Culture Crawl
This section includes a peek at the latest in theater, reviews of women-only exhibits, reflections on something interesting in film,
a snapshot of a special cultural or community event, etc.
a snapshot of a special cultural or community event, etc.
The “Queen” of Ulster County:
An interview with Curator and Gallerist Anne Sanger
October 2022
An interview with Curator and Gallerist Anne Sanger
October 2022
Anne Sanger
A handy historical fact for you Jeopardy wannabees: Kingston became New York's first capital in 1777. During the American Revolutionary War, the city was burned down by the British after the Battle of Saratoga. Tenacious and resilient as ever, Kingston, New York is a bustling arts and cultural center today, the county seat of Ulster County – 91 miles north of New York City and 59 miles south of Albany – offering great restaurants, galleries and shops, as well as a chance to plant your feet into a fascinating part of our national history.
In early August, I had the pleasure of interviewing gallerist Anne Sanger and visiting Pinkwater Gallery, a spacious and welcoming new addition in the heart of Uptown Kingston, New York. Anne is an accomplished painter and devoted to bringing the best of women’s art, particularly the resident artists of the Hudson Valley and Ulster County region, to her community.
How did the idea that you could make art first happen to you? When you first picked up a crayon? When a parent or teacher encouraged you?
How did the idea that you could make art first happen to you? When you first picked up a crayon? When a parent or teacher encouraged you?
|
I was encouraged by my mother, who was livid when my kindergarten art teacher took my crayon and drew on top of my artwork! I started out drawing shoes and evolved into a fashion illustrator, about which I was (and still am) passionate. I taught myself to draw by copying the great 20th century fashion illustrators René Gruau and Antonio Lopez.
When did you decide you were going to pursue a career in the arts? I always assumed I would make a career as a fashion illustrator but was disabused of this notion when illustration faded out in favor of photography. I eventually came back to art as a painter and made the leap to calling myself a professional artist only in the last decade when I started to paint again after spending my work life in New York City’s garment district, first as a fashion designer and then as a retail technology consultant. You said that becoming a gallery owner came to you in a dream. Could you elaborate on that a bit? I was on a yoga retreat in Mexico, and finally deeply relaxed, when I had a wonderful dream that answered the question I was asking myself at the time, ‘What am I going to do with the rest of my life?’ Having spent 25 years in the trenches of the fashion industry, I knew I couldn’t continue much longer in corporate America. |
Anne's mom, Artist Suzanne Sanger (left), with Anne in 2021
Photo Courtesy: Anne Sanger |
Gallery Vsitors (L to R): Joanne Drapiewski with Gallery Artists
Rei Fraas and Harriet Livathinos |
I have had many life-changing dreams during yoga retreats. I had a dream once while on retreat in India that I was a tiger, an animal that has since become a kind of familiar and led to my acceptance of being happily unmarried (as a woman of a certain age). There is something about daily asana and pranayama (deep breathing) that ignites the interior imagination.
At any rate, the dream was so real that I could instantly envision owning my own gallery in Kingston, New York, a scrappy little town on the Hudson River for which I had developed a strong affection after buying a weekend house in nearby Hurley. The month following my return to the grind in New York City, I found the perfect spot for my gallery in Uptown Kingston, also known as the Stockade District, and the rest is history. |
|
Were there other gallerists or galleries that inspired your decision? I was inspired not by existing galleries but what I envisioned a new kind of gallery could be. I had always found galleries a little off-putting, to be honest, especially the expensive ones in West Chelsea [Manhattan neighborhood]. At the same time, I was often frustrated at the physical spaces I found myself exhibiting in. So, I sought out a gallery space in a main shopping location (what the British call ‘the high street’) and set about making a gallery that would be welcoming (exhibiting art in ‘vignettes’ with furnishings, so people can imagine a piece in a home) and friendly to all who enter (complete with adorable gallery dog Vladimir, my 8-year-old beagle), offering to lend art on approval to locals (within 25 miles of Kingston) and sending purchases home with buyers the same day (i.e. no red dots, except on opening weekends). You have devoted yourself and your gallery to abstraction and its practitioners. Who are some of the artists that have inspired or served as mentors to your own vision? |
Gallery Host Vladimir
|
I am a devotee of abstract expressionism, especially as practiced by the women in the original movement, including Helen Frankenthaler, Joan Mitchell, Grace Hartigan and Elaine de Kooning. I find their work inspiring in making my own, but more so, I embrace their defiance of the sexism of the times. Born in 1970, I was raised to believe that - even as a girl - I could do anything I set my mind to. While I do not rule out showing male artists in the future, I have become activated by recent history to dedicate this gallery to showing women artists, specifically those of us living and working in the Hudson Valley and Catskills.
