I met Jenn Singer several years ago at a gallery in Chelsea, Manhattan. She struck me as a warm, personable and professional individual with a genuine passion for the arts and a natural ability to engage with people, particularly prospective buyers. It is no surprise she celebrates 5 years of running her gallery with the launch of new artist additions, expanded services, a new look and redesigned website where collectors can purchase artwork online. We had the pleasure of speaking to Jenn about the gallery, the industry and what we can look forward to.
Jenn, when did you first gain an interest in art and how did it lead to you becoming a gallerist?
I first started my career in the visual art world, nearly 15 years ago, from the perspective of a trained dancer who had been in the performing arts since I was 5 years old.
When I found myself working in an art gallery, almost by accident, I felt at home immediately. My first sale of a painting, that first day on the job, spurred the question “but how much does the artist make?” This question was important for me to ask because, in my experience as a dancer in NYC, the path to making a real living from one’s art can be a tiresome struggle. The answer I received was music to my ears “the artist will make 50%”. I was hooked. That was a good payday for them, and I learned this particular artist’s work sold well. This artist made a living from doing what they loved the most, and from then on that was my “why”. I sell art so that artists can get paid to do what they love.
The gallery is now in its fifth year. Are there any role models in the industry who have inspired and motivated you to be where you are now?
I receive most of my motivation and inspiration from the artists themselves, as it’s their passion that leads to creation that drives me to support them. Without art where would any of us be? It would be a very different, less bearable world for sure. I am very grateful for my teachers along the way, the gallery owners who I’ve worked for in the past. Without them, I would not have learned the business of art. I asked a lot of questions and learned a lot (and a lot of what not to do). But over the past five years in business, the art world has changed dramatically. So I’ve mostly looked for inspiration from business leaders and role models from outside the art world, which seems to be somewhat lacking in innovation when it comes to dealing with shifting business models. I’ve never been comfortable with the lack of transparency and “coldness” of the white box gallery model. I have also witnessed and experienced the lack of support of women in the arts. So, my inspirations have come from women in business who are also creatives but not necessarily from the art world proper.
One of my recent inspirations is Mary Portas and her book Work Like a Woman. The white male dominance of the fashion world she describes reminded me of the hurdles that women who work in the art world face. It seems that in creative industries, there would be more, not less, support of women and their invaluable intuition at work, but that’s not how it is. It’s still mostly run by men who care more about their bottom lines than people. Mary has powered through, broken down the systems that weren’t working and rebuilt her business as a leader who gives back, encourages working from the female seat of intuition and supports other women in business to do the same. I have a long way to go in developing this business, but it’s leaders like Mary that I look to when I need a boost of confidence and encouragement.
How would you describe the gallery’s program?
We represent a diverse, international roster of emerging and mid-career contemporary artists, including Anne Austin Pearce (USA), Al Luke (South Africa), David Stenbeck aka@dovneon (Sweden), Emily Weiskopf (USA), Faatimah Mohamed-Luke (South Africa), Frida Harari Sitton (Mexico), Michelle Rogers (Ireland), Timothy P. Wilson (USA) and Virginia Wagner (USA). Our artists & exhibitions have been featured in Wallpaper*, Cultured Magazine, VICE – The Creators Project, The Huffington Post, Glamour and Hi-Fructose Magazine, among other publications.
Our expertise and global reach make collecting contemporary art easy, but our services reach well beyond this, including sourcing and consigning artwork from the secondary market, trade accounts for international art advisors and interior designers for residential, corporate, hospitality, film & tv set design, public art & commercial projects, custom framing and representing and connecting artists with global brands for mid-large scale licensing and commission projects.
What is Jenn Singer Gallery’s USP for artists and art collectors?
Many of our collectors and colleagues have supported the gallery and our artists since before we officially opened our doors in 2015. I believe it is our authenticity, transparency, professionalism, and kindness that has always come first in the business that makes collectors and colleagues in the trade feel they can trust working with the gallery. They trust their instincts when it comes to connecting with art, but they trust us to help guide them when needed as well. As for artists, I always make it clear from the beginning of working together that it’s important that we work as a team, that I have their best interests at heart always – especially in protecting their intellectual property, and that my favorite thing in the world is selling their work so they can get paid for doing what they love!
