Slowly but Surely

© Allison V. Smith

Some shows simply hang themselves. The placement of works can be so clear that any variation would seem less like an alternate option and more just plain wrong. This show, however, has been a trickster. We must have traded the works around 5 or 6 times and switched out entire pieces at least 3 times before we settled on this layout. Getting the works straight is even more tricky since the photos are on untrimmed paper. There's not a straight edge to be found, so we just have to eyeball the things. It seems as though everyday we spot a new piece that needs to come up just a hair on the left side. I think we're ready to put away the tools today, though.

Helpers

We are beginning to install the next exhibition of Ann Stautberg's hand-colored large-scale photographs. I'm not sure if we could do it without the help of Barry's hard-working dogs, Bucks and Daisy. The process of taking down a retired show can be an organizational feat. I have to enter all of the works into inventory with all information, corresponding images, and any additional identifying characteristics that could help id the work in the future. Then I make labels for the back of every piece and stamp the backs of the frames to mark who owns them (gallery, artist, or both). I often wrap the sold works so the clients can come pick them up and update the website's past, current, upcoming, and slideshow sections. And that's just day one.

Art Basel - Miami

Best of luck to my friend and gallery neighbor Brian Gibb, founder of Art Prostitute magazine and owner/director of The Public Trust, who is participating in the Miami art fairs beginning today. For the last few years, this fair in particular has been an incredible success for the gallerists who participate. It has also been a wild party. Brian built this too scale model of his hotel room at Aqua and came by to show it to me last week. The CADD art fair is the only fair I've ever been a part of, so I would really love an opportunity to participate in a big guns affair like this.

Gobble Doodle

Turkey doodle by Barry Whistler left on my chair
this morning. It's keeping me company today.

Barry is out of town for the holiday, so I'll be running the show today and Saturday. I approved the proofs today for our next two exhibition mailers and am closing in on the press release with our PR extraordinaire, Jeanne Prejean. The Saturday after Thanksgiving is often fairly busy since people are looking for things to do with their families, so hopefully we'll have a crowd. This is the last week of our show, which makes me sad. I have really enjoyed living with this work for the past five weeks.

Field Trip

A studio arts class from the University of Texas at Dallas came by the gallery last week with professor and gallery artist Lorraine Tady to look at Johnnie Winona Ross' exhibition. They asked a few questions about the surface of his paintings so I gave a short explanation of the work and process. Then they asked about me and my background and I blushed terribly.

Package Pro

I make a mean package, I tell you what. Made a couple today for artist Lawrence Lee. Typically, I include a resume, artist statement, some fresh press, an invitation or two with an image, and either a disc with more images or some print-outs. I also include a price sheet depending upon who the package is for. I try to make them interesting, tidy, and concise so that they provide a nice entry point to an artist's work. Epic tomes are the worst.

Cheese!

A portrait of Dan Mendenhall taking my portrait

A super nice student from Texas A&M, Commerce took my portrait with this heavy duty camera the other day. He was making environmental portraits - photos of people in their environment doing what they do. He told me not to smile which is always quite challenging. He took my card, so hopefully he will send or email me a copy like Allison V. Smith always does!

I have been scurrying around making these fancy pants packages on Johnnie Winona Ross and the current show to send to some V.I.P.'s. The price point on Johnnie's work is pretty high, so Barry is really having to coax the sales. Unfortunately, I think this would have been much easier were the economic sky not falling. Nevertheless, Barry is a pro and has been at this for almost 25 years. He's not going to let a little "economic slowdown" stop him.

I'm back

Photo by Allison V. Smith

Everyone is busy, so I have no excuse for my long absence from the world wide interweb. I am new to blogging, but I can only hope that others have experienced dry spells in their blog. However, my blog block has been lifted and I'm walking on the sunny side of broadband street. Let me do my best to get you caught up...

The Johnnie Winona Ross show is still hanging and it's still beautiful. The work is a nice step back from a hectic daily routine. Even if your routine isn't that hectic, this exhibition makes you feel like you oughta slow down a little and appreciate life more. It is quiet, commanding, and demands to be actually looked at for some duration. The paintings were made in such an exposed manner that nearly every visitor inquires about some aspect of Ross' profoundly traditional process. It's nice to have a break from the barrage of visual noise we continually experience.

