Somewhere amidst the hubbub of the satellite fair's opening brunch, we sat down with Helen Toomer, Pulse's communications director, de facto general, and all-purpose on-site problem solver. "This is our fifth year in Miami, so we try to make every fair better," she explained.
WHITEWALL: And what have you learned from year to year?
HELEN TOOMER: That you can't predict the weather. [Laughs.] No, we've learned to just really listen to the exhibitors, what they want, how we can help them. Especially in this current climate. It's this huge outlay to ship everything down, to install it, to bring staff. We try to help them as much as we can with consolidated shipping and provide people to help them out and install their booths.
WW: This is a difficult climate. I spoke to other galleries who say "Last year we had the same number of clients, just that people were holding onto their money more." Accordingly, some galleries are trying to dictate a tone: It's a difficult year, let's make art that's uplifting, or whatever they think may help sell better. Have you guys tried to guide the tone in any particular direction, or are you a bit more bring what you want to bring?
HT: Well every booth gets vetted by a committee, but I've certainly seen exhibitors taking more of -- it's difficult to make sweeping generalization -- but they're are some galleries who are being very, very bold and taking a risk. They're saying this is about the artwork. It's about what the artists want to say, how they're going to project themselves, which obviously we love. It raises the bar, it changes the standard.
And then, in Miami I've certainly seen an increase in smaller, process-based drawings, and really beautiful skilled pieces, but smaller. So that you know – people will buy that.
WW: The climate being what it is, you would think there would be pressure to make art that is less edgy, less conceptual -- Is it heart warming to see artists sticking by their guns a little bit?
HT: Yeah. I think this gives them a chance to really focus on their practice and produce not work to demand, but work that they want to do. When work is flying off the walls, they're saying more, more, more, more, more. But now, speaking to gallerists who have been in the business a long time, they're saying that it's going back to the olden days where collectors really build relationships. It's about them, collectors, coming to the gallery, getting to know more about the artists, taking the time, and really investing in a piece, and in the gallery, rather than just saying, I want that, that, that.
WW: It seems like a collector coming here, making an investment here, you're making an investment in an artist. It's not just the art your investing in, it's the artist as well.
HT: My favorite quote is, one of our collectors said to me that they go to art basel beach to window shop, and they go to pulse to shop. So I kind of like that. They look at what they like, then they come here and they invest, and they buy. So we see ourselves as a bit of a family of collectors and artists. I mean, a family of 100 or so booths. [Laughs]. We keep it small.
