By MATTHEW NASH & MATTHEW GAMBER
MN: What's is going on here?
MG: I don't know, you tell me - I opened this thinking you had written something already.
MN: That was a note to myself: what the hell is going on with galleries in Boston? Bernard Toale Gallery may be closing, Allston-Skirt Gallery is definitely closing, some others may be shutting down. I thought I'd write about this latest gallery shake-up and what it means for artists. Do you think I should write about something else?
MG: Doesn't mean everything is drying up - things are changing, that's true. Maybe it's time for some turn some attention to some lesser known venues and artists that have always been there.
MN: I couldn't agree more. Both Julie Chae Gallery and Gallery XIV seem to be off to really great starts, and Space Other is always showing interesting work. People seem to be supporting themselves, and that's a good thing. What I wonder about, though, is what appears to be a growing dependence on the art fairs to increase visibility and profits. I'm not against the art fairs, but it seems like some of the galleries who participate in a lot of fairs changed over time to show more fair-friendly work. I just wonder what kind of impact the art fair market is having on the small, privately owned galleries. Who are the lesser or artists and galleries you are excited about?
MG: Let's not forget South Boston - The Distillery with their gallery, Proof Gallery, and the galleries at the Artists Foundation in the same building. Also, Lamontagne Gallery has recently relocated there. Also off proverbial beaten tracks is HallSpacee at their new space in Dorchester. Don't forget the shows that are up at several handfuls of college galleries: Tufts, Harvard, SMFA, MassArt, and the like, they have some excellent shows up when nobody is looking.
That's the story, start looking and be willing to go on a field trip. If you want to see something good, you have to be willing to seek it out. That's the way it's always been.
