Opening and Grand Reopening

In my last post, I mentioned that Artists' Gallery had moved to a new location.  What I failed to mention is that this is a pretty significant event for us.  Artists' Gallery is an artists' cooperative of 18 equal partners who staff and run the gallery - there is no gallery owner to fall back on, we do it all ourselves.   So after 15 years of being on Coryell Street, an opportunity came up to move the gallery to a much nicer space at a much nicer location.  It was too good to pass up so we signed the lease in mid January and have been working hard ever since so that we were ready to open for business at the new location in March.   Physically, the building was in great shape but there were still so many details and unexpected complications to work on.   Did you know that you need permits and approval from 3 different local government bodies just to put your business's sign out front?   I certainly didn't.  I bet you don't know how expensive a gallery full of new halogen light bulbs is either!  So the permanent signs are not up yet but the inside is well finished, well lit, and if I say so myself, the gallery looks absolutely gorgeous.   We started with a pretty blank slate:

and finished with this (permanent signage yet to come):

The photos above are from my 2-man show "Local Color" with Michael Schweigart.  The wall of black-framed paintings are mine, the gold-framed paintings are Mike's.  I'd love to say that we planned this show so thoroughly, right down to the frames that each of us would use... but that would be lying - it was pure chance but I really like the end result.

Besides the main room where our 2-man show is hung, the gallery has other rooms, nooks and crannies where the other members' works are on display:

If you made it this far, I'd like to remind you that the Opening Reception for "Local Color" is Saturday, March 13 from 5-8pm.

And this opening also serves as the Grand Reopening of Artists' Gallery at our new location:

Artists' Gallery
18 Bridge Street
Lambertville, NJ 08530
map & directions

Saturday may be rainy but at least it's not snow.
I really hope you can make it out to see my show and our new space!

Local Color - Landscape paintings by Joe Kazimierczyk and Michael Schweigart

"Local Color"
Landscape paintings by 

Joe Kazimierczyk and Michael Schweigart
at Artists' Gallery in Lambertville, NJ
March 5 - April 4, 2010
Opening reception: Saturday, March 13 from 5-8 pm

top image: "Almost Spring" by Joe Kazimierczyk

bottom image: "Carried Away" by Michael Schweigart

During the month of March, I'm having a 2-man show with Michael Schweigart at Artists' Gallery in Lambertville, NJ.   As things stand now, this is the biggest show I have scheduled in 2010 so I hope you have a chance to see it.

Mike Schweigart is also a painter of landscapes, but his work is much more detailed than mine - it's really amazing to look at his work up close.  Me on the other hand, I take a much looser approach and tend to use the character of the paint to suggest detail.  The collection of new work that I'll be showing includes a number of sunsets and cloudscapes - a subject that's really been catching my eye as a painter this past year.

This is one of the newer paintings I'm showing - it's a farm near my home right after the big showstorm we had just before Christmas.  This scene was a short while before sunset:

"Rainbow Hill Farm"
12x24" oil on canvas

The show runs March 5 through April 4, 2010.
Artists' reception and Grand Reopening reception for the gallery:
Saturday, March 13 from 5-8pm at:

Artists' Gallery
18 Bridge Street ←new location!
Lambertville, NJ
map & directions
 
Gallery hours: every Friday, Saturday and Sunday 11am-6pm

What's with the new location for Artists' Gallery?   After 15 years on Coryell Street, an opportunity came up to move the gallery to a better location at 18 Bridge Street, right in the heart of town.  We've all been very busy making this move happen in a pretty short period of time, and the gallery's first day of business on Bridge Street will be this Friday, March 5.

Here's the Mayor of Lambertville with gallery members Jennifer Cadoff and Carol Sanzalone at the ribbon cutting ceremony for our new space:

We're also having a small reception this Sunday afternoon, March 7 from 2-5pm since it's our 1st weekend of business in the new space and we'll need to work out the logistics of doing receptions here.   Please join us if you can, and check out our new digs!

