Arcadia Gallery : Redefining Contemporary

I would not go so far as to say this change has "upset" many people, but I will say that the change has made many people "concerned," including myself.  Arcadia has been a great place to see well-crafted representational work, in a city where the shocking, the grotesque, and the skill-less in art still rule - and still command top dollar.  Arcadia Gallery was an oasis, and when you tell wanderers in a desert that the oasis will be changing, there is bound to be some trepidation.

As part of this change at Arcadia, there are several artists who will no longer be exhibiting with the gallery.  Michael Klein amicably parted company with the gallery earlier this year, before any announcement of changes were made, and more recently it was released that Robert Liberace and Ron Hicks will also no longer be exhibiting there.  Dorian Vallejo, whose first solo show with Arcadia was set for this autumn, was also let go, just last month.  It is the gallery's view that these artists are, without doubt, extremely talented, but that their work is too much mired in the past, and not "forward-looking" enough.

Cynics have claimed that the decision by Steve Diamant, owner of Arcadia, to change the aim of the gallery is purely a financial one, designed to appeal to a "certain crowd" and to increase the gallery's  sales and profits.  To this claim, I have two responses.  Firstly, art galleries are businesses, and their operators, just like the artists they represent, get paid only when artworks are sold.   No one should expect a gallery owner to go broke solely for the purpose of defending a painter's right to create whatever he chooses.  It is expensive to run a gallery, especially in New York City – (if space in the City were cheap, we would all have studios and our own private boutique galleries there) – and whether we like it or not, galleries must make decisions on the basis of the market and on the potential for sales.  Secondly, I personally do not feel that Diamant's decision to remake the gallery was one of trying to tap into a higher income market;  I believe it has everything to do with aesthetics and Diamant's individual vision for the gallery.  I have known Steve for several years now, and in our discussions at the gallery or via emails, he has consistently asked me the same question about current representational art – where is the imagination?  He acknowledges the debt owed to today's academies and ateliers for bringing back classical skills, and he recognizes the talent those schools are producing, and he loves that artwork.  Unfortunately, he feels the majority of the young artists of today are so entrenched in emulating the past – i.e. the last time classical training really mattered – that everyone's work looks somewhat out-of-date, and also alike.  It is skilled, but antiseptic and impersonal.  Diamant does not want his gallery to be indistinguishable from other galleries out there which show representational artwork;  he wants his gallery to be a place where the representational artwork is original and unique.

"That's why I decided to make the change in the gallery name, roster, space, and soon-to-be, the website," says Diamant.  "I want to feature artists who are creating work that is speaking to what is going on in the world today. I will still only feature representational work, but it's going to be contemporary."

I cannot pretend I understand all of Diamant's choices.  Dorian Vallejo, for example, with his idealized figures, surrealistic imagery, and flawless technique, seems like he would be a perfect fit for the new Arcadia Contemporary.  But I suppose it's not really for me to understand.  It was Diamant's tastes that shaped the original Arcadia Gallery, and I was thrilled with what he produced, and, though I will miss the artists who have left, many of my favorites have stayed or have recently joined the gallery, and I will just have to have faith that Diamant's vision will shape another gallery that will thrill me.  And if this first show at Arcadia Contemporary is any indication of what is to come, it will.

Goodbye old friends;  I will look forward to your work in your new galleries.  Hello new friends;  I cannot wait to see what you'll create!