Sara Tecchia
Photo by Jason Cannon
In New York, "nice" is not a compliment. It's disparaging. Considered to be so weak a trait that it waters down anything interesting in a personality, niceness is usually met with a sneer. Until a New Yorker unexpectedly encounters genuine unsolicited warmth, and realizes that when "niceness" is mixed with other more tart virtues, it can be a powerful and disarming force.
The atmosphere at the Sara Tecchia Roma New York gallery often provokes this kind of rude awakening for gallery goers who are so accustomed to rudeness that a friendly, non-judgmental, open and interested art dealer is a noticeable novelty.
When I was searching for a space in which to curate "And Who Are You? Work From Saatchi Online," I visited the Sara Tecchia Roma New York gallery to interview Michael Bilsborough for the website, on the recommendation of Saatchi Online's New York Correspondent, Doug McClemont. Doug was right that the show was remarkable but I was also very impressed with the gallery's handsome space in Chelsea's well-known 529 W 20th building. Mostly, though, I was engaged by the unpretentious affability of everyone I met in the gallery. I later asked friends to drop in and report back. Every spy reported the same story. They were all taken with the gallery's challenging work and charming atmosphere.
Sara Tecchia was born in Rome. Her mother is American and her father is Italian. She is 33, speaks fluent Italian, English and was educated at the Liceo Classico before attending La Terza Universita di Roma and receiving her degree in Political Science and International Affairs. From there, she diverged in her studies and decided to pursue a Masters degree in Contemporary Art at Christie's. She opened her own gallery shortly after graduating and has been a "Gallerista" for two years.
Tecchia met Benjamin Tischer, the gallery's Director, through Craigslist. She initially hired a young woman who soon left the gallery to train as an elementary school teacher after deciding that the art world was too high-paced for her. Next came another director whose term was also truncated. Then Tecchia posted an ad on New York's hit-and-miss catch-all for the city's personal, professional and practical needs.
Tischer answered the ad after having been an editor at various chic blue magazines. He also collaborates with his wife, Gala Verdugo, as the artist team BENGALA. Their video and installation work has been exhibited at P.S. 1, the Walker, Gavin Brown Enterprises and Deitch Projects. He is still a practising artist, while also strikingly devoted to the progress of Sara Tecchia Roma New York.
The gallery has been invited to participate in Art Cologne and Scope during the Armory show. So far, collectors have responded to both the space's ability to present work beautifully and its strong, diverse roster of artists. There has also been a positive reaction to the gallery's conviviality, as Sara Tecchia Roma New York slowly melts gallery goers' frost-bitten feelings about icy gallerinas and chilly dealers.
David Fried
ANTISTROT, 'Signed Edition', 2006
Frescolithe, gouache and ink on muslin
39.5 x 63 inches
Ana Finel Honigman: To start, can you please explain the name of the gallery? A lot of people think that either you are named Sara Tecchia Roma, or that you have sister spaces in Rome and New York. What does the name actually mean?
Sara Tecchia: The name always throws visitors. The name of the gallery illustrates my personal journey. Italy is my starting point, where my heritage is. New York came later in life and with New York, contemporary art. Although my mother is American I've been a New Yorker only for the past four years. Rome is where I was born and schooled. In a way I am constantly negotiating between the two cultures I come from, as they couldn't be more antithetical. I therefore have to keep the link with Italy.
AFH: Well, any uncertainty about the name won't matter as the gallery's reputation rises. When you think about it, "The Beatles" is a stupid name, but who notices now? Still, are you planning to open up a sister space in Rome, if only to give your gallery name a clearer meaning?
ST: I have a strong love/ hate relationship with Italy. No. There are too many politics involved and too much bureaucracy. The Euro is too strong and the dollar is too weak. Here, anything can happen and when it does it's a very fast process. Once I found this space and got the lease, I did renovations and opened in three months.
AFH: Do you have many Italian collectors?
ST: I have a few very good ones like la Signora Isabella del Frate Rayburn who's a great supporter of the arts and my gallery. I represent two Italian artists, Ludovica Gioscia and Elena Monzo. But it is hard for Italian artists today. It is hard to mold such a strong history into something new. To almost forget it and start afresh, to overcome the champions who set the bar. Caravaggio, Leonardo, Botticelli, Tiziano, Antonello da Messina et alter were the Rothkos, Warhols, Hoffmans, Freuds of their time. We can't easily move past those standards and that heritage without falling into kitsch. Besides Elena Monzo and Ludovica Gioscia, I haven't found Italian artists I want to work with yet.