Installation in Progress

Johnnie Winona Ross just rolled in with the work for our upcoming exhibition. His paintings are incredibly sophisticated. They're subtle and assertive and pregnant with his laborious process. I have a feeling I'll be thinking about them a lot this week. I've been working on the price list for his paintings and one ingredient in particular caught my attention - carbonized bone. He has refused to expose any further details. Perhaps it's crushed up Jimmy Hoffa.

Gallery Night

So the opening at Conduit wasn't like being in a BET video this time, but it was still really neat. Fahamu Pecou knows how to push some paint. The work was really impressive and it was interesting to talk to him at the opening. We also swung by the Holly Johnson Gallery and quite liked the show there of Precisionist paintings by William Steiger. His buildings were especially appealing with their implied dimensionality. There were obvious connections to Charles Sheeler, but his work also reminded me a bit of Sol Lewitt's variations of incomplete cubes but without the systematization or mathematical functionality. My boyfriend Jonathan, a physics man, saw visualizations of forces and energy in many of the paintings. Cool stuff.

He's back!!

I don't have the best cheerleader handwriting, but I tried

Barry with Bill & SueSue Bounds, Rachel, and Fahamu Pecou
looking at Lawrence Lee's drawings

Welcome back Barry Whistler! As predicted, Barry made it in today for the last day of Allison's show. He started off by talking with Atlanta artist Fahamu Pecou who is having an opening this evening at Conduit Gallery. Fahamu's work blends the artificiality of hip-hop culture and the art world, and his openings are quite an experience. I'll take photos and post about it as words alone cannot describe. People have begun picking up their pieces from Allison's show, and we're taking everything down on Monday. Johnnie Winona Ross is arriving on Tuesday with the new paintings for his upcoming exhibition, and the process begins again.

Shoo Fly

James Cope at the Goss Michael Foundation posted this awesome article about gallery assistants on his blog. I can't claim to have found a private jet in one hour or flown an ice cube halfway around the world, but the gist of the diversity inherent in the job is fully spelled out. Along with the usual hustle and bustle of this week, a large priority of mine was ridding the gallery of a small fruit fly infestation. My current technique is red wine vinegar with dish soap so the flies sink and drown when they go for a drink. Another photograph sold, and the director for CADD ArtLab came in to select works for her next exhibition, but I was worried about discreet pest control everytime someone stepped foot in the space. Hopefully, this weekend's traps will curtail the problem. In other news, I predict Barry Whistler will be back at the gallery sometime next week! It might be brief, but he's determined to get there. Tomorrow will be exactly 3 weeks from his surgery.

Double Dang

In case anyone was unclear about the Barry Whistler Gallery cool factor, here's an interesting fact – Quincy Jones just left the gallery! A longtime friend of Allison V. Smith's he stopped by to see her show before his lecture at SMU this evening. I shook his hand twice and showed him the work of an African American artist, Lawrence Lee, which he seemed to really like. Allison managed to snag a quick photoshoot with him which I then snagged a photo of. Can you believe it? I can't. Big shout-out from Unfair Park on my gallery blog, too. And another big shout-out from the Frontburner! Hi Zac!

Conversation

Having the work of a local artist hanging on the walls can be a huge benefit. Especially if it's an artist who totally sits at the popular table during lunch. Today was a day of great conversation about Allison's photos. One couple came in early and stayed for nearly 45 minutes talking about every photo with me. The man was a photographer, so he admired things from a knowing standpoint, but his friend didn't know much about the subject. She asked all kinds of questions and seeing her excitement about the work was contagious. Next walked in a big fan of Allison's work who talked with me about her sense of color and composition. He came from a graphic design background, so his appreciation was entirely different and just as interesting. My job rules.

I'm sorry

I apologize for my grumbles and bleats yesterday. The culprit for all of my recent woes can be seen above in the stack of almost 300 images that I have to memorize for one of my midterms. If these cards were placed end to end, they could reach Lubbock from here - although they're only 3 x 5", so maybe just Fort Worth. I will get through it, fear ye not. On a lighter note, I dug around today and found contact information for a handful of people who should be aware of our current show. I extended personal invitations to them, so hopefully they will come by. I've also updated the upcoming section of the gallery website with images from our next show.

