Past, Present and Future, Sculptural Art Has Not Been Easy to Handle and Transport
Artist: Maeve Eichelberger- Mondrian's Ride
Before I ever thought of starting an art handling company I worked for a well known, mid-sized auction house, managing their operations throughout the western region of the Untied States. In that time I gained a wealth of knowledge and got to witness and experience a great number of things which helped me become the art handler I am today. Throughout it all, there are still some incidents which have stayed with me to this day, and the events surrounding them have continued to change how I approach certain tasks. In one very instance I was witness to an unfortunate shipping experience, of which I had little control over, which taught me a valuable lesson and has been principle to my art handling procedures ever since. Through this simple oversight by an unsuspecting parcel shipper I was presented with the knowledge that modern and seemingly indestructible materials such as plastics, polymers and polyepoxides, used by many of todays modern artists, are just as susceptible to the same damaging elements which can destroy or devalue a fragile, hand crafted pre-Colombian antiquity.
While accidents, falls and even breaks can and do happen, and even fires can destroy everything in its path, the different types of art and materials mentioned are equally susceptible not only to such large and destructive forces but to the often overlooked damaging effects which can be caused by the very materials used in the purpose of protecting the artwork itself during the shipping process. It was on that day I discovered the proper and improper ways of wrapping and securing a wide variety of abrasion and scratch sensitive materials for transport.
Native Hopi Pottery
After one particular auction of traditional native pottery and western art, the buyer of a Hopi pot chose a local shipper who claimed expertise in shipping such items. However, as a result of improper packaging the shipping process caused heart-breaking destruction to the culturally significant piece of art. Although the pot itself was not broken in the shipment, the newsprint used in the packaging rubbed off much of the hand-painted pigmentation, significantly devaluing it. The incident was brought to my attention by the distraught collector and I immediately worked to begin the proper restoration process and oversee the mitigation and change of internal policy for possible similar situations in the future. In that process I meet a few experts and learned a great deal about the sensitivity of native pottery making and the proper handling of these pieces.
Artist John F. Clymer-Application of Pigments in Early Hopi Pottery Making
Mr. Charles King, a well know expert in Native pottery, with galleries in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Scottsdale, Arizona says of these wonderful works of cultural art:
[Pueblo, Hopi and Zuni]"pots are carefully hand constructed using the coil and scrape techniques their ancestors taught them. The paints used are from naturally occurring materials. For example, black paint is made by boiling Bee-weed for a long time until it becomes very dark and thick. It is then dried into little cakes which are wrapped in corn husk until ready for use. It is called guaco. The intricate and beautiful designs are painted freehand using a yucca leaf brush. The pots are then fired in the open air out on the mesa using sheep dung and cedarwood as heat sources".
After consulting with him and other similar experts I had gained a greater understanding in handling native pottery and ceramic with hand painted pigmentation. I implemented a new policy for the auction and still hold the following practices as standard policy when handling similar pieces in my capacity with Chamli Art Services today.
Handle only with freshly washed hands or clean cotton gloves to minimize oils being transferred onto the pottery and causing long term stains.
Wrap securely in 100% cotton or other natural materials, and avoid abrasive materials such as small cell bubble wrap, paper, or stiff foams where contact can be made.
Pack into proper shipping container so as little movement or jostling can occur during transport, providing plenty of "buffer" within the overall package.
At that time, I was already aware of the special handling and care required to prevent abrasion and scuffing to certain plastics used in the creation of modern art pieces, such as acrylic and Lucite. Certain care is needed not only to three-dimensional sculptures such as the wonderfully colorful and well crafted works by artists such as Maeve Eichelberger of Denver, CO, but also to simple materials like plexiglass which can be used in framing flat art. these plastics are very susceptible to abrasives and can be easily scratched or scuffed by simply using products such as paper towels for light dusting. It was intriguing to gain an new found understanding that the natural, earthenware bowls and pots of a pre-Columbian era with paints crafted from natural elements found only in the southwest required much of the same handling techniques as was needed for modern pieces made from mass produced products using chemical fusion of elements, often not known to mankind only a few generations ago.
Artist: Javier Jaén- Rethink Plastic
Who would have thought such lasting and abundant materials such as plastics, polymers and epoxy could be so fragile and delicate; requiring extra care in handling. Just as the Pueblo and Zuni people's pottery; resins and acrylics are susceptible to oils from our hands and cause long term staining. Micro abrasions from materials used to clean or transport these works of art can accelerate discoloration or cloud the finish and distort the artists original intentions.
