Today we’d like to introduce you to Joseph Nease.
Hi Joseph, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Back in 1993 in Kansas City, my wife Karen graduated with a BFA in painting from the Kansas City Art Institute. While she was in school and after, we met many artists and went to many exhibitions, some in “borrowed” spaces in interesting old buildings. I concluded that there were many local artists deserving of a gallery that supported them. Fast forward to 1997 and a trip to New York City, we visited more than 80 galleries to get a sense of how they looked, how the art was shown, how they were run, etc. From this, I concluded I could do this and we set out to find a suitable building. We found this building and opened the Kansas City version of Joseph Nease Gallery in the fall of 1998.
It is hard to imagine now, but in the late 1990s and early 2000s, there were many art critics working for newspapers and many art magazines that focused on the midwest. Of more than 30 exhibitions we held, everyone was reviewed in a publication, including three of our exhibitions covered in the national Art in America magazine.
Our Kansas City gallery was open during 9/11 which was a time when, not surprisingly, our gallery visitors and collectors were focused on matters unrelated to the arts. The succeeding couple of years were a tough time to have an art gallery. And ultimately this first gallery of ours closed.
All through the 1990s and 2000s, we spent much time in northern Minnesota and Canada hiking and camping. To get to these places, the road went through Duluth. Eventually, we met people from Duluth and of course, fell in love with Lake Superior. We endeavored to live in Duluth some day and that day came in late 2013. When you have an art gallery, you tend to collect some of the art of your artists as well as sell it to collectors. So when we moved from Kansas City to Duluth, we had to move all of our own art – and in looking at it and packing it up, I became enthused again with running an art gallery. So, in the fall of 2017, the second iteration of Joseph Nease Gallery opened in a beautiful historic building in downtown Duluth.
So as I write these words, our Duluth gallery will have been open for 5 years as of October 2022. We have a great mix of talented local artists, and we also exhibit some of our former artists from the Kansas City region and elsewhere. We feature paintings, photographs, sculptures, ceramics, and digital, sound and installation work. We generally host solo exhibitions by our artists and change out our exhibitions on a bi-monthly basis. The Duluth space has a large main gallery, plus two smaller galleries where we often host smaller exhibitions concurrently with the main show. We also have a reading room with titles recommended by our artists. We have a great, informational website with information going back to the first gallery.
We look forward to the next 5 years,
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Referring to our back story, its been a long, yet satisfying road so far with a long pause between the Kansas City and Duluth versions of Joseph Nease Gallery. Our enthusiasm remains. Certainly, the way art is talked about and promoted has changed greatly from our beginnings in the late 1990s. And with so many options for culture, it has been challenging to successfully get our message out. But fortunately, we have some great folks we work with to help us with that.
Opening a new gallery in a community where we were not as well known has taken time to become known and trusted. We believe we have gained the trust of our community in presenting thoughtful exhibitions of contemporary art, and introducing the community to interesting artists.
We’ve been impressed with Joseph Nease Gallery, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I am a civil engineer by training and my wife Karen is the artist in the family. Karen’s attendance at the Kansas City Art Institute was the catalyst for me as the gallery director to get excited about contemporary art and the interesting artists that create it.
We tend to exhibit experienced artists and a few very talented younger artists. The art we exhibit investigates universal ideas and not all of the art we present is about this beautiful place – Duluth where we are located. We produce thoughtful exhibition essays, present and record artist talks, and have a flexible space with professional lighting in a museum-like setting.
In order to promote the careers of our artists, we limit the number of artists we work with so we can devote the necessary time to this effort. Many of our artists have received significant recognition and awards and our collectors can be confident in the quality of the art we present. And though we may exhibit just one or a few artists at a time, we maintain an inventory of work by all of our artists that our visitors know we can show them at any time.
Our services include professional documentation of our artwork, professional packing and shipping including to international destinations. We welcome inquiries about our artists and about any other art topics that visitors have questions about.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Risk! Risk? I would say I may be a “big picture risk taker” – for example, buying a big downtown building and opening an art gallery in an unproven market. On the other hand, I may be playing it safe by being very selective in choosing the artists we work with. And having a long-term view of promoting their work and future success.
I do respect those willing to take bigger risks and succeed.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.josephneasegallery.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joseph_nease_gallery
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Joseph-Nease-Gallery-1692262841059715/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/JNGdirector
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFXQvXw2JnFlRuZKgYuIKAg
- Other: art.josephneasegallery.com
Image Credits
Joseph Nease Gallery
Peter Lande
