by Keith Laing, Atlanta Tribune: The Magazine
July 2007
Like most things in life, when it comes to art, beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder. Luckily for African-American art fans in Atlanta though, many of the beholders look just like them.
Several Black-owned art galleries dot the metro area, each with a unique philosophy, purpose and collection. Together, they strive to expose a community not often associated with high-class art to its wiles and wonders.
Among the educators is Shrine of the Black Madonna in the West End, a two-part gallery showcasing African paintings and artifacts. Owner Ewa Omo Oba says her gallery stresses the value of original works.
“We want to be a teaching museum,” she says. “So many of our people don’t understand value or appreciate original art, so we wanted to showcase that. I’ve seen people pay ridiculous amounts of money for reprints when they can grow an artist’s career (by buying an original.”
Being located in the shadow of the Atlanta University Center since 1976 has enabled Omo Oba to see the fruits of that labor.
“We’re a stones throw from the Atlanta University Center,” she says. “A lot of former AUC students who came in when they were in undergrad come back and bring their families.”
She adds that her gallery benefits permanent West End residents too.
“West End is an amazing community,” Omo Oba says. “People don’t know the gem that West End is. There are beautiful Victorian homes here. Our neighbors are sophisticated professional people. People forget that for generations, West End has housed some of the most prominent black leaders.”
That’s why Shrine of the Black Madonna is proud to be apart of West End’s fabric, Omo Oba says.
“We have a deep sense of community,” she says. “We started as community cultural bookstore. We’ve grown with our community, watching it go from difficult times to the current resurgence and we trust that we’ll continue to be a part of the West End.”
At any given time, between 60 and 80 pieces of art are on display at Shrine of the Black Madonna, Omo Oba says. The gallery sells original pieces ranging from $400 to $2,500, depending on the size and reputation of the artist. Its artifacts sell as low as $300 and as high as $7,000.
To the layman, those prices may seem high, but for original artwork, Omo Oba says it’s a steal.
“People come here from L.A., D.C. and New York because they can’t get these prices anywhere else in the country,” she says.
Another gallery that sees itself primarily as a teacher is Art Modern Creative, a new facility in the Cobb Galleria. Although it does not feature exclusively black art, Art Modern Creative spends just as much time educating its customers, says creative director Valerie Allen, who owns the gallery with her husband Michael.
“Our greater goal is that we want African-Americans to better understand and appreciate art,” she says. “The only way they are going to do that is to understand the art process, so even if we don’t make a sale, we spend time talking. Even if [customers] don’t buy anything, we want to walk away with some knowledge. Not everybody that comes to the Galleria has $3,000 to spend on a piece of art.”
Allen says that blacks are behind the art curve because earlier generations of whites understood that like education, creativity is vital to success of a community.
“The first thing people do [when they want to hold people down] is take away their ability to create,” she says.
Another problem is that this is the fulfillment of the promise of integration is only in its first generation.
“There are not enough blacks who have that much disposal income, so all the people at the [highest] levels of art buying are white,” she says.
Allen also echoes Omo Oba’s concern that those that do have the disposal income are not investing it wisely.
“We’re caught up in buying prints because we don’t understand the value of having an original,” she says.
Also, she adds that black people who do have disposal income often buy European art because that is what their white counterparts do.
“It’s almost a whitewashing,” she says.
That’s why Art Modern Creative strives to feature art from all over the world, Allen says.
“We are an international gallery,” she says. “We’re black-owned, but everybody shops with us. My husband and I spent the last five years in Asia, so we decided to showcase art from all over the world.”
Allen says she chose to open her gallery in Atlanta because her and her husband were drawn to the city’s emerging art community. Each year, the city hosts several art festivals, including this month’s National Black Arts Festival and September’s Atlanta Arts Festival.
“We came back to the United States because we have a granddaughter we want to watch grow up, but the energy of Atlanta is wonderful,” she says. “To have gone all over the world and come back and share our knowledge with the people of Atlanta feels great.”
