Today we’d like to introduce you to David Petersen.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
It’s the year 2000 and I am in graduate school to get a visual arts degree at Hunter College in New York City. As one of the few artists with construction know-how, I spend a lot of time in the school’s gallery – framing, drywalling, and painting walls. Eventually I begin assisting artists with the installation of their exhibitions. In doing this, I become more and more interested in exhibition making and the ways in art can be activated as it moves from an artist’s studio to a public gallery space, and how to make a collection of their work greater than the sums of its parts. After returning to Minneapolis in 2003-2004, I begin to work with another group of artists who had created an experimental, artist-centric exhibition platform, Art of This. The years working with AOT continue to be a very formative experience that lead to me starting a gallery in my apartment. This project, which exhibited primarily Minneapolis-based artists, lasts for two years. During this time, I also research opening a brick and mortar, commercial and contemporary art gallery. David Petersen Gallery opens in the fall of 2012 in the Wedge neighborhood, a short walk from the Walker Art Center. The gallery’s program is a work in progress, exhibiting both Minnesota-based artists and nationally and internationally-exhibiting artists from New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, and London, amongst others. The gallery is eventually displaced in in 2018 by a real estate development, and finally reopened in its current location in the spring of 2022. For the past three years, the gallery has evolved and grown as a site of artist-centric exhibitions, while continuing to present internationally-recognized, mid-career artists.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
For an art gallery, the path is never smooth, predictable or without significant hurdles. And when I first opened the gallery, I did so with a background as an artist, rather than as someone with the more traditional experience working one’s way up through a gallery to then open one’s own. While I knew many artists who were interested in exhibiting, I had no clientele, no financial backing, and no side hustle to support myself, aside from periodic art installation gigs in residences or offices. I was also a single dad with a 5-year old daughter who would eventually get tired of rice and beans for dinner every night if I couldn’t make it work. I knew I could make amazing exhibitions but I had very little idea how to actually promote and sell art. And it took a while to figure that out, and sometimes I feel like I am still figuring that out. What I did quickly learn is that selling art is hard! People who buy art need to trust you and understand your perspective and the gallery’s program, its artists and their work. And the artists I have exhibited make sophisticated work and shows, both of which can be challenging to quickly communicate. Their work often ask for viewers to be very curious and open-minded, to think critically and thoughtfully, and to really become invested in the work. In an era of scrolling social media and short attention spans, I didn’t exactly make it easier on myself. That said, the challenge for the gallery has been to offer its best efforts to provide viewers with accessible points of entry to each exhibition so they feel approachable. Viewers do not necessarily need a academic background in contemporary art or art history, and I do my best to ensure viewers can meet the exhibitions on their own terms. This approach has earned a certain trust in me, the gallery and the artists’ work for those interested in buying and collecting art from the gallery.
We’ve been impressed with David Petersen 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?
David Petersen Gallery is a contemporary art gallery that was founded in 2012. Based in south Minneapolis, the gallery features exhibitions by internationally-recognized artists, who create unique, semi-site specific projects that expand their respective practices. This includes exhibitions of paintings, drawings, and prints; sculptures and sculptural installations; video and performance; and combinations of all of the above. Through fifty exhibitions, a dozen or so art fairs, and other exhibiting projects, the gallery’s artwork has been acquired by private collections locally, nationally, and internationally, as well as by institutions such as the Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
Additionally, with its ten-plus years of experience, the gallery provides professional collection management, art installation and logistics, and acquisition consulting services.
Some words that have been used to describe the gallery and its exhibitions: intrepid, beguiling, rigorous, thoughtful, transformative, a secret, gorgeously painterly and conceptually rich, and Artnet, a leading online art platform, once included me on a shortlist of amazing North American art dealers under the age of 40, even though I was already 42. I have also been told I have the nicest walls.
The best compliment the gallery receives, though, is when people comment how different the gallery feels with each exhibition. I think the gallery’s most impactful attribute is its ability to completely transform its space to suit the work and exhibition of each artist. This ability motivates artists to really push their work, helps to better communicate the exhibitions, and tends to keep visitors coming back again and again for a unique experience. Whether someone wants to buy something or not, my favorite part is that sharing exhibitions is free for visitors – anyone can come to the gallery and hang out. I just hope people have a good time.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
Did I mention I am also a certified tennis instructor who teaches about 25 hours a week?
Contact Info:
- Website: https://davidpetersengallery.com/
- Instagram: @davidpetersengallery