Cora Sexton Wheeler, another Denver based artist, and client of Chamli Art Services uses Resin in the creation of her works, and while it appears she is creating two dimensional works on canvas, her technique and materials used give depth as they rise off the canvas. The resin helps seal her works and adds a signature gloss to the overall piece of art and insomuch needs special care and consideration in the shipping and handling for her buyers and clients. Below is a montage of how we work with her pieces when transporting to the client.
After ensuring we are only using clean, fully cotton fabric against the art, only then do we use plastic products such as stretch wrap, bubble wrap and corner protectors. Bubble is always placed with the pillowy cell away from the work and is used only as lofting material to cushion the piece away from the walls of the crating material and is never tightened or contracted toward the works with tape, wraps or by forcing into tight spaces.
Becoming a good art handler is not a difficult thing to do, but it takes some understanding, a lot of care, and more often than not, years of experience. A true understanding of the artwork you are handling and the products they are made from and how those materials interact with the products you are using for packaging can be the difference between satisfied clients with lasting art and disappointing failure and destruction of original pieces .
If you have any questions, or feel your current art handler may not be giving the care needed to you and your clients, please reach out to us at 720-202-6285 for a free consultation. Review our website and follow us on Social media for more content and to see the latest projects Chamli Art Services is working on.
There have only been four guys in my lifetime to which I can remember being intimidated by and Jennifer Wilson was one of them! Jenny carried herself with a swagger and maintained an air of rampant confidence, uncharacteristic of an industry which tends to be dominated by women, particularly ladies of a certain gentile; this trait helped her not only thrive but dominate in the secondary art scene of the west coast and California.
She had just turned 39 years old in August. She was excited to have recently been featured, and heavily quoted in, an article for Auction Daily News titled Doyle Lane’s ceramics crackle, bubble, and drip by Andrea Valluzzo and was thrilled to share that news on her social media accounts. She was excelling in her professional life and looking to make the next big step in her career, when the young Fine Art Director from Moran Auctioneers passed into the Lord’s hands suddenly and unexpectedly . My good friend Jennifer Wilson leaves behind her young son Henry, a loving family , an endeavorable mark on the west coast auction industry and a huge hole in the art and appraisal world. It has now been three months and I am still without words, but have felt for some time now that I needed to eulogize her and preserve her memory in writing. Her professional bios on www.moranauctioneers.com go on to accurately portray her as:
“A seasoned professional and veteran of the art industry. Proactive and detail-oriented with over a decade of progressive experience in Fine Art Auctions”, as well as noting that she maintained a "consistent track record of business-getting across all auction house categories, and is proud to have handled the sale of both major private and public collections over her tenure in the auction field”.
Her personally maintained bio on www.linkedin.com promotes some of her proudest professional accomplishments:
She holds numerous World Auction Records and notable sales including works by Barry (Twist) McGee, Richard Diebenkorn, Jean Michel Basquiat, Banksy, and others. Jennifer has sold works from many prominent Estates, Institutions, and Collections such as the Ruttenberg Collection (Chicago, IL), the Art Institute of Chicago, the Oakland Museum of California, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the Metropolitan Museum (New York, NY) and the Honolulu Museum of Art. Jennifer also has experience working with Major Contemporary Galleries in NYC, Franklin Bowles Galleries in San Francisco, and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.
While all of this success is certainly true, I have been blessed to witness first hand the personal side of Jenny, and fully understand the person she really was to be able to achieve those lofty records. In the ten or so years we’ve been professionally associated I came to admire her grit, determination, a “never-say-never” demeanor all rolled up in a iron clad confidence, and sprinkled with a pinch of laissez fair candor for good measure; it was what I called her “Swagger” and after getting used to it, I stopped being intimidated and began to cheer in awe. Jenny always had a smile on her face even in times of distress. Her smile was one of her greatest tools; it could soften a tense situation or conceal either a silver or forked-tongue . Never one to be trampled over or dominated, Jenny was always the loudest in the room. She was crass and bold but she always had the softness and expert knowledge to succeed at the task ahead of her.
