A Minute With Sierra Love
Hi! This is a newsletter about artists I like.
I began acquiring art through some friends who worked in galleries. I started small, working on a limited budget for stuff I could afford. As time passed, my collection grew, and it was exciting to watch many of the artists I’d collected go on to bigger shows and critical acclaim. My goal with this newsletter is to make a digestible resource for anyone interested in artists making excellent (and still affordable!) work whom you haven’t heard about... yet.
Sierra Love is an artist and art advisor that I’ve followed on IG since 2020-ish. We’ve traded messages here and there about her work and artists of interests so I’m glad to have her on and hear more about her process as an artist and advisor. She also has a great substack to follow as well: HERE.
I really enjoyed your recent post on some recommendations you have for the state of the art market and had some great things to say….mind giving our readers a breakdown/summary of that?
SL: Anyone following art world press recently has seen a cavalcade of headlines about a defaulting market and closing galleries. I don’t want to argue about the accuracy of those assessments or point any fingers; instead I find it more interesting to respond to and volley ideas with those who are calling for adaptation and change. Often we respond to a languishing system by touting utopic visions, but I don’t really find that to be helpful in progressing anything, either. My essay proposes a few operational ideas that address some of the symptoms of the art world’s current conventions.
You’re an artist and an advisor, is it challenging to do both? How do you divide? If at all possible…
SL: There’s challenges for sure, and benefits too. Being a good advisor includes keeping up with shows, new artists, market movements.. it’s full on. During art fair weeks I’m actively looking at individual works of hundreds if not thousands of artists. It’s an endless quest for encyclopedic knowledge and begs constant looking and processing to serve client needs well. Through that I gain so many unique inspirations, but in doing so I’ve had to sacrifice retreat into myself. Many artists speak about how important retreating is to their process and while I yearn for that creative isolation still sometimes, it’s taught me how to recognize and purify my own artistic voice from the roar. I know when I’m being true to myself.
And I’m a better advisor because I come with the perspective of actively making art, too. I work as a painter but also in craft and textile, and that experience allows me to shed light on how a medium is being used, what choices were made in the artist’s process.. I am able to unlock secrets imbued in the works that many advisors & dealers miss.
Who are some artists/galleries that you are into right now ? And why?
SL: I tend to think more of individual artists than gallery programs. Charline Van Heyl has a show up with Xavier Hufkens in Brussels currently. Charline has been making works in the market since the 80s, and still manages to experiment and show us new ideas in her canvases. It never feels like she’s playing herself. I’m drawn to artists that rebuke the idea that all their work needs to fit together in an easily observable singular style. Two younger artists that also shirk the need for boxed-in identity to produce great works are Van Hanos, and Tristan Unrau.
If you had $1,000 - what would you spend it on (has to be art related ) ….could be books / a print / a subscription / etc. :)
SL: I’d have incredible handmade wood frames made. In the right application I love a big unique frame on a small painting. Framing is expensive and not always necessary, but on small & medium works it can make all the difference.
What are your plans for the rest of the year ? Art fairs ? Shows? Work?
SL: I’m staring down the barrel of a demanding travel schedule- In October I’ll head to London for Frieze followed closely by Art Basel in Paris, then off to the headlining auction sales in NY in November, and then Art Basel in Miami the first week of December. I live in Los Angeles, so it’s a lot(!) and it challenges my ability to stay routine in my own practice. I’m currently in the throes of getting a few works far enough along that I’m able to bring them with me and work peripatetically which has become a feature in my process.
Who should we have on next ?
SL: Sarah Hantman who owns and operates Sea View Gallery here in Los Angeles. She shows a blend of fine artists and furniture makers without boundary and has a keen eye for international talent.
Thank you for the feature!