|
Photo Courtesy (Slideshow): Pinkwater Gallery
|
It may seem too narrow, this definition of what Pinkwater Gallery stands for, but the vein is so rich of artists fitting that description that I feel sure I will never run out of options of art to show. Someone recently criticized this approach as restricting the women artists in this group to a lower status by removing men from the competition. However, I see it as a way to raise up and support fellow women artists using the platform I have available to me, one that I have built single-handedly as a woman in business (and in art).
What was it about Kingston that made it the home of the Pinkwater Gallery? I fell in love with Kingston after spending many afternoons wandering the Uptown area, also known as the Stockade District. The energy of inclusiveness, the small-city vibe, and frankly, the opportunities for reasonably priced retail space (sadly no longer a reality, post-pandemic) were what drew me to Kingston. Someone recently criticized me as being part of the problem (i.e. gentrification, to which I say that unfortunately artists are often part of this unintentional brigade). We are able to imagine possibilities, and so often it is artists that become the first wave of an unfortunate situation where locals ultimately get pushed out by higher rents. |
The reality is that artists need spaces to work and often can’t afford the high rents any more than the locals. At any rate, Pinkwater Gallery has become a valued part of the art community in Kingston, and I look forward to being able to continue to show (and sell) the output of the area’s working artists for years to come as I believe that art is for everyone and, therefore, must be part of any thriving, diverse community.
|
Can you describe some of the community projects that have become a springboard for your gallery and its commercial success?
Pinkwater Gallery has collaborated with O+ (pronounced O Positive) in the past, hosting a pop-up during the pandemic for a couple of local sculptors. The O+ Festival is a fantastic event that happens every October in Kingston in support of offering medical and dental care to un/underinsured artists. This year we are planning a fun collaboration with Fruition Chocolate Works to offer a limited-edition chocolate bar with the wrapper featuring artwork by Woodstock artist Melanie Delgado. We will be donating the profits from sales of the Bo+ardwalk Bar to O+in support of their mission, AND the lucky purchaser at the bar containing the golden ticket will get a small artwork by the artist herself. You have also shown some of your mother’s artworks in the gallery. Do you see similarities in your style? Has your mother influenced your own direction? I am so pleased to say that my fiber artist mother Suzanne Sanger shows her work at the gallery and is one of my bestselling artists! She has sewn her whole life and took up quilting half a lifetime ago. She is now 82 and has been making textile-based abstract art for the past decade or so. I would say that my foray into abstraction may have been the initial catalyst for her to explore abstraction, as she was making more figurative textile tableaux before, but we definitely inspire each other, having recently completed an online course in tandem and attending a couple of classes at the Woodstock School of Art together. |
The Devil Made Me Do It, East Village 1995 (2022)
Oil on Stretched Canvas ~ 24 x 24 inches © Anne Sanger |
What do you think are the biggest challenges facing a gallery owner?
Especially in a smaller rural city, the biggest challenge is making the work of dealing art profitable. I am definitely not in it for the money; however, for the business to continue, it has to make money. I am especially focused on attracting to the gallery all the people from the city who bought homes in the Hudson Valley and Catskills during the pandemic. If they invest in art by local artists, it would go a long way towards making them feel a part of this community while also supporting the people who live here.
My other challenge is taking the mystique and the ‘intimidation’ factor out of viewing art. I hope to encourage more young people to pop into the gallery, even if it’s just to look. We artists want people to enjoy our art even if they can’t (yet) afford to buy it.
Especially in a smaller rural city, the biggest challenge is making the work of dealing art profitable. I am definitely not in it for the money; however, for the business to continue, it has to make money. I am especially focused on attracting to the gallery all the people from the city who bought homes in the Hudson Valley and Catskills during the pandemic. If they invest in art by local artists, it would go a long way towards making them feel a part of this community while also supporting the people who live here.
