For art galleries, the internet continues to be a good venue

KENT — Ever since the state of Connecticut required workers for all “non-essential” jobs to stay home, life has been lived online or at more-than-an-arm’s-length.

In response, Kent’s art venues are getting creative about how they can sell art.

Jane Eckert said her gallery at 12 Old Barn Road is closed to visitors now except by appointment. She is continuing to sell online at Artsy, a vetted online art selling service, however.

“I’ve sold 10 major pieces on it in the last month,” Eckert said by phone on March 29. “Business has actually been better than normal; there is usually a slowdown at this time of year.”

Eckert said that, pending any changes in the current COVID-19 shutdown, she plans on having her annual July show with work by area resident Eric Forstmann, whose latest works are oil on canvas and oil on board. Eckert said she is also considering uploading a virtual video walking tour of the gallery; go to Eckert’s website at www.janeeckertfineart.com.

“The whole art world has changed,” said Eckert, who also had a gallery in Naples, Fla., for 13 years and still represents work by Robert Rauschenberg, Don Gummer and Robert Mapplethorpe.

“Nowadays, you don’t need a large gallery. I feel when this is all over and life goes back to normal, this way of selling will continue.”

About a year and a half ago, James Barron of James Barron Art moved his gallery from its 17 Old Barn Road location to a space on his South Kent home property. Works there can be seen by appointment only and online at www.jamesbarronart.com.

Barron’s current exhibition in the upper gallery, “The Italians,” pays tribute to the country hit hard by the COVID-19 epidemic. It opens with a quote by writer Luigi Barzini Jr.: “Italy is …  above all, its people: friendly, shrewd, good-humored and resigned to the worst.” The show features work by 11 Italian artists, including Vera Girivi, whom Barron discovered and promoted first at the Outsider Art Fair, a biannual international exhibition that features unknown artists who work in a variety of media.

“I wanted to show a love letter to Italy,” Barron said by phone on March 29 of the current show, which also includes  work by Enrico Castellani, Francesco Clemente and others. “It’s a country that is very dear to the gallery.”

Barron and his wife,  the photographer Jeannette Montgomery Barron, and their two children lived in Rome for many years and still visit regularly.

As to how the gallery is coping with the shutdown, Barron said, “The gallery has become largely virtual.”

He said he sees online exhibitions on Artsy, Instagram and through Evites as a continuing trend.

“For two to three years, people have complained that nobody’s coming to galleries anymore,” he said. “People are collecting online. By reopening the gallery on my property [instead of in the village], I was acknowledging that.”

Barron said he also has an email list that reaches more than 8,000 potential clients, with high-quality art photos.

Rob Ober, owner of the Ober Gallery at 6 North Main St., said by phone on March 29 that he plans to provide on his website and Instagram account video of the gallery’s entire new show.

“These are scary times for galleries, no question,” Ober said, “but we are able to weather the storm because of our online presence. Collectors will continue to buy over the Internet. You can’t capture the soul of art in a photo but you can see the texture of the paint.”

He added, “We are focusing on a video presentation to give people the experience of being in the gallery.” His website is at www.obergallery.com.

Ober said his upcoming exhibit includes politically charged work by 11 young Russian artists.

“They can’t show in Russia, as the perception is the work is anti-Putin,” Ober explained. “I am excited about the show. It should pique interest.”