Ludovica Gioscia, 'Les Petites Morts', 2004
(detail)
AFH: What do you think the "Roma" part means to collectors or visitors?
ST: Oh, I'm just having a bit of fun with the history of the art market. American collectors like Louisine Havemeyer, Isabella Stewart Gardner or Alfred Barnes would purchase French Impressionism or Italian Renaissance also with the aim of showcasing their intellectual sophistication. I like the idea of continuing certain legacies. My program is international so ideally collectors don't have to go to Italy, they can come to me and save on the airfare! (I say this smiling and not taking myself too seriously.)
AFH: How important do you feel a dealer's personality is to the actual selling of the work?
ST: Very but it's not exclusive. Having a gallery is not only an issue of finding others who share your vision, but most importantly who understand and feel connected to your taste. Taste is very specific and subjective. The Latins tried to address the issue by coining the expression De Gustibus. You have a friend, see their sweater and say, "That's a great sweater. Where can I buy it?" Having a gallery is the same thing. It's a constant word to mouth action. I'm lucky: I've met more than one person who shares my taste.
AFH: Are you confident that the gallery can sustain itself through compatible collectors or do you also have to consider broader tastes and possible trends?
ST: Let me take a step back. When I opened the gallery I had zero connections in the art world. I mean zero. I didn't know one collector or curator. I had just finished a four-month internship at a gallery in Tribeca that no longer exists. The internship was necessary to complete my graduate studies at Christie's. Before then I had been living in Rome my entire life where I graduated with honors in International Affairs/Political Science. I was meant to pursue a career in finance. When I announced, "Change of plans. I'm moving to NY to study art", my parents thought I had lost my mind but eventually understood my new idea. It made sense. The arts had always been part of our household - how can you escape them living in Rome? I moved to NY without a clue e.g. I didn't know who Cindy Sherman, Damien Hirst or Richard Prince were. Contemporary art in Rome at that time (we're talking 2003, not too long ago) was Warhol and Basquiat. Those were the exhibits you ALWAYS had going on. MACRO had just opened. I was naïve and uneducated in the art department. If nothing else I'm very disciplined. The program at Christie's was 18 months. For that entire time the only thing I did was study. I love to study. I needed to fill all the voids. That I did. I asked a lot of questions, read as much as possible, spent hours in museums and galleries. I was definitely a bothersome student but I did what I needed to achieve my aim. Thus, when I opened the gallery of course I was constantly haunted with the nagging concerns of "Will this hit a dead end? Is it too soon? Should I have gathered more experience and information?" Yet I was convinced that I couldn't be the only person to appreciate the art I loved. I felt that surely there had to be others who had a compatible sensibility. That gave me the courage to start. It wasn't easy. It's still isn't. But more frequently than not I've been meeting people who see the same colors and forms that I do and connect to my aesthetic. As for trends I couldn't give a rat's ass about them. I'm only interested in good art. Add to all the above that, being Italian, I'm very temperamental and impatient. I hate waiting for things to happen.
COREY ARNOLD, 'Opilio Morning (Bering Sea, Alaska)', 2006
Chromira C-Print, 20 x 30 inches
AFH: How important has press been for you in developing a reputation and cultivating understanding for your aesthetic and gallery's ethos?
ST: Everything is of equal level. Having great art and a good-looking space is the most important, but after this everything is on the same level. I was recently reading something that made me think. It was an article with another dealer who told the interviewer that curators came to him before collectors. In my case, the collectors came before the curators. They would come to the building to see Steve or Josee (ndr Bitforms and Josee Bienvenu) and by chance walk into the gallery. These collectors are very savvy and knowledgeable. They've been collecting for years. They gave me a first chance and then a second and now our relationships have become friendships. It's an honor to work with them. Of course, I want more press. Who doesn't? Immediately people respond to the names. After 8 months from opening the gallery I screened a Gordon Matta Clark movie that was then part of the Whitney retrospective. I got a write-up in the New York Times by Roberta Smith that added a real plus. It was a proud moment. Nobody in my family could have ever thought that the Tecchia name would have reason to appear in the New York Times. Now if I could only do the same for one of my artists... (wink wink).
