The Run up to Christmas

Crowded steamy shops and ice covered pavements with tottering shoppers clutching masses of bags. The city was manic and yesterday I could've normally done what I wanted to do in half the time. The commute has turned into over an hour of sliding around in an icy 10 mile queue. The ingredients are all there for a miserable git rant of Dickensian Scrooge proportions.
But for the fact it feels like a proper Christmas. I would skip through the snow coming to the gallery should I not, a) fall flat on my arse and, b) look like a girl. The Manchester markets are brilliant and a few nights ago I sat chatting drinking a beer slowly losing all sensation in my fingers. But it was a discomfort suffered for the greater good of experiencing a country that is exciting and cultured and outdoorsy and ermm german. They have banned outdoor heaters because of a ridiculous notion that they are bad for the environment.
The view out of the gallery is pretty much the same as it would have been in Victorian times and the people coming into the gallery have all been in good spirits. So despite the ball ache of the rush to consume, I'm, in festive cheer. Phillipa was let out of the gallery especially so she could play in the snow she was that excited. She eventually got the teenagers to put down their cider and cigarettes to have a snowball fight. Okay the last bit I am joking but I kind of wished I was a kid again.

I opened up briefly to pick up some artwork for delivery and a few people came in. One of them looked and sounded like Guy Garvey. Bit of a strange one and I'm not even sure it was him but would never come out and ask directly. That's not particularly cool and I like to think of myself as cool in front of celebrities. That way I am more likely to become their best friends.
I hadn't even opened properly and the lights were off but I put them on while they were there. The woman said she had one of Danny Cawley's pieces of art. The conversation didn't go much further than that other than he said the space was great and where was the UGG shop. Guy Garvey likes the gallery, take note people.
We are open till 2m on Christmas eve and there are still people who are buying presents who come into the gallery to buy for themselves. It takes great judgment to buy art for someone else and that's why we offer gift vouchers for the unsure.
Feel free to pop into the gallery and experience the Christmas cheer of the city.

Christmas decoration

I met this woman once in the gallery who got me thinking about the line between art and commerce. We get a lot of artists coming in and coyly dance around the subject before they ask "how do I get my artwork into this place?". It's so obvious but we need to be patient and play out the routine.
She came to Oldham street and said she supplied artwork for new housing companies. 20 or 30 at a time, big bold splashes of colour done in no time at all. She said she sells them for pennies but would like to sell them for more and she could really churn them out. This was the the epitome of decorative art and to be honest made me cringe. A shameless sell out display of sub standard work with little or no thought applied to it except the aim for it to fill a wall, have the right colours and sell. Like an X Factor cover song, fatuous art like this has its place but not in a gallery like mooch.

I used to work for a large catalogue company who went through a huge change and a new CEO who gave us a big presentation at the Odeon cinema in the Printworks. This guy highlighted the products on sale that make a mankini seem like a great choice of beachwear. A sculpture of an elephant with a glass table on top came up onto the cinema screen which was greeted with giggles from everyone. The buyer I was sat next to sank into his seat, saying "but they are my best seller". It was truly crap.

Some stuff is rubbish to start with but also when something or someone starts becoming popular there is always a bit of a backlash against their popularity. They are accused of selling out and lose a bit of their credibility if they find out their parents are into them. I was in M&S last week and picked up a jumper, I was lying it against chest when a doddering pensioner came and picked up THE SAME JUMPER. We even made eye contact and he gave me a knowing nod. Mortified, I vowed to shop in places where this kind of person was not. With original art you realise you won't have this issue.

So I ask where should you draw the line in an art gallery? We see lots of art which is impressive and of good quality but its not the kind of thing people will want to buy. It feels bad especially when you know they have talent. People would just look at the work like they would a transvestite. Curious, but not really interested in being a part of it.
I guess the dividing line is when people look at the art and consider whether the work will fit in with the colour scheme of the room they are wanting to hang it in. Its not a problem if people look at work with a view to it fitting in. That makes sense but It shouldn't be the overriding factor.

Fine art should be created purely for their imaginative, aesthetic or intellectual content.
Collectors come into the gallery and people have bought art and then decided where it should go. It's one of the best moments of this job when someone completely and totally falls in love with a piece and buys it with absolutely no idea where it will be hung. To own a piece of art for love rather than its function is a beautiful thing.

Sign of the times

I'm very conscious of not talking to the point where peoples eyes glaze over. Being a sophisticated male, adept at noticing changes in mood, I know this is likely to be a bad sign. I love cars and motorbikes but know that if I bleat on about it too much, you will leaving thinking "What kind of freak learns that kind of stuff". In a gallery it is especially important because art still has the air of elitism that leaves casual shoppers feeling like a philistine should you not know the work from Tom Roach for example.

We like to be genuine about our artists and its really important to not get too hung up on artspeak. Concerning art, there is a real need to minimise the outrageous and baffling statements that seem to accompany fine art. The last thing I would want is for someone to have the same disbelief my wife did on hearing Natalie Cassidy is a size 12 on Strictly.

I have a friend who Brands companies (He branded mooch in fact). I have genuinely good conversations with him on fonts. Admittedly I wouldn't talk to anyone else about this lest they feel that time has stopped and they are trapped in boring conversation hell. Everyone has their expertise and interests and everyone has a geek inside them that they are reluctant to announce to the public.

