Hangin' in there

(photo credit to Blayne Beacham)

We’ve all been crazy around here preparing for our solo with French abstractist, Pascal Bouterin (it opens to the public on Friday, March 26th, from 6-8 p.m.). If you’ve been reading our blogs you’ll know that curating a solo show takes time, patience, a lot of hard work for all the involved parties…but is also great fun.

By the time we designate a Hanging Day (usually two to three days before the opening of the show), we've already photographed, catalogued, framed and tagged the work. We don our most comfortable flats and jeans, roll up our sleeves and get to work. Because of our wonderful hanging system, we don’t have to remove or add nails to our thick plaster walls, so it’s a snap to clear the walls for the new work to come.

Ann and Scurry take down the last painting from our front room.

The walls are bare and ready for new paintings. Our hanging system involved picture moulding and stainless steel rods with adjustable hangers...a gallerist's dream.

Usually a pile of paintings destined for temporary storage grows and grows by the door to our storage area – and that’s when the flats come in. Trying to delicately manhandle a 52 x 52 oil on panel can be a challenge when wearing heels (yes, it has been done, but it was dangerous…and it was definitely a two-person job.)

Once the walls are cleared, we get to indulge in our most creative and innovative thinking. Our goal is to make the work shine, sing and complement itself. We like to arrange so that verticals play off horizontals or interesting little groupings co-exist happily next to singular, large paintings. Hanging time is punctuated by plenty of “a-ha” moments and cheers when one of us is particularly inspired.

One wall started off like this:

But we weren't happy until it ended up like this:

We liked the mix of Silke Henkel Wallace's yellow-skied abstract paired with French marine scenes by Christian Nepo on one side and Jim Richard's lush still-lifes on the other.

(Sometimes we also break for a real lunch and celebrate birthdays with a little bubbly.)

Our framers would probably tell you that we’re pretty high-maintenance but they kindly put up with us and it’s quite normal a day or two before an opening to hear these hard-working guys screeching into the parking lot on two wheels with a last-minute load of work that’s just been framed. Sometimes, they end up staying on for last-minute wiring or they lend a helping hand with a particularly heavy painting.

But, the greatest reward comes when every painting is hung and each room enticingly lures you to the next. Pascal popped in just as we were tagging the last painting and we were thrilled with his reaction to the show. Linda had just worked her magic with a loose little arrangement of flowers on the piano and the whole gallery sparkled and shone with Pascal’s intricate and delicate paintings. In fact, we were so excited we called our friend and photographer extraordinaire, Blayne Beacham, to take some photos of the finished product. Here are some examples of her wonderful work.

(photo credit to Blayne Beacham)

The man behind the masterpieces...

(photo credit to Blayne Beacham)

That’s when we love to take off those flats, put on the heels, open the doors and share with you the fruits of our hard-working little team.

Tata!

HH