AFH: Are you in a position to refuse to sell to collectors who you think are either buying for the wrong reasons or might not genuinely appreciate the art?
ST: Whenever I sell a painting or a sculpture, it is always to someone new. As I said I did not have a Rolodex when I opened the gallery. I didn't have family connections to help me out. But I've always been picky even when times were slow. If the person asks the wrong questions e.g. "How much will it be worth in the 3 years" I tell them to go buy a CD. This stops the conversation then and there. I'm very careful with the placement of the artwork. I do not sell furniture or decoration.
AFH: Were you apprehensive about starting a gallery with a roster of mostly older artists?
ST: Let me tell you a story. It involves you writers and the overall challenges facing mid-career artists. When I started the gallery, one thing I did often was to actively advertise. I put ads in ARTFORUM, Modern Painters, Artnet and ARTnews. I would call editors and writers and tell them all, "Hey, I'm young. I have natural red hair and I'm Italian. Hi!" And, they almost all wrote back. Milton Esterow in particular was extremely gracious and nice to me. I was thrilled. But one editor wrote back and asked whether I had chosen my artists yet. And when I told him that I had chosen some, he responded that I should have talked to him first because he could have helped me select the "right ones". And by that he meant that I should only work with "twenty-somethings."
AFH: The world isn't fair.
ST: Agreed. My reaction was: "What are you talking about?" I now have a mixed roster of mid-career and emerging artists. I love working with artists who have stories to tell, who have suffered, cried, traveled and journeyed inside. I want artists who know who they are. I don't think the value of the work is determined by the age of the artist. We can't forget that Cezanne was discovered when he was over 60 and some artists produce their best work later in life - e.g. Louise Bourgeois, Mark Rothko or even Clint Eastwood. Henry Rousseau "Le Douanier" created his masterpiece "Le Reve" the year he died - he was 66. Age is irrelevant to me. Duston Spear has work in an amazing list of collections that include the Whitney, the Met, The Brooklyn Museum, The Aldrich et alter but at the height of her career she decided to withdraw from the art world to address some personal, family concerns. When we met, I felt that hers was work that really needed to be out in the world and seen. Did I dwell on her age?
AFH: Her work is really strong and her convictions are compelling, but I am not surprised that you are encountering more resistance to her that you might if she were twenty years younger.
ST: My job is to shed light on the art and to make potential collectors forget the artist's age or the market for the work and to just think, "I want to live with this." At the beginning, there was a great deal of resistance but the more people come to know me and my taste, the easier it becomes to have them trust their instincts over their potential apprehensions.
AFH: Are most of your conversations with collectors about the work's financial or artistic merits?
ST: Do I have to talk shop? I never sell the art. I talk about it. Young collectors should only be buying work because they are curious.
AFH: Or just have wall space.
ST: And want to change their life. When you put a painting on a wall that once had a poster on it, or was blank, it changes your life. That physical work of art changes your life. It changes everything in your home.
AFH: It's a milestone. It means you have a home. Is there ever the assumption that you're a business manager for the collectors, rather than an agent for the artists?
ST: I am a spokesperson for the artists. That's how I see it.
AFH: In that capacity, do you usually offer your personal interpretation of the work or do you recount the artist's intentions?
ST: I am the kind of person who sits down with the artist and asks a lot of questions before hanging anything on the walls. As a spokesperson, I never want to mislead. I'll be pretty linear, unless someone asks me why I like the work and then I'll give him or her an earful. They probably wish they'd never asked me the question. I'm Italian remember? We like to talk a lot. I feel like the work at the gallery is strong enough that I don't have to embellish.
AFH: What is the relationship between your ideology as a collector and as a dealer?
ST: My motives for opening the gallery are the same as that of the late dealer Martha Jackson: "(.) To live surrounded by paintings". While from Edith Gregory Halpert I've learned to "Only show what you love". I only show what I would live with. What I do live with. I collect all my artists. My loft in SoHO functions as a second space to showcase their work. My life is my lifestyle. I am in the gallery constantly and I am here in New York because I want to be surrounded by this art. Constantly.
AFH: What are the traits that tie the work together?
