By Andrew Rudansky
Elisca Jeansonne, manager and owner of Gallery Merz, said that for her business to work in this new economy she needs to “go with the flow.” In the spirit of this adapting mentality, she has decided as of Friday, July 2 that Gallery Merz is “Going Out of Fine Art Business.” The gallery, which has been located on 95 Main Street for 10 years, and Jeansonne aren’t going anywhere; but there will be changes.
Jeansonne described fine art as the paintings and works of art on canvas and paper, saying that it is no longer profitable to sell these works on consignment as she has been doing.
“These works are a big commitment,” she said, “wall space commitment, and a big money commitment.” Many of the paintings in Gallery Merz range in price from $5,000 to $20,000, a price range that can be prohibitive to some. Jeansonne said that the recent downturn in the economy made the business model, revolving around such big ticket items, no longer sustainable.
“We need to move the inventory and phase it out,” said Jeansonne, which is good news for art collectors as many of the pieces are being offered at negotiable and reduced prices.
The fine art will remain on the walls until they are sold but no new pieces will be purchased, explained Jeansonne, instead the “new direction will emphasize jewelry, artifacts and framing [pictures].” Jeansonne believes that this approach, whose inspiration was drawn from the art world, will draw in more business and create a profit in a sluggish economy.
Gallery Merz is named after an art movement created by Kurt Schwitters, a post-World War II artist who dealt with the ideas of collage and creating new objects from old sources. Much like its namesake, Gallery Merz’ new business model is a real collage. Its offerings, much like the mixed media art of Schwitters, will come from a variety of sources and time periods.
Currently, there are two artifacts from the Sepik tribe of New Guinea sitting on display at the gallery, a beautifully carved totem sculpture and a tribal ancestor mask. Jeansonne has occasionally sold artifacts at Gallery Merz before, but she plans on bringing in many more items to showcase at the store. She said she is looking at Chinese antiques, ethnic art, crossover art, Pre-Colombian Mexican funerary sculptures, as well as local folk art as possible merchandise.
“I might be offering some of Warren Mchugh’s art,” Jeansonne said, “a genuine local folk artist.” Mchugh’s art would be coming right out of Jeansonne’s private collection and will include wood-carved dummy boards and sculptures.
Jeansonne is excited about the items coming in from the jewelry makers as well. Jeansonne calls Breahna Arnold, one of the new jewelers, “someone with a unique vision and who is very talented.” Another jeweler, Flor de Maria Riccio, received more praise from Jeansonne, who was wearing one of Riccio’s designer necklaces. Jeansonne also said she will be featuring works by Floridian Claire Satin and a “young, emerging, local artist,” Carol Ross.
“I picked these artists based on the value of their work,” Jeansonne said, who is confident the public will like this new direction the store is heading,
And Jeansonne calls it a store.
“A lot of people [in the art world] think ‘store’ is a dirty word,” she said, “but this is a business and we need to respond to the consumers.”
She thinks things have changed and the economy will not return to the highs before the recent global recession. Her new inventory at Gallery Merz will be less expensive and is aimed at the occasional impulse buyer.
It is unclear what the public’s reaction will be to the new format or whether other local art galleries will follow suit, changing their business model as well.
“Nobody knows where art is heading right now…It’s all in flux, so we are exploring the limits of what is possible right now,” said Jeansonne.