“Well Joe Can Suck my D!#K”
Yes, that is a direct quote and a typical phrase Jenny would fire off nonchalantly. Replace poor Joe with any subject causing mild annoyance, grief or otherwise, and more often than not, a barrier to a goal she had set for herself.; Jenny did not put up with bullshit, she was good at what she did and she knew it. It was her nature to get right to the point, any small chat was wasted time. It may be crass to say and tough on some ears but she operated the way a man would, especially a man bound for the executive office. I met Jenny on her first day coming to work at Clars Auction Gallery in Oakland, CA., A small, single location, family-owned auction house known for quantity and for having monthly sales, including the rarely-heard-of-in-the-internet-age “In person only” live sales for local bidders only. Knowing a new gal was about to start and seeing someone who fit the bill and heading my way that morning as I was set to start my day at the office I held the door and kindly asked “You must be the new person?”, without missing a beat, and pushing past me with indifference, she coldly replied “Is it that obvious?”
Needless to say, she and I bumped heads a few times, but I was always impressed and often in awe of how she performed professionally. Dealing with a client’s indecisiveness is a normal part of the job when precious heirlooms are going to auction, or investments are being contemplated in real time; It is something all of us in the industry find ways to handle when presented by the client, but Jenny had little patience for. I once heard Jenny loudly exclaim with certain irritation, to a client on the phone mid-auction while phone bidding (representing an anonymous buyer on the auction floor by phone) on a particular Salvador Dali lithograph:
“The guy used to walk an aardvark through the streets of Paris on a leash, how am I supposed to know what in the Hell he was thinking?!?
The absurdity of the comment stopped the auctioneer and hushed the room before an amused chuckle simmered amongst the crowd. It was understood by all that Jenny was not interested in trying to sell the client on the piece which was seconds away from hammering on the block. That moment was gone and now was time for bidding; successfully winning auction lots for her clients was a goal with absolutely no return for her, but her competitive nature would propel her to be the loudest most visible bidder in the room. Needless to say, she got that client to focus and was successful in winning the Dali. A quick congratulations and a brief “goodbye” and she would hang up; no time to waste before making the next call for a client wanting to bid on a sketching a few lots away.
This competition was infectious. Because of her role and abilities Jenny was usually tasked with landing some of the biggest and most prized estates and consignments, and would often come back to the office excited to share the news of what they had, or how many items and the sort, but she would never reveal to those who did not need to know what terms or appraisal valuation she was going to offer in proposal. She did not want to jinx it. It was usually hard fought; it was a treat when our small auction house was competing with gigantic names like Christies or Sotherbys, but Jenny was realistic and never let the pressure sway her into uncertain waters. I never saw Jenny fail!! That is to say, while it was not uncommon during those big proposals to see her return to the office frustrated and verbally irritated at a client for their unwavering resolve to go with the well known houses and their proposals, Jenny always seemed to prevail. Obviously she was unable to convince them to come be a big fish in our little pond when the big houses could give them the ocean, but with such a wealth of water it is so easy to promise waves that may never crash. Jenny would not leave it there; as our industry goes, it’s obvious and easy to monitor the results of anything going for sale, she would relish in the hammer prices of certain estates months later and would gleefully take her victory when the now realized price of a particular piece or the entire estate would hammer at the exact valuation she placed on it, but was dismissed by the client; then she would beam with deserved cockiness as she would stand at the auction block of our dimly lit drafty warehouse of a “gallery” and drop the gavel on a new auction record for those clients of hers who did see the potential Jenny was selling them. Jenny never failed.
Just like herself, Jenny appreciated the gritty, underdog mentality which resonated throughout the East Bay of California and the resurgence of an art renaissance that was exploding around us in the old downtrodden post war era warehouses of west Oakland. I once asked Jenny why she chose to live in such a potentially dangerous place and even raise a family there, when so many of our colleagues and clients resided in the established circles and art communities of San Francisco or lofty Marin County. She would just cuss and brush it off with a few disparaging words and claim that the old money did not know where art was going, or better yet coming from. Like the Persian impressionists and beatniks before her or the avant-garde pop art movement icons of midcentury New York, Jenny always wanted to be where the action was. She loved Oakland and therefore believed in what we were doing in that drafty little auction house on Telegraph avenue. She was happy to be making history there and worked tirelessly to compete with the big houses across the bay area, California and in L.A.
In the five plus years we both worked at Clars, we saw it grow in prominence, to become relevant not only within the west coast auction scene but on a national level industry wide. Partnering regionally with Christies and expanding our horizons, that small auction house started to bring in consignment from as far away as the pacific northwest, Los Angeles and even from large estates from well known names in the American banking industry in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I can honestly say, without a doubt Jennifer Wilson was a principal component in that growth. Now only a few years later and under a new management group, Clars has a few satellite locations and is arguably the leader in full service mid level auction houses in northern California.