And for a bit of nostolgia, this painting which I'll have in "Local Color" is scene from near the front door of our old gallery on Coryell Street - a view I'd see often when leaving the gallery in the evening.   And I just realized how appropriate the title is, as we've just ended our 15 year stint there:

"Sunset on Coryell Street"
8x6" oil on board

2-man show in September

From Sept 5 to Oct 5, 2008 I'm doing a 2-man show with J. Stacy Rogers at the Artists' Gallery in Lambertville, NJ. Opening reception is Saturday Sept 6 from 6pm to 9pm.

Stacy is a wonderful portrait painter and will be showing formal portraits along with scenes of people going about their daily lives. I'll be showing my local landscapes, devoid of people as usual. The show's title is "Faces & Places", and pardon the pun, but between the two of us, it should paint a pretty complete portrait of the region. Here's a sneak peek at the postcard:


I'll be posting more details in a couple of weeks, closer to the opening date.

The Best Laid Plans...

One day last week, it was a beautiful afternoon, I packed up my painting supplies, checked my checklist, and headed out to paint. I arrived in Lambertville, planning to paint near the wing dam, but when I opened my trunk, it seems I forgot to bring the tripod that I need to mount my paintbox on. So much for checklists! I really need that tripod! But, instead of heading back home defeated, I looked around for something I could rest the paintbox on... there was one picnic table in a shady spot, so:

"The Boat Club"
11x14 oil on panel

This is the Lambertville Boat Club, along the banks of the Delaware River The bridge from Lambertville to New Hope can be seen in the distance.

New Hope Arts, Inc.

My solo show at the Triumph in New Hope is over, but the sponsors of that show, New Hope Arts, Inc., wanted to hold onto a few of my paintings to show in their permanent gallery space across the street. So I'll have about 6 paintings there for a couple of months at least.

New Hope Arts mainly shows sculpture in their gallery but fortunately there is some wall space for a few 2 dimensional works. The show going on now through Jan 12, 2008 is "Works In Wood" - a national juried show that is well worth seeing.

New Hope Arts is located at 2 Stockton Street, New Hope, Pa - it's on the corner of Bridge and Stockton Streets.

One of the paintings I'll have over there:

"Larsen Road Barns"
11x14 oil on panel

Ongoing at Hopewell

My solo show at the Hopewell Frame Shop Gallery is over now. It went really well and was a lot of fun. Abby, the owner, has asked me to stay on and leave a few paintings for her permanent gallery. Downstairs is for the changing shows, but there is also an upstairs gallery where she keeps some regular artists up all the time.

So now I show in these 3 galleries:

Hopewell Frame Shop Gallery
24 W. Broad Street (rt 518)
Hopewell, NJ 08525
[map & directions]
view painting currently at this gallery


des Champs Gallery
7 Lambert Lane
Lambertville, NJ 08530
[map & directions]
view painting currently at this gallery


Artists' Gallery
32 Coryell Street
Lambertville, NJ 08530
[map & directions]
view painting currently at this gallery

"Remnants"
8x10 oil on panel

Ending and Beginning

Ending: My gallery in Frenchtown, NJ, the Harrison Street Gallery artists cooperative, is closing it's doors at the end of this month. The owner is moving and hasn't been able to find a buyer who wants to keep the gallery going. So, it was a lot of fun and a great opportunity for me when I needed it last year, but all good things must end. And hopefully lead to other good beginnings.

Beginning: I've joined a new gallery in Lambertville, NJ: the des Champs Gallery, run by Lise des Champs. It's a really nice space and she has a lot of really great artists onboard so far, so it's quite an honor for me to be a part of this. The gallery is in a great location at 7 Lambert Lane, right in the heart of town, and just a stone's throw from the bridge. Lise ran the Gallery at the Frame Shop on Main Street last year, and just started up the des Champs Gallery in mid-January. I think she's off to a terrific start with this venture.

I'll still be a member of the Artists' Gallery in Lambertville, just a few blocks from the des Champs Gallery. So my personal challenge will be to find a way of balancing the 2 - maybe showing one body of work in one gallery but not the other, or... I don't know but I really have to think about this!

On being in a co-op

Well, I'm completing my first full year as a member of The Artists' Gallery, an artists' cooperative in Lambertville, NJ. As an emerging artist, this has been a tremendously valuable experience for me. I'll use this post to reflect back on that experience, in case it helps any other artists out there.

