A tale of two cities

Local galleries expand, contract in competitive Santa Fe market

by Stew Mosberg

It has been said that when one door closes, another door opens. For Durango’s Sorrel Sky and Azul art galleries the adage rings true, but for contrasting reasons. While the former is getting ready to open its doors in Santa Fe, the second-largest art market in the country next to New York City, the latter is closing its doors in Santa Fe, focusing its efforts solely on Durango.

Azul, which has been open in Santa Fe since 2003, is not alone. A number of galleries in the New Mexican art community have shuttered their doors in recent years. Azul Gallery closed the last of its three Santa Fe locations a year ago but will continue to operate its Main Avenue gallery in Durango, which opened in 2008.

As for Sorrel Sky, when posed with the question why Santa Fe and why now, owner Shanan Campbell Wells admitted that times have been hard down there the last several years. But a shrewd art dealer and savvy business owner, she believes her progressive business practices and approach to the Santa Fe market will make the difference. “Opening and running a gallery in Santa Fe requires a different approach to the type of artwork presented and the way you run your business,” she said, adding that the market in Santa Fe is ripe for “a niche that has not been tapped into, (at least) not in the way we plan on doing it.”

The new gallery will feature what she calls “Fresh Western,” because, she explains, “It’s a new way of looking at the West.” The gallery will bring about a third of the artists represented at the Durango gallery including stars Liana York, Billy Schenck and Ray Hare and, of course, jewelry designer Ben Nighthorse, her father.

Located between the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum and the New Mexico Museum of Art, it could not be better positioned. When the highly regarded Elaine Horwitch Gallery closed after 38 years, Cambell Wells was able to purchase the building and realize a long-time dream of having a gallery in that southwestern art Mecca. The interior of the new space has been undergoing an extensive renovation although 4

the modern architectural design of the exterior will remain. Although the square footage is similar to her Durango location, “It feels bigger,” remarked Campbell Wells and quickly added, “It’s an amazing building.”

To run the gallery, Campbell Wells said she will need to be there a few days a week, but also hired former Canyon Road gallery owner Bob Brody as assistant manager.

One significant difference between the two cities as art towns is that people often visit Santa Fe for the sole purpose of buying art, traveling from around the world for that purpose, while Durango’s draw is more outdoors-oriented, with art as more of a pleasant, if not unexpected, bonus.

Azul Gallery owner Joshua Steinlauf said for the first couple of years that he owned galleries in both towns he and his wife, Alyssa, were back and forth often. “We lived in Durango before Santa Fe, but for personal reasons we like Durango better. So,” he added, “that was really the motive for choosing Durango over Santa Fe for our business.”

Steinlauf believes the two markets differ in a number of ways, aside form Santa Fe’s draw as an art destination. “I feel we have more local support in Durango than we did in Santa Fe,” he said. “At the same time, I believe we had more tourist traffic in Santa Fe than we do in Durango. Durango is just a much smaller market.”

The two cities also differ on cost. Although rents around the Plaza in Santa Fe are “astronomical,” he said spaces off the Plaza are cheaper and somewhat comparable to Durango. “But,” he added, “you’re competing with hundreds of stores.”

Steinlauf said the Durango gallery remains faithful to the artists they exhibited in New Mexico. Like Campbell Wells, he said he strives to carve out a unique niche with his offerings. “We carry most of the same lines that we did in Santa Fe, and we really try to do something a little different, more contemporary, a little less Southwestern,” he said.

Ivan Barnett, co-owner of Patina Gallery in Santa Fe, agrees with the idea of galleries distinguishing themselves. “Santa Fe is not – and wasn’t – immune, to the global economic shifts in wealth,” he said. “That said, there’s always room for great, unusual and one-of-a-kind artwork.”

In a bit of a twist, the “Down the Rabbit Hole” exhibit held at the DAC a few months ago has just travelled to Santa Fe to be installed at the Eggman & Walrus Gallery for an opening June 6.

Campbell Wells said it is this kind of reciprocity she hopes to build upon, sending art collectors in Santa Fe to check out Durango. “I think we surprise a lot of people in Durango because they aren’t expecting to see art of this caliber when they come on vacation,” she said. “Durango is certainly growing as an arts destination and I hope that by being able to send our Santa Fe customers up to Durango, we will be able to help with that growth.”