In Seattle, both left James Harris to sign on at Ambach & Rice. More on Ambach & Rice’s expanding empire here.
McMakin :
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Regina Hackett takes her Art to Go
In Seattle, both left James Harris to sign on at Ambach & Rice. More on Ambach & Rice’s expanding empire here.
McMakin :
an ArtsJournal blog
Ambach & Rice have the best looking place in seattle. Greg Kucera is second, but it’s too slick for my tastes. James Harris’ is noting especially. Lawrimore fights the artists for dominance. Howard House is dull. Add that the owners of A&R are forward thinking and financially secure, who wouldn’t want to be with them? The ill will they generate comes from all the artists they’ve told they aren’t the kind of gallery that repesents artiss. Now they do, because it’s Jeffry Mitchell and Roy McMakin. A&R hasn’t been honest all over town.
Ambach & Rice also represents Grant Barnhart and has all along. I don’t think the gallery has been dishonest. Charlie and Amanda have the strategy of adding artists very slowly. If you’ve heard that the gallery doesn’t represent artists, you misheard. Regina
To say A&R “hasn’t been honest all over town,” is a fairly strong statement, and easily proved or disproved. I don’t know them so I can’t speak to that. It does appear that they are evolving though; from OKOK, design-decorations/fine art to a full-on art gallery, with a real name and everything. It is possible that they were not thinking about developing a stable until recently.
Empire?
So far, A & R has:
Upgraded their gallery space a bit.
Enlarged their program by taking on another gallery’s artists.
Made offers to a few other artists already committed elsewhere.
Hired an East Coast agent who has scant experience in Seattle, and even less in New York.
How does that constitute an “empire?”
So far it seems only like a turf war.
Where’s the success for their own artists?
Where’s the eye for new talent discovered on their own?
Who’s taking chances?
Who’s paying attention?
From the evidence of your anonymous missive, you are, concerned citizen, even if you’re dying of jealousy as you do it. Wish people well, cc, and you’ll live longer.
Q: What if A&R is in business with J.H.? What if they are part of the same Empire?
A: Gee, Guss. I never thought of that.