A year ago, when I joined the co-op, I knew how to paint but I knew nothing about how run a gallery or how to market myself. At opening receptions, I'd keep a low profile and hope that no one spoke to me. Now just a year later, I have other people asking me for advice, and I feel confident in answering their questions. At opening receptions, I actually enjoy talking to our guests, and don't cringe away from that like I used to. By far, one of the best things about being in this co-op is the chance to work closely with the other artist members. Unlike some co-ops, this one has no individual owner - it's run entirely by the artists, and we all have an equal say in all matters. We do all of the work and make all of the decisions. Our degree of success is entirely in our own hands. And fortunately, this is a really great group of people who get along well and support each other.

Some of the best things I've gotten out of this:

1. the camaraderie of running a gallery with other artists
2. learning what it takes to run an art gallery
   
3. many opportunities to talk with gallery visitors, and to meet some of the people who have purchased my work. There was a time when this would have intimidated me, but now I'm comfortable with it, and I find it a very rewarding thing to do. Even the occasional bad comment is good to hear, when sometimes customers don't realize it's your work they're commenting on.
   
4. the opportunity to take part in a 2-man show
5. making contacts which led to my first solo show
   
6. learning now do press releases: how to write them and who to send them to
7. the confidence in knowing that I can do this now

In various art forums, I often see artists asking for opinions on joining an artists cooperative. In my case, it's been great, but every gallery is different so I'll offer these points to consider:

• Does the gallery have a track record of being in existence for at least a few years, or is it brand new? It's relatively easy for a co-op to get started, but few can keep going after the initial enthusiasm wears off. Don't rule out a gallery just because it's new, but this might affect your level of confidence in the gallery. On one hand, it could be very exciting to join a gallery that's just starting up. On the other hand, if you're looking to learn from others, you'll be better with an established gallery.
  
• Is the gallery in a good location? (An important question for any type of gallery!)
• How much wall space will you get and how often will you get to show your work. You may not have the chance to show your work all of the time.
  
• Does the gallery put on solo shows or 2-person shows to feature the artists, and does everyone get a fair shot at this? How often?
  
• Commercial galleries usually take a 40 to 50 percent commission on work sold, but it doesn't cost the artist anything to belong to the gallery. Belonging to a co-op typically means paying a monthly membership fee but a lower commission is taken, or maybe no commission at all. Whether this arrangement is good for you depends on how much you sell.
  
• How much work is expected from you?
  
• You may need to attend regular gallery meetings - how often?
• You will probably have to gallery sit regularly - how often? This means you open up in the morning, turn on the lights, greet gallery visitors, handle the sales, turn out the lights and lock up at the end of the day. You'll have to be comfortable running the gallery all by yourself. (It's not that hard.)
• Are you expected to help with other things like cleaning up, painting the walls, and fixing anything that needs fixing?
• What other costs will you be responsible for?
• Who pays for publicity such as the printing and mailing of postcards?
• Who pays for the food and wine at opening receptions?
• Most co-ops have a 1-time sign up fee when you first join the gallery. Sometimes this is refundable when you leave, sometimes not.
  
• Once you join, is there any obligation to remain a member for some period of time, or can you leave whenever you want to?
• Try to meet some of the members and ask as many questions as you can. The co-op that I'm in is a great bunch of people - we're like a family. I've heard of others where things are not so pleasant - clashing personalities, big egos, etc. The mix of personalities could make or break the experience for you, so do some research first. Since co-ops are typically run by the artist members, it's easy for you to meet them by just visiting the gallery.
  

If anyone out there is thinking of joining my gallery, you can read our co-op membership rules online for more details. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to anyone. If you're thinking or applying to a co-op somewhere else, I hope that my advice has been helpful. Feel free to ask me any questions via the comments link below. Or better yet, go visit a co-op in your area and talk to whoever is sitting behind the desk that day!

The Artists' Gallery

I started a blog for The Artists Gallery, the co-op gallery that I belong to. Check it out. And if you're in the area of Lambertville, NJ, please stop by for the opening reception of our December show - more details are on that blog.