Even after being a gallerist for about a decade, I’m still finding opportunities to learn new things, find new mistakes to make, and as always, new people to meet. Just landed back in Toronto after a 6 days in Manhattan during Art Week, and we as Abbozzo Gallery exhibited at Future Fair, an emerging fair in its 6th edition situated directly between the two May Fair giants Frieze and NADA. Other notable art fairs in New York are Independent Fair and TEFAF, all at the same time. We had the luxury of having both exhibiting artists, Miles Ingrassia and John Vitale, in the booth with us for the duration of the week. 

When applying, we were intrigued by Future Fair simply because it aligns with the ethos of our collaborative and community driven ethos of the gallery, and of course, of Artist Ally at large. Future Fair states that they are a “community-focused exhibition that champions curatorial vision, access, and growth in the global art industry” and that “the fair has brought together diverse global artistic voices through carefully crafted in-person events, while its digital platforms provide ongoing storytelling and community engagement that extend well beyond the exhibition dates.” 

This is a shorter article than my usual ones, but thought a quick roundup of my first time in New York, and reflections on it, and fairs at large, might be a fun topic.

This was my first time ever exhibiting in New York, and you can tell it simply just is a completely different beast. Compared to what I’m used to in Toronto and Barcelona, you can really sense that the size of the market is massive, and there is ambiently an immense amount of wealth surrounding you at all times. The moment you step into Manhattan, you intuitively feel as though you’re at the centre of the American financial empire, and with that, they have a sophisticated and knowledgeable art collection practice. Art collections is part of their “investment portfolios” and when you’re there, you always have to be “on” in order to perform at their standard. New York, Paris, and London truly are the metropoles of the art world and need to be treated as such. The questions we faced were pointed, enthusiastic, and there was an elevated sense of understanding about the art world, and that culturally the practice of art collection is more engrained there than it is in my hometown of Toronto. To put it plainly, most people attending the fair and approaching us in the booth were already quite educated and familiar with contemporary markets and historical art history. There are no dumb questions in the art world, but the collectors there were really well equipped with very precise things they wanted explained, in a refreshing way. Also, in general, because there is 8 art fairs going on simultaneously, and most galleries planning their openings to align with this week, there is simply SO MUCH ART to get through, and is impossible to see it all. It was actually quite difficult for me to even see anything other than the inside of my fair booth simply because I had to be there while everything else was going on. Felt like I was in the eye of a fun and massive art hurricane.

Having the artists with us was incredible. I am always well equipped to answer any questions collectors might have, and as any decent gallerist does, I take the time to do deep research on our artists and their practices, but there is always a certain personal touch that happens when collectors, art enthusiasts, and even other artists can converse directly with the maker. Miles and John are both fantastic at talking about their work and are approachable and kind, and I think this re-iterates what I talk a lot about in my articles, showing up, and simply being a warm person to be around goes much further in the art world than you might think. If you’re an introvert, fairs and openings can be very overwhelming, but I encourage anyone who wants to make a good impression to be available wherever possible. It takes energy, it takes work, but it's worth it.

As we always say at Artist Ally, be prepared. Although we brought and printed multiple price lists; what we didn’t anticipate are people stealing (or more likely, picking up and forgetting to put down) all of them. On opening night. New York printing costs are exorbitant, almost insulting, and completely unnecessary and we learned that the hard way. Oh how I wish we had Artist Ally Alan from PrintHouseBCN nearby, he saved us during SWAB Barcelona Art Fair last year when we ran out of bookmarks. Alan did an amazing job and having a reliable go-to-guy for these types of things is a luxury you don’t realize until you don’t have it. I’m an old-school print out kinda guy, but even I’m willing to admit here having a QR code we could have attached to the wall for backup would have been a good call. You live and you learn. Another thing is that email or contact info capture is so important, so having an easy place to sign up for a newsletter is imperative. With the nature of our booth, it was difficult to set this up without compromising our booth design, which in turn meant losing possible leads. We had bookmarks with our artists and their information on it, as well as ours, but simply leaving cards or bookmarks out is a passive approach and usually ends in dead leads. This is largely because it requires the possible contact/lead/interested party to do the work of signing up themselves. So whether you’re an artist, a gallerist like myself, an advisor, anything at all, it may seem obvious, but simply asking someone who seems keen on the artwork for their email, and whether you can add them to your mailing list is so so so important. 

The final one is a bit trickier to nail, but I feel like I should mention it. I talked about it in my article Ins and Outs earlier this year, but, just have fun with it. Embrace the opportunity, be grateful its happening, be stoked you are there and that people can see your art. Whether it be a pop-up show in your apartment, in a gallery, or at a fair, we’ve found that over our last couple years, even if we’re not selling like crazy, having fun and remaining inviting, relaxed, and open creates a much better booth atmosphere and conditions for success. Always greet everyone with a smile, a “hello” or “hola” and whatever you do, always look up from your screen (be it computer or laptop), or better yet, don’t be on the screen at all when there are people in your booth. Everyone, no matter how they are dressed, whether they’re a collector or not, deserve your attention. Collectors have wildly varying approaches, some like to be left alone and contemplate for themselves, others like to engage in deep discussion and ask loads of questions – identify quickly which is which, and then approach them accordingly. Always ask for their names, and return with yours; it immediately creates a more human rapport. I walked around the fair as a “collector”, and there is nothing more off-putting than really pushy or desperate sales-people. If people really like your artwork, and it is the right fit for their collection, and most importantly, if it is priced correctly, a serious collector will typically buy the work, or at minimum start to follow your practice. You don’t need to do all the convincing as the art will speak for itself. Desperation is something one can sense a mile away, and I’ve seen it first hand crater a sales opportunity before it even started.

Ultimately, experience is the best teacher, and being able to anticipate, expect, and pre-empt challenges that may arise is a learned and not innate skill. I’m happy to make all these mistakes so you don’t have to, then share them here. I’m glad I went, I’m glad I learned, and hopefully can go again next year!

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