Where and how do you find new artists to exhibit and what do you look for when considering a new artist for your gallery?
I find artists in lots of different ways, but I often meet new artists through other artists/friends. I also keep an eye out on Instagram and I don’t ignore unsolicited email submissions – though I don’t ever click on the links or attachments they send. I also can’t look at and reply to all of the unsolicited submissions we receive. Sometimes, it’s about me randomly taking a look. If I’m intrigued, I’ll google them and see if there’s a connection to their work. I try to spend a lot of time “watching” artists before ever approaching them about working together. I like to see how they behave on social media, try to get a sense of how they represent themselves, how they promote their work and how their audience reacts. If I don’t see consistency in their work or a specific style that connects different bodies of an artists’ work, then I pass.
Do galleries fully understand or embrace the concept of digital art?
The digital art space is evolving quickly and I think while galleries have embraced digital art for exhibitions, I’ve heard from digital artists that galleries aren’t doing a great job of actually selling their digital works. I represent digital artist David Stenbeck (aka @dovneon) who works in Cinema 4D to create surreal landscapes. We currently sell his limited edition renderings on paper to collectors, art advisors, and interior designers as a tangible piece of art to install at home or work, etc. Stenbeck’s digital video work was recently featured in Times Sq NYC, and we sell these as limited edition or unique videos. His video work is currently sought after for licensing and commissions for unique large scale installations & projects. We’re continuing to develop our platform for presenting and selling digital art.
You’ve moved away from the conventional boutique gallery and created an online presence. Is this industry quickly adapting to alternative business models?
When my short term NYC gallery lease was up, and not renewable due to the plans the owner had for space, I figured I would just find another little NYC jewel box to move to. But as I was searching, more and more galleries were closing their doors. There was so much storefront space available, but the rents were as astronomical as ever. I just couldn’t justify significantly higher overhead while watching my colleagues in art close their doors. The shift for me was clear. For about three years I ran the business without a physical space but based on the traditional gallery model, with a simple website that didn’t list available artwork or pricing. It was not easy. I still had a presence on Artsy, the online art platform, where I’ve curated online exhibitions with prices listed most of the time but found that there were still some collectors that struggled with purchasing work they had not viewed in person. Then Artsy did something pretty unconventional for the art world – they encouraged galleries to start posting prices and added a “Buy Now” option. E-commerce-style. This was ages behind pretty much every other industry that sells things, but kind of novel for the art world. Artsy also started releasing reports showing just how huge the online art market had become and that collectors were increasingly comfortable making art acquisitions online. It was obvious to me that I had to make the move to e-commerce, so we redesigned the website, refreshed the artist list, updated our branding and relaunched in February this year – within 24 hours, the site started selling art!
Galleries have started adding online “viewing rooms” to their websites, which sometimes have the prices listed, and sometimes have options to click and buy, but not always and this is only a very recent development. I think the outbreak of COVID-19 and forced closures of gallery spaces has pushed even more galleries to add viewing rooms to their sites. Before I’d checked out any of these “viewing rooms” I imagined fancy curated digital spaces that could be explored with the option to buy. To my surprise, they are mostly just plain old webpages, only some with online buying options. There’s still such a reluctance galleries have to offering art online – they call it a viewing room to perhaps sound like they are above selling art online. It’s confusing and not my favorite thing about the art world. I think galleries are going to have to embrace e-commerce like the rest of the selling world to survive.
Whilst galleries begin to understand or use digital platforms, particularly in light of COVID 19 has the value of having a physical space changed?
I don’t think it was necessarily COVID-19 that’s changed the value of having a physical space, though it’s definitely underscored the need for e-commerce solutions. I think over the past 10 or so years, the overhead of having physical spaces (especially in major cities like NYC & London), along with increasing art fair expenses (too many fairs!) and resistance to e-commerce, it’s forced a lot of galleries to close, especially those representing emerging to mid-career artists. I think people still need to and should experience art in person, but the artworld definitely needed to check itself. Perhaps COVID-19 will be the reset button we all needed to move forward in a more transparent and evolved way.
Where can our readers find out more about the gallery?
IG & FB: @jennsingergallery
Twitter: @jennsingernyc
We wish her continued success!
Jenn Singer Photographed by Peter Roessler. Featured artwork courtesy of Jenn Singer Gallery
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