“Because I Trust You”
photo credit: Patrice O'Connor Wilson
Jenny and I both went separate ways and for a while we lost contact with each other. In fact I never really assumed, after leaving Clars, that I would even return to the art and appraisal community, so it was with only vague understanding on my end that she ended up at another Family owned, single location, though slightly more “recognized” auction house of Moran Auctions in Southern California, though she still continued to live in her beloved East bay home and community, choosing instead to remote in to work Through LinkedIn and elsewhere I saw she had quickly risen to the role of Director despite her work arrangement; This was not a surprise to me given Jenny's ethics and tenacity. When I reached out to her professionally, introducing the idea of Chamli Art Services, it was beyond refreshing to hear her immediate support! “ Heck yeah, this industry needs more people of high standards like you handling art!!” she stated. “In fact I got stuff right now in Kansas I would love for you to collect!” and just like that Jenny at Moran was my biggest client. She would often call me after leaving a client's home “You gotta come get this, I don’t trust anyone else to handle this, it's going to be huge, the client probably has two million just in art! When can you get to California?”
Anyone that knows Chamli Art Services will tell you that I only planned to operate in the Rocky Mountain West, and that I had no interest in serving the west coast and particularly California. But Jenny kept calling and kept offering me jobs. I told her that I would probably be more expensive because of my remoteness and cost of travel to the collection, or to get it to Moran on an exclusive route. When I asked her why she kept calling me exclusively and not shopping the job out to others she calmly replied:
“Because in the art world it is hard to find someone you can truly trust, and I trust you”
The Call from Moran
It was a warm afternoon in late September and I was pre-fabricating crates on my driveway for a couple life-sized, fired clay sculptures a client had ordered for a move from Salt Lake City, when the fateful call came in from Los Angeles. It was Moran Auctions but when I answered I was surprised it was not Jenny, but rather their senior Vice president Morgana Blackwelder with the terrible news. She had known we were working closely together and were old colleagues and friends and felt it was important to give me the news. I don’t know where I was on the list of persons called, I didn’t ask many questions, but I felt I was fairly high on the list of people called based on the tone in Ms. Blackwelder’s voice. She was obviously also at a loss and knowing the amount of people who Jenny worked with I did not envy the task she had ahead of her; I wondered briefly if it was a team of people making such calls. I would know each of them from the Moran senior team, and my heart sank lower at thought of it. I had a lot of fleeting thoughts all at once, but otherwise I don’t remember much more of that day. I obviously finished building the crates, but presumably on auto-pilot. I was stunned, I couldn’t believe what I just heard; I know I went into denial, mostly at whether I had truly understood exactly what was just told to me. In the hours and days that followed I made a few phone calls to mutual friends and old co-workers that I was certain probably did not get the news and all the while I kept thinking to myself: this is going to get back to Jenny and at any minute she will call my phone and furiously scold me with questions of:
“Why the Hell are you telling everyone I F@*king Died?!!?
Still to this day, it is hard for me to believe Jenny is not with us, she was a bright star that burnt fast. She was only getting started and had so much more to do in the arts and gallery management community . One of the last conversations she and I had was about her future plans to branch away from the auction industry and start her own art advisory or consultation business. She mentioned how she was proud of me for creating something of my own and she was eager to do the same. I assured her it would be a success, that she had everything she needed as long as she had a strong professional reputation and someone she could trust. I told her she could always count on me and that I would be happy to assist when that time finally came. The last three months have been the hardest thinking of her young son and the idea that all those dreams, and the people those dreams would affect have been lost. In that time I have decided to dedicate the continued efforts of growing Chamli Art Services to the memory of Jenny.
Cantor Arts Center
I contacted Jenny’s mother and expressed my condolences and asked if there was a way to give back or send a gift in lieu of flowers or heartfelt expressions of sympathy. She agreed that Jenny loved art more than anything and would often visit the Cantor Arts CEnter on the Stanford University Campus, often taking her young son, Hank, to experience the exhibits as well. She mentioned that a few other friends and family members were making donations to the center on Jenny’s behalf:
I asked strongly that my gift in Jenny’s name be used to provide the under-served and under-represented communities of the Bay Area opportunities in Arts education and appreciation. I know this would be how Jenny would want the money used. She lived her life trying to be a representative to art communities not normally represented, or bring great art to the masses. For Jenny Art was not meant to be kept away in dimly lit rooms of ivory towers; like her it was messy and contradictory and a true expression of talent and belonged to the world community to share and exchange. We all lost a true and rare piece of art that September day, I will never forget my good friend and colleague. I will try to live each day as fiercely and determined as she was, especially on days when it looks like things with Chamli Art Services are not going as planned. I pray that her family and loved ones find peace and that her young son grows up knowing that his mother was one of the great ones, someone who lit up a room with her smile before eventually taking charge and getting down to business.
