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As Boston museums surge, galleries struggle to keep up

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January 01, 2012|By Cate McQuaid

From left: Steven Zevitas of Steven Zevitas Gallery, Russell LaMontagne… (John Tlumacki/Globe Staff )

Contemporary art is surging in Boston. So why does the gallery scene here continue to be overlooked?

With the Institute of Contemporary Art’s growing presence, and the Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art opening last September at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is moving from the sidelines to center stage in the world of contemporary art. And there’s more institutional attention to come, with a new wing opening this month at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and an expansion in the offing at the Harvard Art Museums.

This is all terrific news, and it can only help local art galleries, as institutions cultivate a larger audience for contemporary work. But Boston commercial galleries are in a delicate position in a struggling economy, in a city that has not been viewed as supportive of their particular passion since the days of John Singer Sargent. Throw in a rapidly changing business model in which brick-and-mortar shops are less important than art fairs and buying on the Internet, and you’ve got an especially challenging environment.

“I think Boston is underserved by the number of galleries,’’ says Joseph Carroll, owner of Carroll and Sons, one of the leading galleries in Boston. “Would I advise someone to open now? I’d say no. The economic climate is still shaky, and it’s a tough business.’’

For years, the lament of Boston artists has been a lack of institutional support, with a particularly gimlet eye cast on the MFA’s previously paltry contemporary offerings. Commercial galleries soldiered on despite little museum interest in collecting contemporary art.

The gallery scene in Boston suffered a blow in June 2008, even before the economic collapse, when some leases coming due combined with dealers retiring led to the closing of eight galleries. Since then, two more of Boston’s top-flight contemporary dealers have shut their doors - Nielsen Gallery and Judi Rotenberg Gallery - and others have closed, as well, while only a couple have opened. There are fewer than 30 commercial contemporary art galleries in the area, and of those only a handful present rigorous, forward-thinking art.

Three of Boston’s edgier galleries, LaMontagne Gallery, Samson, and Steven Zevitas Gallery have banded together as the Boston Contemporary Group, and they’ll be at Volta N.Y., in March. Fairs require a significant investment, says Zevitas. “It’s $15,000 for the booth, then there’s shipping. It adds up quickly. You have to sell a tremendous amount just to break even.’’ But, he adds, “You never know when the payback will come. We’ve had art fairs that didn’t do well lead to something significant later.’’