Gallery Internships: Berlin interviewing London

ECADC asked Merilin Talumaa (M), who has been interning at carlier gebauer in Berlin and Sandra Veinla (S), who is doing her internship at Tom Cole and Hollybush Gardens in London to interview each other . Read about their daily activities, discoveries, and insights.

 

S: Could you give a brief description of the gallery’s program, history and the people working at carlier I gebauer?

 

M: The gallery was founded in 1991 by Ulrich Gebauer and co-directed with Marie-Blanche Carlier since 1997. carlier I gebauer represents emerging and established contemporary artists who work in the fields of painting, installation, performance, sculpture, photography and video art. The program is mainly built upon solo shows by the represented artists. The gallery space allows the showing of two exhibitions at the same time. Aside from the gallerists, there are also eight more people working for the gallery.

Sandra, you are making an internship in two galleries: Tom Cole and Hollybush Gardens. Could you introduce the two galleries?

 

S: Cole, which is run by Tom Cole, opened in 2010 and started representing artists in 2012. It represents Ian Homerston, Krister Klassman and Oliver Michaels, but has worked with a number of other artists including Kris Lemsalu from Estonia, whose work was exhibited in the group show The Mediterranean Dog (24 May – 20 July 2013).

Hollybush Gardens is a gallery directed by Lisa Panting and Malin Ståhl. For 7 years the gallery occupied a smaller space in Bethnal Green, but at the beginning of October moved to a large and gorgeous space in an old industrial building in Clerkenwell. The gallery represents the artists Johanna Billing, Andrea Büttner, Knut Henrik Henriksen, Karl Holmqvist, Claire Hooper, Kirschner & Panos, Benoît Maire, Eline McGeorge, Bruno Pacheco, Falke Pisano, Ruth Proctor and Reto Pulfer.

Would you please describe your role, tasks and the projects you have been involved with in Berlin?

 

M: I mainly assist with the administrative parts of the gallery and act as an artist liasion. I have helped in the preparation of abc berlin and fiac paris art fairs, in daily tasks on the administrative side, and have performed research on media and prepared artists’ media folders. The gallery has also just started to work with Finnish artist Marianna Uutinen, who will have a solo exhibition in the gallery in mid-November. Much of my recent work concerns this new artist and the preparation for her upcoming exhibition.

And what are your daily tasks while working in these London galleries?

 

S: A big part of the job is doing administrative work associated with the managing of artists, clients and the gallery in general. The tasks include keeping artist biographies and bibliographies, the gallery archives, database and website up-to-date, online networking, carrying out research, and assisting with art fair applications and preparation. I also respond to inquiries and give visitors information about the gallery, artists and works of art. Another very important part of the work is assisting with exhibition installations. So far I have been involved in the preparation of two exhibitions, Lubaina Himid at Hollybush Gardens and Oliver Michaels at Cole. In addition to that, each day brings all sorts of unexpected duties and errands, for example trekking through the Piccadilly Circus area, dodging flocks of tourists while transporting a precious work of art, etc.

Have you, Merilin, come across any aspects of gallery work in Berlin that are surprising and differ greatly from what you expected?

 

M: I haven’t worked in a gallery before so these are really my first steps in this world. I must say there haven’t been any big surprises for me as I also didn’t allow myself to have any big expectations. I am sure you are rather glad to see the working processes of two different galleries at the same time. What have you noticed until now, and what has been interesting for you to see regarding the everyday life of two different galleries? Are there any hardships for you due to splitting yourself between these two spots?

 

S: The most interesting aspect of doing two internships is that I have the opportunity to get to know the inner workings of two galleries that are in different stages of their development and thus I get a good overview of the way the career of a gallerist and a gallery evolves.

Even though we have worked out a good schedule, there are still occasions when interesting events are taking place in both galleries at the same time (openings, talks etc). Dividing my time has been tricky but I have managed to miss as little as possible. For example, when the openings of Lubaina’s and Oliver’s exhibitions were taking place, I spent half the evening at Cole, then ran to the Tube station and rushed over to Hollybush Gardens for the rest of the evening.