Keep on truckin

Allison V. Smith's show has been a continual success. We just sold another large photograph today and still have plenty more irons in the fire. With Barry holed up at the satellite office (aka home), it has been a lot of work keeping things running smoothly. Barry hired someone to get here early since my school schedule doesn't allow me to arrive on time, and I have been trying to pull things together for him to do. On top of it all, I am feeling the pressure of making sure everything gets accomplished that needs to on time. The little things, like making sure the bathroom has enough toilet paper, are on my plate with just as much importance as getting a package together in time for an art consultant's presentation or laying out the next mailer. And don't anyone mention midterms. Seriously.

Champions of the Art World

Barry Whistler Gallery was awarded the prestigious "Best Art Gallery" award by the Dallas Observer in their Best of Dallas issue. Awesome!! Apparently, shockingly, the gallery has never won this before. It has been clear to me for years, I wonder what took everyone else so long? As an extra bonus, my gallery blog got a shout-out. Whooo!!

It's like this every day...

Day one of my Barryless gallerina experience was actually pretty rad. I organized shipping and official loan agreements for a show of Michael Miller's at the University of Dallas, so that project is all tucked away now. I have also begun ironing out the details for shipping, layout, installation, and potential book signing during our next exhibition with Johnnie Winona Ross which opens in October. But lastly, I put together a package on some artists for First Lady Laura Bush who stopped by the gallery Tuesday morning! I wasn't going to mention it until I saw a blurb about it on the Dallas Morning News blog (how did they know?). Whether or not you agree with her husband's politics, you have to admit that secret service is cool.

Knee swap

Barry Whistler had knee replacement surgery yesterday. Yowza! It's major surgery with a 6 week recovery. He will stand on it for the first time today which starts off his long and painful rehab. Although he might currently doubt why he did this, it was quite necessary. Standing for 2 hours during an opening was agonizing, as was simply walking across a parking lot. So for the next 3-6 weeks, I'll be running the show at the gallery. It's a big responsibility, but it's one I'm excited about. I have someone, C.J. Davis, coming in a few days out of the week to help me with odds and ends. I'm putting my director's cap on.

CADD ArtLab

Dallas boasts a new art venue as of this weekend. For two years now, the gallery has been involved in getting CADD (Contemporary Art Dealers of Dallas) off the ground. We have had two very successful art fairs and now have a full-time gallery space downtown. I stopped by for the sneak preview on Thursday and rubbed shoulders with most everyone in the art world. The grand opening was Saturday night, and it was a smash hit. It's really important to go to art events as often as possible. Seeing what other galleries are up to helps me stay relevant, plus it's nice to support our fellow compadres. Since there's almost always something going on, it's hard to keep up.

Arty-smarty

*McKinney High School group

*Allison V. Smith lecturing a class from UTA

*McKinney High School group

*Allison V. Smith lecturing another class from UTA

This week has been education week at the gallery. We have had no less than three classes come tour the show in two days! The high school class from McKinney was my favorite. I'd say 75 kids came strolling through. I'm not sure if any of them actually looked at the photographs, but I was sure checking out their style. Most looked like extras on an MTV video shoot. The super cool ones wouldn't even come inside. I think it's a really interesting combination with Allison's current show of Texas schools. Thinking about what happens in the rooms and halls of high school conjures so many memories for me. It wasn't the education so much as the hunt for popularity, insecurity and isolation, ridiculously close and hyperactive friendships, and big-time boy crushes. High-school is a strange time, and Allison's photographs have captured all of its nuances.

Hooray Success

The opening on Saturday night was a massive success despite terrifying reports of Hurricane Ike destruction. We had a packed house and sold muchos photographs. Allison had a rockin after-party where I met some neat new people. I'm expecting that we'll have a swarm of better-play-it-safe-with-the-weather-reports visitors this weekend. I'm really hoping we get some good press on this show. We've had two DMA curators in and a few major critics. For now, I'm trying to keep up with invoices. A good problem to have!

