Lynn del Sol, director of [CTS] creative thriftshop
WHITEWALL: Tell me about your booth this year.
LYNN DEL SOL: The show is called “Onward Art.” We’ve been trying to focus on artists that look inward towards art itself, reflecting on their own position in the art world and relating their work to other artists and themes the contemporary art market. A lot of it plays on witty little puns. We wanted to do something happy and fun and wishful for the new year .
WW: Your gallery mission is all about promoting artists and actively getting involved in their careers. What roles do art fairs play in this?
LDS: It it is exciting to get so many people to see our booths. Even some of the best galleries in New York would never get 30,000 people to walk through your doors in 30 days. Here we have the opportunity to get that number of people, feedback and attention in a short week.
WW: How does being here expand your collector base?
LDS: We’re so lucky. I think we have some of the most fabulous collectors in the world. I would say that 80% of our collectors come both directly and indirectly from the art fairs. Of that, 50% are based in the Northeast. Now we are going to overseas fairs and getting to meet international collectors on their own turf, getting to show them artwork that I know would fit in with their collections.
WW: Obviously the market has softened a bit recently. As someone who deals with emerging artists, do you think this helps you or hurts you?
LDS: Honestly, this business is always a challenge. But I work with a small stable of artists, so my job isn’t to sell a lot of art today. My job is to sell a lot of art in the next decade. My job is to help the artists that I work with and bring those people to the front of the line as quickly as possible. It’s a long-term commitment it’s not a art fair commitment. It doesn’t matter if the market is soft for six months or a year, it’s always going to be there. We just hope we sold enough in the good times, so the money’s there in the bad times. That’s something I think a lot of young artists don’t understand, that just because they hit it big this time doesn’t always mean that’s going be how it’s going to be forever. Of course, good art always rises to the top.
