A swap in show styles sparks sales; a minimalistic Florida gallery coupled a salon-style show with a small discount to beat a seasonal lull in sales - strategy

Everything happens for a reason" the saying goe granting a far shot from being a cliche, 531 Central Fine Arts in St Petersburg Fla., adhered to the age-old adage newly The artist's work that proprietor Cathy Daley was planning to showcase wasn't ready for a like reason she had to snap without a new idea. The flow of one artist's unfinished business? "Salon 531: Maximum Exposure" a new new exhibit that defied the gallery's usual diction and inspired people to whip without their wallets despite dismal economic times.

The show's title aptly defined the conception behind the exhibition. "Salon" throw backs how the four-year-old gallery took upon the feel of Parisian salons of the 1930s--walls chock replete of art, almost floor to ceiling, with little space between each work. "Maximum" presented a multi-layered description of what the present to view entailed: Maximum acknowledgement for the gallery's staple artists and their work, maximum value for the clients and maximum profit for the artists.

This showing of 141 pieces through 10 artists was quite rare for 531 Central Fine Arts, which is many times described as "spartan." The gallery usually features fewer pieces from a single artist or theme and treats each exhibit more like a museum exhibit, using sufficiency of white space around each piece. individual local art critic praised the gallery's airy hanging talents after a previous photography exhibit, writing, "It's no covered that the management here could write the work on gallery standards."

"We had done another display with more of a salon feel" Daley said, explaining in what manner the "Maximum Exposure" show came to fruition. "We'd gotten serviceable feedback on it and wanted to do something that made use of all the art we have from the artists we represent" The display featured all of the gallery's artists, which include a variety of local, national and international artists and range from the angular abstract expressionism of Arturo Guerrero to colorful, feel-good pastels by dint of Jacqueline Roch and mixed-media collages by the agency of Rocky Bridges. Prices range from $250 to $25000 on the other hand the majority of the works fall in the $2000 to $10000 range.

"Changing things up a bit always protects to help business," Daley said. She credited the gallery's marketing director, Yoko Nogami, with the idea to twitch all the work in stock and hang it from floor to ceiling. Nogami attributed her suggestion to individual of the more common customer questions: "Do you have more of that work?" It occurr to her that they could display a large portion of the work they had at one time coinciding with the salon universal that had been so well-received in a prior exhibit. "Art sales have feeled since Sept. 11," Nogami said. "We and our artists have certainly felt that. We reflection the best thing to do was bring everyone on the outside and show it all at once"

And for a like reason with the hanging expertise of Cathy Hilton, who hangs all of 531 Central Fine Art's present to views up went "Maximum Exposure." Given the different nature of the exhibition, Hilton busyed a different tactic in hanging, through placing the larger works at the top. "That way customers can diocese the smaller works up close" Hilton said. "In exhibits with fewer works you would set the larger works on bottom to avoid a top heavy look"

The display opened in conjunction with the Downtown Art Association's Monthly Gallery Walk. Daley said visitors to the opening lov it because it direct the eyeed so different from the gallery's usually make open and expansive space.

Local critics raved about the exhibit, as well. Aside from offering a novel feel to an already appealing gallery, the exhibit generated what Daley calls "strong" sales during a down economy. As an extra push, 531 Central Fine Arts tendered a 10-percent discount on each piece in the show, which Daley said provided just enough incentive to motivate buyer single weekend brought in $16,000, a considerable sum total for the late winter season, according to Daley. "And family are cutting back on charges now," she added. "Even customers who can afford fine art are being a great deal of more selective."

As the lower extremity traffic increased, so did the compliments. single visitor walked in and said that all of the colors radiating from the vast amount of work upon the walls pulled him in.

"Salon turn of expression hanging certainly made a friendlier and more casual gaze to the gallery;' said Nogami. "Sometimes with a actual slick, dean show, many nation feel too intimidated to cros the doorsill of our gallery space. The wide range of variety and color has certainly helped those clan to actually take that pace to open the door and draw near in."

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