Yesterday I broadened my gallery viewing to Tolarno, on Flinders lane.Jason recommended that I go and look at Tolarno as an example of "a serious commerical gallery which is going to get critical reviews serious, art collectors and stable established artists".
Most of the galleries I've visited so far have been those that I knew of, or had been meaning to go to. Visiting Tolarno was widening my net into the area of 'the serious art gallery'. Serious it was.
I wandered up to the 4th floor, wandered through the alarmed glass doors, and there I was. All by myself.Artist Andrew Browne was on exhibition. His large format paintings of tree branches, taken from flash photographs, were spectacular ... I guess at $30,000 a pop they'd want to be.
I take a quick look around, realising that I am out of my depth here. Wandering back, tail between my legs through those alarmed doors, I realise that Tolarno's is not the end of the art spectrum that I belong.
It's not that I don't appreciate the art. I do. I really enjoyed going there. It's just that I simply don't know know enough about high-end commercial art galleries to think that I could just open one up.
I also believe in art that is accessible to everyone. I think that art - good art - should be available to all of us. People should be able to identify something they like, be in a position to buy it, and display it proudly on their walls.
So if I am going to get into this art business, I'm not going to be competing directly with the likes of Tolarno. But thanks for the tip, Jason.