An artist herself, Allen produced about half of Art Modern Creative’s gallery and handpicked the other works. The 25,000 square foot gallery features about 100 pieces, with prices ranging from $1,500 to $3,000. The gallery prides itself for having a keen eye for talent, relying more on artist merit than name value.
“Some of [our artists] used to be homeless,” she says. “Some may not be known outside of the village they live in in China, but they’re brilliant.”
Bryma Braham, co-owner of Avisca Fine Arts in Marietta, says her gallery also provides exposure to lesser-known artists.
“We specialize in African-American art and contemporary art from the Caribbean, focusing on emerging artists,” she says.
Avisca has a group of about 15 artists it regularly features, Braham says, though it is always looking for new talent. About 50 pieces of art grace it walls at any given time, she says.
“We also have a large number of works on inventory,” she says. “There’s a lot a visitor can see [other than] what’s hanging on the walls. We have an extensive library of art books. We’re trying to make the gallery a resource, more than just a gallery, but a place where people can come and learn.”
Braham adds that Avisca also tries to give its customers quality assurance.
“As art professionals, we can size up a work pretty quickly to see if it has any artist quality,” she says. “We try to select works that have strong artist value so that we can confidently tell our customers it’s worth the money they are paying. We can’t predict accurately whether someone is going to become famous, but we like to say that either way you’re buying a good piece of art.”
Braham says that a large portion of her consumers, who are mostly young professions with disposal income and older collectors, are looking to get in on the next Picasso’s ground floor.
“People buy what they like, but they also like to know that what they are buying is going to appreciate,” she says. “They do it for personal pleasure, but they also usually want to buy something from an artist whose career is going somewhere.”
Luckily for those shoppers, several of Avisca’s up and comers have already begun their ascension.
“A couple are well on their way,” she says. “We can safely say that based on the trajectory of their career. A good marker [of an artist’s prominence] is not just market acceptance, but when they start to get the attention of the art press, critics and museums.”
Avisca helps them along the way by holding artist talks and participating in art fairs, Braham says.
“They’re great ways to increase the visibility of the artists,” she says.
It also increases the visibility of the gallery, which will celebrate one year in business next month, Braham adds.
“We’re planning a whole series of events to increase our relevance to the community,” she says. “Right now, we’re still in the building process. We’re still trying to get established in the Atlanta art community.”
Another black-owned gallery – Wertz Contemporary – is already entrenched in the Atlanta art community. Located in the Castleberry Arts District near the West End for two years after eight years in Buckhead, the gallery’s reputation precedes it and helps it attract the best and brightest artists to Atlanta, owner Jason Wertz says.
“I’ve done this almost 10 years, so we’ve grown in terms of reputation,” he says. “We’re the best black-owned gallery in town as far as internationally recognized artists. We only showcase artists with merit and resumes. A number have been showcased in New York shows.”
Wertz says his gallery’s reputation is so strong that artists contact him about being displayed. The gallery’s reputation also draws customers, he says.
“Our clientele is mostly people who are familiar with the gallery and looking to buy art,” he says.
However, even with a loyal fan base, business is not always booming at Wertz Contemporary, Wertz says.
“Art is such a fickle industry,” he says. “It’s really feast or famine.”
Still, annually, the gallery sells between $200,000 and $250,000 worth of art, he says. Pieces on display in the 25,000 square foot facility range from $2,000 to $15,000.
“It’s a broad display of work,” Wertz says.
Wertz Contemporary’s appeal is helped tremendously by its new location, he says. Its first year in Castleberry produced its best sales year ever, Wertz says.
“I like the synergy here,” he says. “There’s a lot of old building with character juxtaposed with contemporary art. People have definitely responded to our location and being able to see art here. It’s sort of like a baby SoHo [New York]. That’s how it’s often described.”
Going forward, however, Wertz says he would like to see more black customers browsing his gallery. He estimates that only 20 percent of his customers are black.
“Sadly, it’s smaller than we anticipated given the stature of the artists in the gallery,” he says. “But we’re always expanding and growing and we hope our demographics continue to improve.”
Luckily though, with so many black-owned art galleries beginning to call Atlanta home, black art lovers can follow their hearts to whichever shop suits them best.