Why does Boulder, Colorado have such a void in art galleries?
While Chamli Art Services is proud to support artists and galleries throughout the entire mountain west from Billings, Montana to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and all points in between, I am based and call the greater Denver metropolitan area my home and choose to raise my family in the ‘mile high’ city. As part of my community I am most eager to do what can be done to promote local artists and the galleries representing them. I try to partner with them, and work together in order to support their clients.
When I am not on the road or working with clients in other states, I am always looking for these professional relationships locally and frequently stop by the galleries in Cherry Creek or participate in the first Friday art walks in Denver's own Santa Fe Arts District as a way of making introductions and fostering relationships with these galleries. It was in this manner that I recently found myself in Boulder, Colorado, one pleasant afternoon after making a delivery of fine art to a nearby resident who hired Chamli Art Services to bring art he had purchased from a New Mexico gallery during a recent visit he and his wife had made to the ‘Land of Enchantment.'
In taking a stroll along the Pearl Street mall I had expected to come across a few locally owned galleries. It seemed the perfect spot for such an establishment, and in similar towns, this type of well-manicured strip of retail paradise would certainly support such a gallery or two. Closed to Vehicle traffic, its pavement has been turned into a well-manicured green space with delicately maintained raised beds of digitalis and purple pansies all surrounding public fountains and even wildlife bronzes or statues depicting carefree children of a seemingly bygone era enjoying the fruits of a summer day, but for some odd reason, you won’t find a store dedicated to selling similar pieces of art and any form.
Pearl Street Mall in Boulder. Photo: Kent Kanouse
Walking along the all too familiar storefronts of Lululemon, Patagonia, and even Häagen-Dazs Ice Cream Shop, I felt there were plenty of places for me to be outfitted in the type of clothing that, if worn with the proper air of confidence, would seemingly make me appear capable of the task of climbing the towering rock monoliths, known as the “flatirons” which spontaneously jet up from Boulder Creek and define this town in every known picture of the famous University. But I could not seem to find any art galleries. It seemed strange; what was going on?
A Deeper Dive:
Where does Boulder Hide its Art?
After A brief stop on a park bench and a review of the area using Google Maps on my phone, I discovered the well-anchored SmithKline Gallery was just ahead of me and would have been easily recognized as the sort of establishment I had come here for. With its internationally known artists and predominantly large paintings, it certainly rivals the galleries you would find surrounding the plaza in Jackson Hole or amongst the fairytale cottages and bougainvillea of Carmel-by-the-Sea. But was this it? Santa Fe and Scottsdale have whole districts and streets dedicated to art galleries; Park City, Utah, only exists in the summer months because of its art sales. If ever there was a town in Colorado that should rival our neighboring states, Boulder should be a top contender! I was shocked and disappointed in the Centennial state for dropping the ball in this way.
The map on my phone’s screen did show a few nearby locations depicted by icons of a painter’s palette, all removed from this posh environment by a few blocks either north or south, but when venturing away from the brick cobbled pedestrian zone and out to the normality of the surrounding neighborhood I discover that these places were not seemingly what I had hoped. They were all converted craftsman-style homes typical of the area and were either framing studios which seemingly happened to have a few pieces of art being displayed, probably as a favor to a friend, or were obviously the living questers of an artist or rented studio and displayed a handwritten faded sign taped to the inside of the window stating the establishment was “Closed, open by appointment only”
I guess the third time's the charm because before, I gave up and wrote Boulder off as a complete waste of my time, and I happened across Ana’s Art Gallery, a Black, female-owned studio space primarily featuring local artists of color or of marginalized minorities. This was exactly the type of Gallery I expected to find in Boulder. But why did it take me so long?
Here’s the scoop:
Boulder has sold out!!
Unfortunately, Ana wasn't there during my visit, but the gentleman, who greeted me and introduced himself as Michael, stated he was a friend of hers and was nice enough to lend me his thoughts on my perceived current lack of art in Boulder. He agreed that while Pearl Street and the surrounding “downtown” area was once a more vibrant art scene, many of those galleries have had to shut down due to the rise in rents and the ushering in of big corporate names and recognizable hip brands such as Arc’teryx, Pendleton or the all too Colorado common: Marijuana dispensary. With muted or window-less storefronts and such vague names as “Native roots” or “Village green society,” there seems to be a sort of mutually agreed upon compromise with community leaders and the chamber of commerce to have these first in the nation legal establishments operate in an almost “speakeasy” style manner in order to keep Boulder from becoming too… well, from becoming Berkeley.