Final Countdown

We are pushing on with our opening tonight in the face of Hurricane Ike. I've updated the gallery website (see totally nutty screenshot of html code above), so let me know if I messed anything up. All that's left to do are my Cinderella clean-up duties and then I'll start pouring drinks and selling photographs. Not too shabby for a week's work.

Finito

We have the show hung and the chalkboards finished. The show looks absolutely fantastic, and we have already pre-sold quite a few. Now I just have to add numbers on the walls, hand write the exterior sign in chalk, and finalize the checklist. I can't wait for Saturday!

Transformers

Another nifty thing about The Barry Whistler Gallery is how unafraid Barry is of doing something different. We are currently in the process of painting 2 walls into chalkboards to support the schoolroom theme of our upcoming exhibition (which, by the way, is in this week's Observer). We will start seasoning the boards with loads of chalk tonight. I borrowed a big eraser from campus to help speed up the process. I swear I'll return it.

Closed for Installation

We are currently laying out work for our new exhibition, Allison V. Smith: Hall Pass, that opens this Saturday, September 13th. This is far and away the best part of my job. Barry and I and shuffle work around, then sit with the arrangement for awhile and absorb. There is much discussion about the dialogue between works, the overall feel of the room, balance, color, composition, competition, the list goes on and on. Barry has an incredible eye and a real intuition for what works best. It is a real treat to watch him work and to contribute.

Home Again, Home Again

Gallery artist Robert Wilhite returned to Dallas a few days ago to give a lecture at the Modern last Tuesday night (class kept me from attending. waa) and drove his powerful sculpture, The Bomb, back home to Los Angeles. He intends to exhibit it with a sister piece in an L.A. space similar to The Contemporary here in Dallas. A review of The Bomb, shown at the gallery in June, will be published in Art in America soon. Exciting!

Mailers

Doing the mailers is a somewhat laborious process. Our mailing list currently hovers around 700. Each envelope must be opened, stuffed, labeled, sealed, and stamped. So I end up shuffling these things around 3500 times before it's all said and done. However, it is always a good time to, say, compose a grocery list or a thank you letter in my head.

Success

The summer inventory sale was a great success. Now we have to clear the unsold things out of the way so we can begin laying out the upcoming show. Today and tomorrow will also be dedicated to the laborious project of stuffing, labeling, sealing, and stamping envelopes.

Invitations

Our invitations for the next exhibition have arrived! I was particularly excited about these because we have redesigned the back of the card entirely. Our printers have required that I send them files in InDesign format, a somewhat difficult application for me to grasp compared to Photoshop which feels more intuitive. We had Brian Gibb, of The Public Trust fame, come over and give me a much needed tutorial as well as help us with the new design. Barry, the artist, and I are all pleased with the results. However, I think in the future I will use a 1/4" white border around the image instead of the standard 1/8". The image will stand out more with some space to offset it.

Summer Inventory Sale

We are currently pulling things together for a somewhat biennial summer inventory sale. August is typically the slowest month of the year for galleries. Many galleries don't even open their doors because most clientele is out of town, and the official season won't begin until September. Every other summer (or more) Barry pulls together an inventory sale of older works. Not only does this generate some August income, but it helps clear out room for the upcoming season. Storage is a constant issue at galleries. It's really important to be able to find something quickly and easily if a client comes in off the street. The sale begins today, Wednesday, August 27 and runs through the 30th. Works will be discounted 20 - 25% and things usually go quickly.

In the Beginning...

Leila and Barry installing artwork at the 2008 CADD Art Fair

For my first post, I thought I would begin with a little background information. I have worked at Barry Whistler Gallery since 2001. Given that I have spent my entire 20's (up to this point) here, I feel that this, more than any other place, is where I have grown up. Barry is a friend, a mentor, and a highly respected gallerist who has been going strong for 23 years. I could not have asked for a better place to learn the ways of the art world. In my time with the gallery, my responsibilities have grown and I am fortunate to have Barry's trust in many things. We are a team. Work at the gallery is exciting, and my intention with this blog is to give a glimpse of how things tic.