Congrats
The my good bud and one of the District's uberartists, Tim Tate, who just got picked up by London's Cynthia Corbett Gallery.
The whole thing started in one of the art fairs in Miami last December. Corbett was showing in Miami, walked through several of the fairs in the city, chatted with Philadelphia's Projects Gallery (which also represents Tate), and that gallery's hardworking owner Helen Meyrick introduced Corbett to Tate's work.
Meyrick then took Corbett over to by Norfolk's Mayer Fine Arts, which also represents Tate's work, and there Meyrick and MFA's also hard-working owner Sheila Giolitti showed Corbett more of Tate's video work and she liked them a lot.
And just recently they closed the deal and now Corbett will represent Tate internationally (she does most of the American and European power art fairs). This is a huge step forward for Tim Tate.
Lesson here? This is why it is important for galleries to do some art fairs, and why it is important for artists to support their galleries' as much as they can. The art fairs are a huge financial risk for the art galleries, but the pay off opportunities, both for the galleries and for the artists whom they take there are huge.
A couple YEARS ago I concluded that Mayer was one of the only good galleries outside of DC/NoVa. Here's further proof. Curator Shelia at Mayer mentioned way back then that she was doing the art expo circuit: Santa Fe, Florida, etc. I was impressed back then, and thank goodness now there are some more noticable returns for the tireless efforts of Shelia for her artists. Congrats. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that Tim Tate's work appears at Mayer. I've seen Tate's creations at that top-tier glass gallery in Alexandira and also a floor above me in a multi-story exhibit-fest in DC (a venue at which, I dare say, his creations plus my own plus about five others' were the only ones that were actually good). I always thought "those Tim Tate videobulbs are cool and will capture the imagination of the press." That he is affiliated with Mayer confirms to me my own impression that he's GOOD. How pleasant that some deserving artsy folks are getting some glory ---especially in these economically devistated times. big congrats all around.
ReplyDelete"and why it is important for artists to support their galleries' as much as they can"
ReplyDeleteYes indeed! Artists can forget how much uncompensated labor, expense (wine & cheese isn't free + advertising), and overhead galleries have to muddle through continuously before anything actually sells and they might get a percentage. It is rotten when some artists make private deals and cut galleries out of their due reward when it was the gallery which made the patron-artist connection. It is also rotten when prospective patrons try to circumvent the gallery during exhibits and try cut secret deals by contacting artists privately. The quest to save a buck can cheapen the overall cultural climate when galleries close down.
It also doesn't hurt when the artwork is "A" level. Congrats to Tim!
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