My other challenge is taking the mystique and the ‘intimidation’ factor out of viewing art. I hope to encourage more young people to pop into the gallery, even if it’s just to look. We artists want people to enjoy our art even if they can’t (yet) afford to buy it.
|
Pinkwater Gallery Current Exhibition:
Men Argue, Nature Acts An exhibit on climate change through the lens of abstract art. September 29 through November 27, 2022 Opening reception: Saturday, October 15 ~ 6-9 p.m. 56 North Front Street Kingston NY |
Photo Courtesy (Slideshow): Pinkwater Gallery
|
GALLERY HOPPERS TAKE NOTE
The Lace Mill Gallery
165 Cornell Street
Kingston, NY
Housed in an historic lace mill factory (1903) and its immediate surroundings, this is now home to 51 artist residencies, the gallery interior alone is worth a visit. A recent inaugural exhibit by the Women Photographers Collective of the Hudson Valley was handsomely mounted on the peripheral corridor walls and rooms.
The West Strand Gallery
29 West Strand Street
Kingston, NY
A new, contemporary art gallery situated on the Rondout waterfront. You can celebrate the best of Hudson valley artists, then hop on the Rondout Ferry for river adventures.
The Lace Mill Gallery
165 Cornell Street
Kingston, NY
Housed in an historic lace mill factory (1903) and its immediate surroundings, this is now home to 51 artist residencies, the gallery interior alone is worth a visit. A recent inaugural exhibit by the Women Photographers Collective of the Hudson Valley was handsomely mounted on the peripheral corridor walls and rooms.
The West Strand Gallery
29 West Strand Street
Kingston, NY
A new, contemporary art gallery situated on the Rondout waterfront. You can celebrate the best of Hudson valley artists, then hop on the Rondout Ferry for river adventures.
|
On the Radar Nearby: UPTOWN The Old Dutch Church 272 Wall Street Kingston, NY Officially known as the First Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Kingston (formally organized in 1659) and one of the oldest and most majestic continuously existing congregations in the country. If you have time, saunter about the church grounds, where friendly ghosts abound. The Senate House and Museum 296 Fair Street Kingston, NY Built in 1676, it’s a sure walk back into history. The first meeting place for the New York Senate with colonial-era artifacts in museum gallery. Lola Pizza 243 Fair Street Kingston, NY A relaxed Italian pizza restaurant, with a laid-back inviting patio. A favorite: the Fun Guy pizza, with ricotta, fontina, mozzarella, provolone and local mushrooms. Also recommended: PEI mussels, with tomato, wine, herbs and chilies for an extra kick. Wine choice: Weingutt Schmitt, Muller-Thurgan from Rheinhessin, Germany, 2020. Crisp and fragrant. Le Canard Enchaine 276 Fair Street Kingston, NY Located in beautiful, historic uptown Kingston, this bistro serves wonderful authentic French cuisine in a charming, friendly atmosphere. "Lift a fork and imagine you're in France," wrote the New York Times Chef Jean-Jacques. It’s all here – garlic snails, duck confit, onion soup, and voted “Best in the Hudson Valley.” A great wine list. Hoffman House 94 N Front Street Kingston, NY 12401 A traditional restaurant with an early American feel. Grilled leg of lamb and Scallops Mara are the touted favorites. Helpful hint: Trailways Bus service from New York City’s Port Authority is just over two hours, and Hoffman House is a hop, skip and jump east from the station. |
On the Radar Nearby: RONDOUT NEIGHBORHOOD Hudson River Sightseeing Cruise 1 East Strand Street Kingston, NY At $37.67 this lovely and informative two-hour ferry cruise from the Rondout Creek promenade is a real bargain. The 86-year-old Rondout Lighthouse is an added treat for the eyes. Mariner’s Harbor 1 Broadway Kingston, NY Riverfront Park seafood restaurant with classics like lobster and fish 'n' chips, plus a raw bar. A recent weekend visit on the terrace afforded a twangy guitar concert and fireworks. Ole Savannah 100 Rondout Landing Kingston, NY 12401 BBQ & Cajun-style fare with brisket and gumbo served in a cavernous waterfront warehouse. Ship to Shore 15 West Strand Street Kingston, NY Unfussy restaurant with a bar and outdoor seating. Serves inventive seafood, pasta & meat dishes. Curbside pickup a plus. |
Sandra Bertrand is an award-winning playwright and painter. She is Chief Art Critic for Highbrow Magazine and a contributing writer for GALO Magazine. Prior to working for Sanctuary as Culture & Travel Editor, Sandra was a Featured Artist in May 2019.
