We are so excited to share our interview with Susan Inglett, art dealer and founder of Chelsea's Susan Inglett Gallery. In addition to her successful gallery (open since 1994), Susan also founded a publishing company, I.C. Editions, in 1991, and is the founder of the Editions/Artists Book Fair (2015's E/AB was held this past weekend), which continues to celebrate and discover contemporary print media. To put it lightly, Susan Inglett has made some serious moves in the art world.
Read on to learn more about Susan's life and work. The images accompanying the interview are from the gallery's current show, Benjamin Degen's Where We Live, closing December 5th.
1. What was the biggest motivation to start a gallery of your own, and how did you go about getting it up and running?
After working for a major gallery for a number of years, I got tired of people asking me when I was going to open my own. It became easier to open a gallery than to explain one more time why I wasn’t. I began with my publishing company, I.C. Editions, Inc., and curating salon style shows for the office. Once the publishing company was on solid ground and I had identified a handful of artists I wanted to work with, I moved the operation to a space in Chelsea, then to another and another until we landed here on 24th Street.
Benjamin Degen's Where We Live, Installed at Susan Inglett Gallery (Image courtesy of Susan Inglett)
2. What do you see as the direction that the New York City art world (and market) is currently heading? How do printmaking and multiples fit into that direction?
I’ve been doing this long enough that I know that the art world (and market) runs in cycles, much like everything else in the world. Up Down Figurative Abstract. I don’t dwell on it, the only guarantee we have is that everything will look different tomorrow. If you are committed to your program, everyone else will come along…at some point.
3. How do you decide which artists to work with, and what is your favorite part of collaborating with contemporary artists?
I respond to artists who are making the work that only they could make. I like art and people that are genuine and true to the core. It is easy to get behind that kind of passion and commitment. I don’t so much collaborate as enable.
Benjamin Degen's Where We Live, Installed at Susan Inglett Gallery (Image courtesy of Susan Inglett)
LIVES IN Soho
WORKS IN Chelsea
OCCUPATION Art Dealer
ON THE CLOCK Check email, breakfast, gym a few times a week, Gallery five to six times a week, work related event a couple of times a week, cook dinner, attempt to have a conversation with my 15 year old, rinse and repeat
YOUR ART WEEKEND Museum and the LES, anything open on Sunday
ALBUM NPR
ARTIST Are you kidding?
FILM Last movie Truth
BOOK Currently reading The Prize: Who’s in Charge of America’s Schools by Dale Russakoff
Preparation for Benjamin Degen's exhibition (Images courtesy of Instagram, @susaninglettgallery)
EATS Anything I don’t have to cook
LATEST PURCHASE The new Robert Galbraith mystery for my daughter
GUILTY PLEASURE Going to the movies on Monday
GRADE IN ART CLASS A (we had to argue for our grade, the reason I became a dealer) Dirty secret : my undergraduate degree is in Economics
36 HOURS Someplace new, I love to travel
Preparation for Benjamin Degen's exhibition (Images courtesy of Instagram, @susaninglettgallery)
FOLLOW
INSTAGRAM: susaninglettgallery
TWITTER: @Inglett Gallery
WEB: inglettgallery.com
A huge thanks to Susan for taking time out for an interview. Make sure to check out Where We Live at Susan Inglett Gallery (522 W 24th Street) before it closes on December 5!