ST: I wanted the gallery to have a theme, not a style. A style is temporary and becomes boring and predictable very quickly. You get tired of your hair cut or clothes, right? I never want viewers to walk into the gallery knowing what they will see. I want them to be constantly surprised. Sometimes the surprise requires some explanation. What you see isn't always what you get.
AFH: What is your theme?
ST: Beauty with an edge, with enough imperfections to render it interesting. Substantiated by a very strong intellectual content otherwise it becomes decoration.
AFH: Hence Michael Bilsborough.
ST: Exactly or Antistrot or Ben Fink, Christina McPhee or Christa Parravani. I love work that walks the fine line between the familiar and unfamiliar/ settled and unsettled. I love hearing people tell me that they never know what to expect when entering one of the gallery's rooms (we keep all the doors open, to all the offices, all the time). None of my artists look alike.
AFH: Are you concerned about appearing too scattered?
ST: Why would I want all the artists to look the same? Again, I don't look the same all the time. The only thing I can't change is the color of my hair. It's an unwritten family rule that it must remain red.
AFH: How important is it to you that the artists, if not their work, are compatible?
ST: To me, it is very important. I try to create a real sense of community in the gallery. We recently had a great show called "Why can't we all just get along?" It was a show where the artists got together in pairs and collaborated. They were welcome to collaborate with artists outside the gallery, or among my roster, and quite a few artists in the program chose to work together. We're going on round #2 of that show in the future and that'll help continue the tradition I'm trying to foster.
LUCIEN SAMAHA, 'Clearing Sky', 2008
Archival inkjet on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Satin 310, 40 x 60 inches
AFH: Are you encouraging the artists to socialize outside the studio or gallery context?
ST: I host parties and am happy that friendships have developed. There are a few that I would not have expected. I would rather this than hosting salons and forcing people to get together. I think of the Impressionists or Picasso and his clique in France or the New York School at its height. How all the artists would get together, get drunk, converse, scream at each other and sometimes if we got really lucky they would create something together e.g. Gauguin and Bernard, Monet and Renoir, Sophie Calle and Damien Hirst.
AFH: New York is especially conducive to this attitude because people seem to genuinely want to meet other accomplished people, regardless of whether they share a background or obvious commonalities.
ST: This is true but I do think it can be hard in New York where everybody is also so competitive. Striving to achieve similar goals.
AFH: Perhaps, but in your case, I am curious what commonalities your artists share when they do come from such different backgrounds and are of different generations. Do they tend to bond based on mutual appreciation for each other's work?
ST: Amazingly they do. Two of my artists Duston Spear and Clement Price-Thomas, who came together for the "Why can't we all get along?" show, have always appreciated each other's art and their friendship developed from that pure point. Their work couldn't be more different. I really like that. I do not want my gallery to be a sterile environment where the only thing I do is put a painting up and separate the artists from the art.
AFH: There is almost always some semi-parental quality to the dealer/ artist relationship. Are you interested in acting as a mother to your artists?
ST: I am maternal because I am Italian. But it is a complicated relationship because of the finances involved. It is not like it was in the Eighties or the late-Seventies when galleries could just come about and there was a sense that artists and dealers were making a space together. Today it is too expensive for all parties involved for there not to be financial considerations shaping the relationship.
AFH: But there are other vulnerabilities also, right?
ST: The artists are putting their souls on display. For the artists I work with creating art is their job, they don't have office jobs. I am honored that I get to have a first peek and see what is in their minds before anyway else does.
AFH: Do you consider yourself as a collaborator in the artists' creative processes?
ST: It is funny, but my background would suggest that the best thing for me to do is deal in Old Masters. I am a Renaissance girl. But Caravaggio is dead and I can't call him up and say, "Hey, how did this line come about?" or" How pissed where you when the priests refused your work?" But I can phone living artists and talk with them about their ideas and conundrums. This is the main reason I decided for contemporary art. I'm just a curious girl. I like to pick people's brains.
AFH: How do you respond to artists who want to be represented by the gallery?
ST: I get artists' submissions every day and I respond to everybody. I always respond.
AFH: Really? You are incredible, Sara. It's rare that dealers will even open the envelopes.
ST: It is my set rule: My office door is always open to artists. Even if I am screaming on the phone, an artist can sit down in front of me and know that she/he will have my attention.
AFH: Isn't it burdensome dealing with strangers, as well as the actual artists you represent?
