FIVE ART GALLERIES TO SEE NOW.
Summer may look quieter than usual at Houston’s art galleries, but the scene is buzzing along in a different mode.
Dealers don’t have the luxury of relaxing this year. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced galleries to amp up their online platforms, and those who can afford it also are selling work through other virtual marketplaces. Art lovers have never had so many options, and so much to see, from the comfort of their couches.
Four of the five Houston dealers I spoke with say they are surprised how well online shows, emails and social media can work. They were a small sampling, but one said in terms of sales, July 2020 was better than July 2019. Another said she was having her best year ever. There is a caveat: PPP loans have helped several dealers make payroll. One says she has done only “some” business. “It will take more to stay alive,” she says.
Virtual sales are not as satisfying in one important respect. “We miss the people, the interaction and the fun part of curating and installing a live show,” one dealer says. This fall will be different without opening-night parties, but good art is out there to see. All of these spaces are open by appointment, which means you’ll likely have the place to yourself.
All five dealers have strong stables and well-defined, different concentrations. Here’s what they’re up to now.
Foltz Fine Art
“Texas Emerging Volume 1,” through Aug. 29; 2143 Westheimer; 713-521-7500, foltzgallery.com
Sarah Foltz’s space specializes in regional contemporary artists and 20th-century Texas art. She acquired the gallery a few years ago from her mentor, William Reaves, and was growing it. She had even started a satellite operation at the Gage Hotel in Marathon. That’s now on pause.
Foltz has installed an adventurous August exhibition in Houston by emerging Texas artists, cocurated with artist Jonathan Paul Jackson. “This is a very different show for us … and I hope the start of a new focal point for our gallery programming, supporting emerging Texas artists,” she says.
She hopes to reschedule a trio of companion shows she had to cancel when the pandemic hit. “I felt people really needed to see them in person,” Foltz says.
Still, video and virtual shows are working. Foltz usually does decent business during the annual CASETA symposium for collectors of early Texas art. She had to take that booth online this year and thinks she ended up doing better than if she’d been there in person.
“As much as people have going on, they are spending time at home and looking at their walls,” Foltz says. “While they are being cautious financially, they also are wanting to be with things they enjoy … There’s a lot of interest in landscapes; scenes people can sit in front of and feel transported.”
Inman Gallery
“Animal Crossing,” virtual group show, through Aug. 29; 3901 Main; 713-526-7800, inmangallery.com
Kerry Inman’s gallery turns 30 in September and maintains an edgy sensibility with academically rigorous, midcareer contemporary artists.
Inman wants anyone to feel welcome entering her gallery, be it a student or a tony collector. This summer’s big show, however, is online only. On the plus side, it features far more work than the organizers, artists Dana Frankfort and Jackie Gendel, could have presented physically.
“We slightly cheated because we hung work from local artists in our south gallery. It’s a small physical representation of a big, sprawling show,” Inman says. Temporarily, that also gives her room to hang large works quickly for prospective clients with specific interests.
“If we don’t sell art, we don’t eat,” she says. “We have five people on payroll. There’s no time off.”
Inman plans to hang a pair of important shows in September that she postponed from April. She’s putting two wildly different narrative artists, Angela Fraleigh and Robyn O’Neil, “in conversation.” She’s also moving forward with an ambitious show in November and December, although she still feels anxious about making long-term plans.
In spite of it all, Inman thinks good things can come out of the pandemic’s challenges. “People are looking more hyper-locally at artists,” she says. She also sees collaborations stirring between galleries. “We are trying to support each other.”
Nancy Littlejohn Fine Art
“Texas Legends: William Anzalone and Cruz Ortiz,” through July 31; “Sara Carter: Lit With Color,” Aug. 8-Sept. 5; 3465-B W. Alabama; 832-740-4288, nancylittlejohnfineart.com
“This business is all about relationships. I spend 90 percent of my time on the phone. I talk to our artists daily and have been able to take a deeper dive with them. We’re making sales all over the world,” Nancy Littlejohn says.
She represents nationally and internationally recognized artists from New York, Houston and elsewhere. “Our first premise has always been that we work with artists who have something to say. With all the protests this summer, we wanted to have a clear, authentic voice. The gallery is incredibly rich in content. We have worked with incredible photographers, videographers and guest curators all along, posting interviews online.”
She also sells work through several online marketplaces, including (along with Inman and other Houston dealers), the Dallas Art Fair’s new Culture Place website. “Everyone’s trying to figure out how to navigate now,” Littlejohn says. “The world went from 300 art fairs to maybe five that will survive.”
She just keeps going. “We’ve had a full summer schedule, and we’ll have a full fall,” she says. Her gallery had a good flow of visitors last week, she adds. “If you’re going to a gallery now, you’re serious. If you love art, you have to see it in person.”
Laura Rathe Fine Art
“Breaking Bad: Matt Devine, Max-Steven Grossman and Paul Rousso,” by appointment and virtually; “Robert Mars,”“In Perfect Harmony: Carly Allen-Martin & Audra Weaser” (virtual); 2707 Colquitt; 713-705-5044, laurarathe.com
With three locations — two in Houston, one in Dallas — and seven employees who depend on her for their livelihood, Laura Rathe adapted quickly to the shutdown. She sells vibrant, accessible contemporary art by international and national talents.
“Instead of sitting scared and shutting it down, we pivoted,” she says. “We were doing virtual shows within two weeks of the March shutdown. We have done art showings in driveways, garages and back yards, even left works on porches, always wearing masks and gloves.”
Her team has presented 10 virtual exhibits since the pandemic arrived, “the amount we’d do in a whole year before,” Rathe says. “We never would have had shows for all of these artists. People were home and needed something to brighten their lives because they couldn’t take vacations and do other things they’d normally spend money on.”
Rathe’s locations didn’t share inventory in the past. “Now everything we show is 100 percent open to both markets. And we were able to give more discounts because so many shows were canceled; we had inventory.”
She has kept all three locations and all of her employees. “Before, we grew through openings and Instagram; now it’s through emails and the website, and some through Artsy. We get 10-15 inquiries a day. The … appointment visits have been steady.” She has taken on one new artist and has big plans for the fall.
Anya Tish Gallery
“Sine Sole Soleo (Without the sun I fall silent),” through Aug. 29; 4411 Montrose; 713-524-2299, anyatishgallery.com
Anya Tish’s 24-year-old gallery exhibits works that address pertinent social and environmental issues and have strongly related concepts and materials.
Her fall plans have changed. “The show opening Aug. 1 is the first in almost a half-year that we are actually hanging, to be open by appointment,” she says. “About half of our artists are international, but we’re not showing them for live exhibitions because of the cost and uncertainty of shipping work.”
She had success with an online show that replaced her first ingallery show with British artist Gareth Kemp, featuring abstract paintings inspired by his visit to Marfa. Moving a show of works by one of her Houston artists, Harvey Bott, was more painful. “It was a big thing for him to have a show at this point in his life. He’s 85, and it was a major downer not to be able to celebrate,” Tish says. “We’ve included two really great pieces of his in the nature show for August.”
The works she has sold this summer have been large. One went to California. One is here in Houston. “It’s an experiment. We’re playing with something completely new,” she says. “But at some point, I think people do want to see art in person, and hopefully purchase it.”