Tuesday, February 1, 2011

The People Behind Stephen Haller Gallery



In the lucky case, gifted artists are backed by wise supporters - such as gallery owner Stephen Haller, who represents a most exquisite list of contemporary American painters.

We had a nice chat together with his lovely wife Cynthia Griffin, a former documentary film maker. Cynthia told me how much she enjoyed her first stay in Berlin (her enthusiasm for Schöneberg and of course, Mitte) and the galleries near Kochstraße. How their gallery moved from SoHo into a former garage in Chelsea a couple of years ago and found a new inspiring environment - apart from the numerous young showrooms next door Annie Leibovitz owns a huge studio on the opposite site and used to drop by for lunch breaks with a dance crew. And about Linda Stojak's Catholic upbringing that might have influenced her ladies of sorrow.

The reason why the gallery takes charge of only a dozen artists is to pay full attention to each one of them, leading to close and lifelong ties.

An inconspicuously placed lyrical abstract water color alone generated exclaim in delight. Leaving me fantasizing about how many treasures these walls must have sheltered over the decades.

A truly touching video on Ronnie Landfield can be found via the gallery website. Enjoy.






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