ST: It is hard to be an artist. To willingly put oneself in a vulnerable position every day requires a certain amount of inner strength and courage. I know that. This is why I take the time to review portfolios. Of course, I'm always hoping to find the next Van Gogh or Nigel Cooke. I used to have a sign up which read "Please ask me questions" but people are still very hesitant.
AFH: Is this your general policy or are you reacting to a perceived lack of warmth in the overall gallery scene?
ST: I just remember how when I was still a student I used to walk around Chelsea and galleries would give you the impression that you weren't supposed to be there. You would go to the desk to ask for a press release and the response would be cold or even dismissive. I don't understand that.
AFH: Well, most people in galleries consider a risk/ reward profile when they encounter someone in the space. They measure the rewards of a potential sale versus the risk of wasting time.
ST: I want to give the gallery a very strong academic foundation. We directly approach anybody who enters the gallery. We look for interaction with our visitors. For every one word exchanged a thousand ideas can follow. It's the visitors prerogative to look without buying but I do want them to leave thinking or feeling they've seen something that hopefully they deem new. I especially love talking to young children and students. Even those who say, "This is not working for me," are people I want to engage. Especially them. I want to talk about what bothers them. Sometimes they come back and back again and then finally tell me that they get it. I want them to form opinions. Opinions are good.
AFH: What do you say when dismissing an artist whose work doesn't interest you?
ST: If it is an artist who I don't work with, than I won't critique their work. I tell them that it is not for me, but I will not judge it. I might not like it but another dealer perhaps will. If it is an artist who I am working with, then I will critique. I never demand but I suggest.
Robert Brinker, 'The Double Switch', 2007
Graphite, 2 layers of cut paper and mylar
50 x 76 inches
BENJAMIN FINK, 'Malcolm's House, Dutchess County, NY, 2006
Archival inkjet, 33 x 50 inches
AFH: Have you ever taken on an artist from an unsolicited submission?
ST: I have. The artist in my last show, Robert Brinker, was randomly sent over by my dear friend, Joseph Kraeutler, now Director of Phillips de Pury's New York's photo department. Joseph had a feeling I would connect with Rob's work and he was most certainly right. But this is a rare case. Usually when someone is randomly sent over you know that they have come to you because the gallery that sent them wasn't interested. Other galleries know I'm young, so they say "Try Sara Tecchia, she's looking for artists." Another time, I went to a tea salon at the National Arts Club. I didn't know anybody and started looking at a portfolio in the darkness of the room. While I was flipping through it I found myself being unexpectedly drawn to the images. They turned out to be by Benjamin Fink.
AFH: Are you concerned with creating networks with other dealers?
ST: I don't like the idea that an artist can only have one dealer per city. I am starting to collaborate with other dealers and I like the idea of joining forces with other dealers. Collectors react to this very well. The artists get double exposure and the dealers can invest more money in their careers.
AFH: Considering Mary Boone and Zack Feuer are currently sharing Luis Gispert, it seems to be the way to go. How strongly are you valuing trends when thinking ahead?
ST: When I started the gallery in September 2005 it was blue and we kept repainting, so that there were these stripes of different colors. People kept stating, "Art galleries don't do this." But I thought, "Good. If they don't then I'll do it." So every time someone tells me how things are supposed to be done, I'll go the other way and take the risk."
AFH: Blue stripes sounds cool.
ST: But it wasn't cool. They were right for the work. I'm not cool. I was not popular in high school. At least I didn't feel popular. I just hung out with different kids I liked for different reasons. My best friend was the most popular girl in school. I thought she was creating too many problems for herself.
AFH: What do you think qualifies as "cool"?
ST: Cool is elitism. I think that if I had taken everyone's advice and followed all the rules that I would have closed by now. I'm still not popular but I am starting to hang out with the popular people. And the unpopular people still remain paramount figures in my life. I'm not cool but I don't want to be. What I want is a big, democratic family with all these different personalities and different visions that combined make great art.
ESMA PAçAL TURAM, 'Neighbors Lamp', 2005
Silicon and aluminum
43.31 x 39.37 x 39.37 inches
SARA TECCHIA ROMA NEW YORK, 529 West 20th Street, between Tenth Avenue and Eleventh Avenue. Opening hours: Monday through Friday, 11am to 6pm or by appointment. T: +1 212-741-2900; www.saratecchia.com.
)
)
)