New York gallerist Jimi Dams of Envoy Enterprises talks about:
His dissolution with the art world (and particularly the market and fairs); his one-a-day exhibition series, when he observed poor behavior in a curator, an early indicator of unraveling in a way that would continue to unfold through the art world; his story of switching from being an artist – which he had to quit due to health issues - to opening a gallery, despite being a socialist, with the financial support from the late Hudson, former owner of Feature Gallery; how he ran/has run his gallery as a former artist, including having pizza nights where all his artists get together and hash things out openly; his frustration with the priorities of graduate schools today, with an over emphasis on 'professionalism' and the like; his (rather firm) advice to younger artists on what they should do, advice that art students he's spoken to have struggled to hear let alone accept; and how during his gallery's openings, you won't find him out in the gallery but in his office.
Brooklyn-based artist Kate McQuillen talks about:
Moving to Greenpoint, Brooklyn from Chicago, a move she made rather abruptly though she cushioned the transition with brief stints in Connecticut and then Boston; the turning points that led her to her move, including both art career opportunity and the breakdown of her marriage; how the intensity of her marriage falling apart led her to seek out talk therapy for the first time mostly on her own with just a little bit of reinforcement of the idea from a friend, and what she learned about herself once she found a great therapist (on her 2nd try); the sales of a significant amount of her work to Saks 5th Avenue through their acquisitions director, who came back around to buy even more work after that first major purchase, thus becoming something like a fairy godmother for Kate; baby steps in starting to date again after leaving her marriage; and how it hit her, in the middle of this past winter, that this (New York…Brooklyn) is her new life.