What would you say has been the best experience of your internship?

 

M: I really admire the teamwork aspect: everyone in the team is devoted and professional and this is very inspiring.

Just recently you participated in Frieze art fair. What are your (very fresh) emotions towards this fair?

 

S: I must admit that when Lisa and Malin told me that for a few hours I would be the gallery’s sole representative at the fair, I was a bit intimidated, but being there was an exhilarating experience and definitely one of the highlights of the internship. There was time to calmly answer people’s questions and Frieze was more relaxed than I had expected, because the pace of the fair has become much slower compared to the feverish atmosphere of the boom years when the place was filled with frantic collectors running around trying to outbid each other. The change is not necessarily a bad thing because it makes buying less impulsive and gives a better chance to works other than the flashy eye-catchers (works incorporating mirrors, bright colours and lights etc). The experience of being at the fair was marvellous because I got to see works of art from all over the world and I did discover a number of interesting galleries and artists.

During my internship I have had the opportunity to meet some very inspiring people, for example the artist Lubaina Himid. Hearing about her experiences as a protagonist within the Black British Art Movement in the 1980s was fascinating and extremely enlightening. It would be great to hear about some of the interesting people you have had a chance to meet and work with.

 

M: Due to the upcoming exhibition of Finnish painter Marianna Uutinen I’ve had an opportunity to be in closer contact with her. I was surprised that I knew so little about her even though she is an important figure in Finnish contemporary painting. She is a great painter who can also talk about her work very honestly and openly, which I appreciate quite a lot. Until now she has been mostly known in Scandinavia, so for me the interesting part is to see how the gallery works really hard every day to make her name also known in other parts of the world.

 

S: If you had to point out one important thing you have learned so far during your internship in Berlin, what would it be?

 

M: I think the keyword is commitment, especially when you think about the relationship between an artist and a gallerist. This commitment has to be strong from the start and you should never make it secondary. Running a gallery is very much about building up relationships and those relationships have to be very strong from the beginning so they can last for a very long period.

What have you discovered for yourself about London’s galleries and art scene?

 

S: I am in a constant state of discovering new exhibitions and events I want to go to. Each time I finally make it to an exhibition I have been wanting to see, I end up finding out about several others I wish to see. There is never a moment when I feel that I have seen all there is to see, and it is wonderful!

 

M: Is a gallery scene in London a place you could imagine yourself working in the near future? Or you would prefer another city/region? Could you imagine yourself working in one of the galleries you are making an internship now?

 

S: I find the work of the artists the galleries have chosen to represent, and the way they conduct business appealing. Being able to see how they work on developing the careers of the artists and the gallery program, and put on high quality exhibitions have all been great learning experiences. Malin, Lisa and Tom have not only been great colleagues but also excellent teachers. I plan to immerse myself in the London art scene and learn as much as possible, but ultimately Estonia is where I will make use of the knowledge I gain.

What is your perception of the profession of a gallerist? Has this experience changed it? Do you find this profession desirable?

 

M: There are no right or wrong answers regarding how to run a gallery. For sure it is very creative work and it is all up to the gallerist how he or she decides to develop his or her ideas. It is definitely not an easy task but I find it intriguing and I love to see so many great galleries here in Berlin, which is a city where you can really sense that people put all their energy into one thing and nothing else. I think a good gallerist has to be imaginative and an idealist in many ways but at the same time he or she should also have a calm sense and a rational standpoint towards his or her work.

Could you see yourself working as a gallerist? What are the reasons that would fascinate you to do it?

 

S: Yes! It is a fascinating profession because one minute you may be having a philosophical conversation about a contemporary work of art and the next minute negotiating prices or sewing fabrics together for a sculpture that needs to be finished a few hours later, all of which I find very exciting.

 

This email conversation took place in November 2013