Art dealers drop in for talk at Stewart Hall

BY IAN HOWARTH

Pointe Claire’s Stewart Hall Art Gallery, established in 1963, has had its share of artists and vernissages over the years, but current director and curator Joyce Miller thought the time had come for West Island patrons of the arts to meet some of the people whose galleries exhibit and market artist’s works.

As part of the gallery’s latest exhibition, Art in the City, Miller selected three of Montreal’s more well-known and successful gallery owners — who represent the 16 artists whose works are on display at Stewart Hall — and invited them last Sunday to offer their perspectives on what it means to be a gallery owner. “This is the first time we have done this, at least since I’ve been here,� said Miller, now in her seventh year as director/curator. “The idea of this roundtable discussion was to introduce our visitors to gallery owners and the art market in Montreal. We consider this to be part of our educational role.�

Miller personally chose the galleries and the artists for Art in the City, which opened in December and runs until Jan. 25. “Of course, there are many quality galleries in Montreal, but the three I chose are important and each have an individual style.�

Simon Blais of Galerie Simon Blais, Jocelyne Aumont of Galerie Trois Points and Pierre-François Ouellette of Galerie Pierre-François Ouellette Art Contemporain operate three of Montreal’s leading contemporary galleries. Miller said Art in the City provides visitors at Stewart Hall with the opportunity to become more familiar with the gallery system in Montreal and gain a greater understanding of contemporary art. And Blais, Aumont and Ouellette did their best to enlighten those that attended Sunday’s roundtable.

When he was 24, Blais could call himself the youngest gallery director in Montreal. Now 50, he can call himself a veteran of the art gallery business. “I borrowed from friends and family when I first started out,� said Blais, whose gallery is represented by six of the 16 artists in the current Stewart Hall gallery exhibition. His show of artist Jean McEwen, one of Canada’s foremost colourists, turned things around for him after a downturn in the world economy of the 1990s had major ripple effects in the art world. His gallery now specializes in Canadian and European abstract art, with works on paper and canvas of artists and sculptors who have been on the Quebec and Canadian art scene since 1945. “I’ve learned over the years that you cannot just show the art, but you must market it also. Artists are getting younger and younger and it’s a competitive world out there, so even they have to learn how to market themselves. People find contemporary art a little difficult to define or understand. It’s part of the job of the artist and gallery owners to raise the awareness of this type of art,� he added.

Not every artist is interested or motivated that way, however. Jocelyn Aumont likes to work with artists who share her vision of art and prefers to work with younger artists. The idea of the starving artist, however, is still a reality, she said. “There are more artists than there are galleries. This is a time-concentrating job. A lot of work and not necessarily a lot of monetary return.�

But Aumont, 19 years as one of three partners in Galleries Trois Points, considers the esoteric rewards outweigh the monetary ones. “I think art is the most intelligent thing that exists. The knowledge contained in art can be brilliant,� she said. Art in general could use a boost from both the print and electronic media, Aumont offered. “There’s not enough talk about art in general,� she said. “And advertising is expensive for both the artist and gallery owner.�

Ouellette, although a relative newcomer to the art gallery world, boasts some serious credentials, having worked for the National Gallery in Ottawa. The idea of the starving artist is one he is also familiar with. “Many artists have more than one job,� he said. “It’s a serious commitment, one that some artists are not able to stay with.�

Ouellette looks at the job of art gallery owner as a labour of love and considers himself as an ambassador for artists. “People should know there is affordable art out there. For between $200 and $500, you can acquire an original work.� As for the idea that there are too many art galleries saturating the Montreal market, where almost 90 percent of the clients are individual buyers, Ouellette doesn’t buy it. “The more galleries, the more the public will be exposed to contemporary art.