In 2003, I opened my own gallery in the artist district of Long Beach. At the time, the City of Long Beach had a newly revitalized artist district with affordable storefronts. I felt that operating my own space would provide a good opportunity to develop my curatorial practice and allow me to approach artists with whom I have wanted to work in the past.
The concept of the gallery stems from a phrase I use in my studio practice. “See what you started,” I tell myself when analyzing a project, awaiting my next move.
My goal was to provide artists with a professional environment to exhibit their work and to use Swys as a personal curatorial training ground. Primarily, the focus of the gallery was to display solo exhibitions, allowing artists and audiences to view a cohesive body of work.
By the second year, the gallery operations were running smoothly and I had a solid exhibition calendar with a few guest curators on the list. I had learned to manage a gallery on a shoestring budget, which did not include the luxury of a computer, a telephone line, or documentation of each show.
Although the two years as the proprietor of Swys were not financially profitable, they proved invaluable to my development as a curator. As the shows went up and down, I began to develop a relationship with my gallery space. I began to “see the writing on the wall,” fascinated that simply changing the placement of artwork could determine or alter the direction a gallery visitor assumes upon entrance; perhaps changing the visitors experience entirely.
I started to understand the importance of the relationship between each individual piece and the way in which they “communicate” with each other. I learned to separate the artist from the work, to base my opinion on the merit of the work rather than the allure of the artist.
After two-years and the impending expiration of my lease, it was time to close the doors of Swys while opening those to the exploration of my career as a young curator.
Related work experience
Gallery owner and director of operations:
As the gallery director, my responsibilities were to select emerging artists for monthly exhibitions, including regular visits to artist’s studios in order to better understand the bodies of work. I also assisted the artists with the strategies of their presentation, including editing, lighting techniques, and methods of displaying art work. Other responsibilities entailed collaborating with graphic designers to design publicity packaging and wall text for monthly exhibitions. Lastly, I maintained and prepared the gallery space prior to and following each exhibition and managed the shipping and receiving of all artwork.
S W Y S Gallery, Long Beach, CA 2003-05
Artist assistant:
The location scout and videographer for the documentation of Angel Vergara’s ‘Street Man,’ shot in and around the bay area for a site-specific installation for an exhibition of contemporary Belgian artists from Flanders. The World on its Head,
San Francisco art institute, San Francisco CA. 2001
Assistant to Celine Kops, the curator in residence of Art 2102: As her assistant, my duties included researching and organizing building materials for the exhibitions. I also aided in the preparation of press material and travel accommodations for visiting artist Vincent Lamouroux. ‘Clust”, G727,
Los Angeles, 2006
Curatorial:
Visiting Curator and Gallery Consultant: Togonon Gallery, San Francisco 2009
Ted Lincoln “Plural Notions” Togonon Gallery, San Francisco 2009
Jack Fulton & David Johnson: “San Francisco Art Institute revisited” Togonon Gallery, San Francisco 2009
Ryan Donegan, Annie Castello, Christian Spruell, Kelly Ording: “Shot From The Hip”
Tree House Gallery, Los Angeles 2004
Kyle Riedel & Christine Catsifas: “Erosion & Sediment”
Swys gallery, Long Beach, CA 2004
Benjamin Britton: “Paintings,”
Swys gallery, Long Beach, CA 2004
Aranga Kerr, “Aranga Kerr”
Swys gallery, Long Beach, CA 2004
Amy Jo Diaz, Morgan Ramsey, Jerad Walker, Julie Weingarten: “Compass Point”
Swys gallery, Long Beach, CA 2004
Wallace Richard Mills: “Recent Works,”
Swys Gallery, Long Beach, CA 2004
Erick Brunetti: “Self Titled,”
Swys Gallery, Long Beach, CA 2004
Ron Saunders: “Chronosicopia,”
Swys Gallery, Long Beach, CA 2004
Ramsey Dau: “You Complete Me,”
Swys gallery, Long Beach, CA 2004
Peter Gronquist: Invasion,
Koos Art Center, Long Beach, CA. 2004
Ron Saunders
Tree House Gallery, Los Angeles 2004
Blaine Fountana, Ryan Hiltzel, Hector Maurizzio Pineda, Hlitzelpinedafontana,
Tree House Gallery, CA. 2004
RYA, MAXXX, NORD, “Truckmetruckyou,”
Swys Gallery, Long Beach, CA 2003
Albert Reyes: “Home Coming,”
Swys Gallery, Long Beach, CA 2003
Peter Wu, Jason Wang: “New Work’s.”
Swys Gallery, Long Beach, CA 2003
Peter Gronquist: “Pete,”
Swys Gallery, Long Beach, CA 2003
Benjamin Britton: Antics,
Seams Visual Space, Long beach, CA. 2003
Hip Hop Communication Series,
901 Cultural Center, San Francisco, CA. 2001
Kelly Ording, Sarah Baker, Kyoko Kawahata, Mehta Bean, Freaks
Virgin sixty gallery, San Francisco, CA. 1999
Preparator:
Chief preparator for contemporary gallery: Deborah Remington, Peter Forakis, Leo Valledor, William Morehouse, Julius Hatofsky, Younhee Pai, Servando Garcia, Steve Baibak, Xuchi Naungayan Eggleton, Lori del Mar: San Francisco Art Institute Revisited Painting, Sculpture & Works on Paper: Viva Paredes, Elvira Sarmiento : Sculpture & Works on Paper. Togonon Gallery, San Francisco, CA. 2009
Art installer for contemporary art gallery:
Amish Kapoor, Raymond Petition, and Manfred Pernince: Exscape, Edgar Brayn: The Love Gang. Reagan Project, Los Angeles, Ca 2005-06
Art installer for museums exhibitions:
Incognito, Dark Places, Pierre Bismuth: Coming Soon, Alvaro Siza / Architect: Drawings, Models, and Photographs, Ken Brecher: The Little Room of Epiphanies. Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica, CA 2005-06
The resident art installer in a retail space that has a dedicates 30ft x 40ft wall for the purpose of showcasing street wise art on a monthly basis.
Proper, Long Beach, CA. 2003-05
Art installers, served as a member of small crew that clear, clean, and build a temporary exhibition space for installing large-scale wall pieces.
Emerge, Gen Art, San Francisco CA 2001
Education:
B.F.A in Interdisciplinary Studies, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco CA, 2001
Certificate in Journalism, Golden West College, Huntington Beach, CA 1996
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