Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Art for Everyone
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Frank Zappa once remarked that “Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.” Sage words, and relevant to the hip and exciting “Got Art?” art shows put on by Jill Melanson and Julie Jenkins, both of Boston suburbs. If Zappa’s to be believed, Got Art? just might be the very embodiment of progress in the market for affordable art.
Jenkins, a veteran of the gallery world, recognized a few years into her career that young or inexperienced buyers were intimidated by the prospect of shopping for art. They felt unwelcome in galleries, and had little help finding where to go to find what they liked. Jenkins teamed up with entrepreneur and fellow art-lover Jill Melanson to seize that opportunity; together they have created a progressive new way for aspiring collectors to experience and acquire art.
Jenkins calls “Got Art?” an anti-gallery, a space designed to bring artists together with buyers, rather than to showcase artists as remote and intangible. She and Melanson spend all year scouting galleries, fairs, shows and warehouses to find artists appropriate for their mission. Almost all of the artists attend the shows, which normally stretch over a weekend, and are encouraged to negotiate the prices of their works.
Whereas galleries affix high, market-driven prices to art works for a wide variety of reasons, Got Art? shows feature art that is “priced to sell.” Melanson says their goal is to keep all pieces under $3000, but most fall under $1000. The vibrancy and high quality of the work, at such affordable prices, means aspiring collectors often turn into collectors at the show. In some cases, Jenkins says, artists have sold over forty pieces.
The upcoming Spring Show, taking place from April 27-29 will be held in the Asa Whiting Barn at the Holliston Historic Society, where Got Art? held its last show. Melanson and Jenkins’ positive, inclusive approach translates into an atmosphere of mutual excitement, more like a party than a museum tour, that fills the barn during show hours. The warm, weathered rafters with sparkling white lights strung overhead create a relaxing homey atmosphere in which to flip through the many paintings leaning against the wall.
This weekend’s show features the work of 15 artists, including Ann Scott, Charles Tersolo, June Blanco, Robert Herdlein, Julie Shaw Lutts, Ed Hicks and Hannah Bureau. Some, like Tersolo have shown before, others are new to the party. Jenkins says that once artists are in the show, they always ask to be included in the next one. Artists are always happy to be able to clear out their studio, and at Got Art? they can entertain selling “volume.”
Got Art? affordable art shows bring a sophisticated collector’s experience (flipping through canvases like a curator in a Manhattan studio) to a new audience. A deviation from the norm for sure, and the kind of progress many a blank wall or lonely garden path will celebrate.
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