spend a little time in some of the alternative venues.”
Besides the Works, which is a great place to buy, events like the recurring Royal Bison and On the Spot Pop Up Craft Sale bubble with ridiculously cheap finds. Credo, Café Mosaics, Blue Plate Diner and Elm Café are just a few examples of restaurants acting as local artist nursery galleries, with prices in the double and triple digits. And attend Latitude 53 gallery’s Ice /Land Parka Patio on Feb. 22.
HOW WILL THE GALLERIES HELP YOU?
Short answer, in every way possible. One of the most exciting new galleries is DC3 at 10567 111th St., run by the articulate and passionate David Candler who, as he puts it, works at his day job “100 hours a week to keep it going.” DC3 is an ongoing experiment, a gallery both highly conceptual and commercial. Candler’s first goal when someone walks in is conversation. “I’m trying to bring an awareness and a discussion about contemporary art to Edmonton because I think it’s been lacking, to excite people in a way that I became excited. The art of our time, that is being created now, those are the things that will be the remnants of our society.
“I do encourage the artists I’m working with to think about having lower price-point things for people who fall in love with their work and aren’t able to look at five figures for a large canvas. Trying to find something to slot in becomes an important way to build the artist’s market, but also in helping collectors who are passionate and don’t have the level of resources they might want to be able to bring.”
Price ranges here can start in the low hundreds, scaling into the tens of thousands for larger works by established, institution-collected artists.
Photo: SNAP executive director April Dean with the gallery’s quarterly, SNAPline. Subscribing to this gets you a handmade print four times a year. Credit: Fish Griwkowsky.
Over at SNAP (10123 121st Ave.), executive director April Dean says “prints are an amazing place for someone who wants to start an art collection. We’ve been commissioning four artists a year for 25 years to do limited-edition prints, so we have this history of prints that are still for sale, and we sell them for an incredibly affordable price. You can go to Elm (Café) for a coffee, waltz into the gallery, talk to me for half an hour about art and life and then flip through 25 years’ worth of prints and pick one up for $50.
“I love talking to people about art. I want to hear what they like. It’s not me trying to sell them something, but find something they genuinely connect with. That’s what art in one’s home should do.”
HOW DO YOU KNOW IT WILL LOOK GOOD AT HOME?
Almost every commercial gallery allows you to test drive art, often for free. They’re banking, of course, that you won’t be able to return your adopted puppy to the pound. Some, like Udell, offer leasing, while the Art Gallery of Alberta’s rental program is one of the oldest around. “This is the greatest way for people to make a decision, by renting art,” nods Ania Sleczkowska, the AGA’s art rental and sales manager. “Last year we had 70 sales, and 50 of them came from trying art out. We’ll always have names like Phil Darrah, John Freeman, Arlene Wasylynchuk, but we’re also pointing to young, talented artists having exhibitions here.” She notes the collection is moving toward abstract photography and even installation, including work by Lyndal Orborne who’s currently headlining a show at the AGA.
AGA rentals go for two per cent of the work’s value, and up to six months’ rental can go toward the purchase price if you get attached. Art bought from the AGA gives 70 per cent to the artist. Commercial galleries usually split the sale 50-50.
I REFUSE TO GET OFF MY COUCH! YOU CAN’T MAKE ME!
OK, if you’re really that busy, grumpy or lazy, there are still options. Back to Dean at SNAP: “We have a level of membership called sponsor membership. For $150 annually you get four limited edition prints in the mail, and it comes with a publication that has news about that artist. Your money goes to support new art and new writing, and then you get art in the mail.”
Edmonton artist Erin Elizabeth Ross has a gallery presence for her larger works and sells art through Instagram followers. Credit: Fish Griwkowsky.
It being 2014, social media has to be mentioned at least once more. Full-time artist Erin Elizabeth Ross has a fourth-floor studio on 104th Street. On her walls are animals, prairies and fires. Posting photos of her “more fun” experiments on Instagram, she accidentally discovered a pocket market, selling art, phone to phone. (It still needs to be physically picked up, sorry).
But technology is “great for art the same way it’s great for everything, instant access in the palms of their hands. The work I sell on social media tends to be smaller, tends to be more affordable.” Ross says the magic range is about $150-$300, her drawings of crystals being in especially high demand. She’s sold about 40 pieces this way. “ Her Instagram account: @erinerosssss. No, really. “That’s the power of social media,” she says. “I was getting calls from strangers.”
Of course, strangers or not, this is a central point of art:
connection. We think and talk about what we buy, show it off to friends,
maybe make new friends at art openings, plotting our sacrifices even
when there’s no wall space left at home.
Wistfully, Koleric says he values the connection, through things he’s made. “I like being part of someone’s life in a weird way.”
Collecting art, we enter a game, a stock market, and even a vet like Udell admits, “Buying’s the easy part. Usually you’re emotionally involved, and if you’re really lucky you like it well enough at the time to buy it. But by living with it, you learn to love it.
“People bemoan — after they’ve sold. They’ve got the money. But you don’t have that work of art any more. People complain, always. And I’ve got to tell you, I’m one of them.”
Wistfully, Koleric says he values the connection, through things he’s made. “I like being part of someone’s life in a weird way.”
Collecting art, we enter a game, a stock market, and even a vet like Udell admits, “Buying’s the easy part. Usually you’re emotionally involved, and if you’re really lucky you like it well enough at the time to buy it. But by living with it, you learn to love it.
“People bemoan — after they’ve sold. They’ve got the money. But you don’t have that work of art any more. People complain, always. And I’ve got to tell you, I’m one of them.”
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