In short, Boulder, the flagship location for the University of Colorado system, with its “anti-elitism” and granola-eating, Birkenstock-wearing, back-to-nature culture, has seemingly turned its back on the small business and artist community and, in its place, has welcomed in those who keep “Chalets” and “Weekend Lodges” up Left-hand canyon and venture in from Silicon Valley or Austin Texas whenever they need the rocky mountain air to calm their over-stressed restless souls Boulder’s newest residence are all too happy to buy their art on Santa Fe’s famous Canyon Rd. and arranged to have it shipped up by Chamli Art Services.
In a way, I think Boulder knew It could never compete with her more world-famous sisters higher in elevation: Vail and Aspen. Unlike those world-class luxury and art destinations, Boulder knows itself as a College town, a haven of academia, and insomuch most of the arts it promotes seems to be in the performing arts and venues for concerts and the such. In this way, Boulder tailors itself to those CU moms and dads who want to get the biggest return on the four (or five) year investment they are going to pour into young Kaden or Makenzie when they visit. What would that puffy down jacket be without a Starbucks in hand and tickets to the open-air performance of “Macbeth for the Deaf”?
But there is Hope:
NoBo!
Michael went on to tell me that not only was Ana’s Art Gallery “smashing it” when it came to sales, but it also had great support from the local community and the artists it represents. He was proud to announce that Ana works with buyers near and far. He also had a glimmer of hope in his eye when he pointed me to the newly emerging artist community just a few short miles away in North Boulder. Giving themself the monikerNoBo Arts District, this once ill-begotten neighborhood of machine shops and storage yards was now having a renaissance similar to that previously seen emerge from the old vacant shipyards of California’s west Oakland neighborhood. Where modern-day beatniks and Nouveau Bohemians took up residency in the lofty warehouses and transformed them into thriving underground and often off-grid arts communes, which have given rise to such world-renowned collectives such as the “Burning Man” festival held annually in the high desert of Northern Nevada.
While certainly not as organic, rough, or ad hoc as the Oakland scene, the North Boulder Arts District is giving a venue to young and emerging artists in the region to gather, create, and show their works to the community. Situated in a nicely refurbished and well-lit bus depot, the gallery is open for a few hours in the afternoon Fridays-Sunday and hosts a “first Friday” gathering each month for the artist to host the community and discuss their works while offering the standard charcuterie and consuming Malbec from plastic cups.
Nearby most of these artists share rent on studio space in old garages or lots once dominated by mechanics and plumbers. I visited with one such artist, who introduced himself as Robert and agreed that while in the past Boulder was not friendly to the “struggling Artist” and had “choose to chase corporate profits and capitalistic falsehoods over the creative minds of its citizens”, he has seen great strides from the city and county to help foster an arts community in this area.
We are still a long way off from Boulder being an “arts destination” even on their website https://boulderartassociation.org/ the Boulder Art Association only lists 15 galleries within the city limits, and many of those were either the collections of art housed within the University of Colorado or a small collection at the Public Library; not items typically for purchase or with rotating exhibitions. But to be fair and to demonstrate further the low importance of art in this community, the association also did not even list Ana’s Art Gallery on their website.
One other bit of hope was that both Michael and Robert each independently expressed the growing art scenes in the surrounding communities of Lafayette, Louisville and even Golden, Colorado. It seems that while artists are not able to afford to work or create in the town that all too often defines the Colorado front range culture, they are still very much a part of the larger community and find opportunities to show and sell their art when they can. The Boulder Art Festival or the Pearl Street Artfest certainly draws big crowds during the weekend-long events, each held during the Summer months and allows for artists to show and sell on the renowned outdoor mall from their Costco pop-up tents.
But whether you purchase art at the festival or from a gallery out of state, Please remember that Chamli Art Services is here to help you with all your art handling and art logistics needs. We offer Art Advisory services and can help connect you with the artists and the pieces you are looking to add to your collection. Our vast network of artists of all levels and mediums allows us to help find the correct piece for your space and collection.
Check us out at www.ChamliArtServices.com for more information and always feel free to give us a call with your thoughts on this topic or anything Art related.
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