Art Sales Recolored by Health, Economics
Internet art gallerist Brian Siedlicki with artist Michael Slaght's "Kio Fish," a work under consideration for listing on the site. Artists and gallery owners increasingly are embracing the business model that has transformed the selling of everything from rare antiquities to used Chevrolets. Cyberspace is filled with virtual stores that compete with brick and mortar businesses and serve as potential threats to old styles of commerce.
Instead of emptying a storefront gallery and reappearing online, a move made by several local galleries in recent years due to declining business and skyrocketing rents, Laguna Beach resident Brian Siedlecki established a new gallery online from the outset.
The Art Gallerist.com, a virtual gallery specializing in a variety of contemporary art including sculpture and photography, comes with a twist. "We provide fine art to buyers who may not have access to regular galleries or are a bit intimidated by their atmosphere and prefer to shop for art from the comfort and anonymity of their home or office," said Siedlecki.
The site lists 70 contributing artists. Some are classified as professionals, artists who exhibit in at least two regular galleries and whose resumés reflect enough experience. Others are described as emerging artists, those who are either starting careers or who have not yet been seen enough. Students are listed separately. "We never cross-exhibit their work and price according to their caliber," said Siedlecki.
Without the expense of rent and opening receptions, he can keep commissions to 25 or 30 percent and thus maintains an edge in wooing artists inside his virtual doors. "For the artist, it's the ideal situation since participation is free and they have control over pricing and promotion including mention of their landbased gallery shows," he said.
For example, veteran Laguna Beach landscape painter Fred Hope was juried by Siedlecki into TheArtGallerist along with three others, a photographer, painter and an educator.
After developing the site for a year, Siedlecki is confident that he has eliminated the snags that have discouraged artists from entrusting their creations to the Web and buyers from committing cash. A cyberspace showcase conjures questions about authenticity and whether a mediocre work underwent a digital transformation into something sublime. Such questions have kept most quality art in galleries or artists' studios, where buyers can eye a piece close-up or even touch it.
Siedlecki encourages artists to show in brick and mortar galleries, but also encourages dealers to cooperate with him in finding and promoting new talent. All work on the site is original. Even after artists have applied and been accepted into TheArtGallerist, every submitted new work has to pass muster.
So far, it's unclear if online art sites are a threat to galleries or a boon to artists. Laguna Beach gallerist Verna Glancy made the transition from brick and mortar to cyberspace two years ago and finds the going harder than expected.
"Right now business is tough. It is hard to get new clients on the Internet since there are many contacts that don't want to reveal themselves," said Glancy, who specializes in contemporary Chinese fine art, ranging from sedate landscapes to lyrical portraits. Most buyers nowadays come from China, South East Asia and Europe.
Since closing her Contemporary Chinese Fine Art storefront gallery, she has had little contact with the public, which she misses. She made no effort to woo Laguna buyers, relying on the reach of the Internet.
Due to the recession, Glancy now also caters to the secondary art market. "We are no longer limited to China. In these times, people de-accession magnificent art works," she said.
Art was Siedlecki's first love, his initial major at the University of Illinois. He eventually went on to earn a bachelor's degree in business.
Work, travel, art and health reshaped his life. "I was born with cancer," he said. A malignant tumor and the radiation to remove it caused other strains of cancer. However, that did not stop him from excelling at gymnastics and graduating college early with honors. His career spanned executive posts with pharmaceutical, packaged goods and start-up media ventures. He paid for college by selling art works, deciding then on a business career rather an artistic one.
Even so, ruminations on how artists could market themselves more successfully remained in the back on his mind like an ungerminated seed.
Two years ago, he was diagnosed with tonsil cancer. In the aftermath of surgery and chemotherapy, which put a stop to his travels and changed the quality of his voice, the seed sprouted and Siedlicki began a new venture he could manage from home. Today, he and his wife, Lee Ann, are ensconced in an oceanview home where he still paints and sculpts and continues to fine-tune The ArtGallerist.com.