So here be the most mundane post of all. Signage. The look of the gallery is really important so I got really excited when new signage went up the other day. It's an effort to reduce the number of people that stumble on the gallery having walked past every day and not sussed out that we sell art.

The piece de resistance is the white "mooch art" on the counter which looks like a work of art in itself. When my friend sees it he will reach a climax of helvetican proportions. People will flock to see what extraordinary visions of loveliness they can behold when drawn in by some simple lettering that promises artistic nirvana.

When you get there it will be Phillipa who will engage you with riveting conversation. And in coming to mooch art you will definitely familiarise yourself with tom roach (get it?).

Buy Art Fair '09

I absolutely love art fairs. It's like the footie highlights where you only get to see the best bits from lots of games. The buy art fair at the Urbis is no different and last night I went to the preview night which is pretty much the same as any other time except the Cava is flowing and gallery owners are psyched up and fresh off the blocks to amaze you with their offering.

I did consider the fair, especially as I think there were some better deals going for late comers. The Triangle gallery is just 50metres away though and I just didn't think it worth it. There was a distinct lack of manchester galleries at the fair though and I wonder if others were thinking it just wasn't worth it either. That said, the fair had a some great work on display, I loved the work at Driftwood gallery, Castle art and Didsbury's very own Wendy Levy. We were also mightily impressed with an original Banksy and Phillipa squealed her excitement at seeing the original Antony Micallef from Comme Ca. This is the sort of artwork that the hollywood elite apparently collect (Brad and Angelina amongst others). One of my favorites was one from Mooch's own Simon Taylor. I saw it in his studio half finished. Its a landscape of a womans face taken from a 1970s porn film, nice.

I made jovial greetings with the organisers trying to redeem the fact I got a telling off last year for plugging my own gallery despite not having a stand there. It was a bit on the cheeky side but hey I run a gallery and I want to tell everyone else about it, the printed hand outs were a step too far though.

I also had a good chat with Wendy Levy, one of the established players in the Manchester art scene. I generally go and chat to anyone and often speak to other gallery owners. Sometimes the responses can be amusing, frosty or just downright rude. One gallery owner (no names) had a complete personality transplant when I turned from a potential customer to competitor in front of his eyes. I wasn't digging or involved in any kind of espionage but he may as well have challenged me to a duel. Alas, there was nothing I could do to turn his charm switch back on.

At the fair the 1st floor is where the bulk of the art is located and where the best galleries have set up. The second floor floor, in my opinion, starts to lose its way a little. It became clear that the not for profit organisations have set up there which means a few very stark and strange exhibition spaces more fitting of an alternative art fair than the Buy art fair. Phillipa was disappointed not to see the 3 animatronic heads by Nathaniel Mellors, did we totally miss it or was it not ready?

The range of art is wide and I think it covers most bases. It is unlikely you will go along to not find anything that you like. Having said that, I am a big fan of the affordable art fair in Battersea and next to this, it looks tiny. Manchester needs to start somewhere though and the Urbis is a great location in the heart of Manchester. It also has an amazing gallery called mooch just opposite. www.mooch-art.co.uk

Manchester Pride

This week I've taken a lesson from a spanish girl who's working at the gallery on placement from an International language school. Yesterday I came in from the rain and had a bit of a moan to her about the fact we had small ponds collecting on the adjacent road. Bego said she likes the fact it rains a lot in manchester, "It's always so fresh". Her English isn't good enough for sarcasm and she wasn't being at all ironic. This made me smile.
She loves everything about Manchester which initially baffled me. She comes from Barcelona but raves about the architecture, the music, the people, the bars and just about everything else. One the way walking to the Triangle we passed the Urbis and the cathedral when she said how much she loved the buildings. "But the buildings by Gaudi are amazing in Barcelona" I said. Yes she said, "But its only Gaudi, Gaudi, Gaudi"
Manchester is still the underdog though, and that's what makes people defend it so fiercely. My best friend who now lives in London commented on the magazines dedicated to Manchester and how great it is. I agreed that some press felt a need to justify Manchester as a great city which smacks of insecurity.
Bego is right though, it is a cool city. A creative one that can't and shouldn't compete with London. The largest student population in the country is one of the reasons it's at the forefront of fashion, music and art. Being at the forefront though means people can get it horrendously wrong. I've been to enough degree shows to know that the majority of the work is dross and can sometimes be slightly worrying places to visit when you consider that for 3 years a student has been working towards a video of them drawing lines on the ground around people when they are stood at a bus stop. No amount of academic posturing can justify the crap art that is produced for these shows.
I'm keeping going though, and I'll keep bleating on about how great the talent is around here. My international customers clearly agree. If nothing else I know I work in a superior city to Barcelona.

Opening a new gallery - looking back

The picture here is a map of manchester from 1650.
The Electrician looked at our simple faces and said "You've got your work cut out for you".
I normally hate painting with a passion but the new gallery is making me change my mind. Creating big solid blocks of white with immaculate edges is curiously satisfying.
If art is any substance, arranged to make a statement then mine is "Clean white walls are gallery nirvana". Ugly brick walls are transformed into glorious white textured surfaces. It's clean and fresh and like a little piece of heaven, only you don't have to be good to get there.
I need to be involved in painting the new gallery for me to feel a part of it. I need my shoulders to ache and my scruff jeans to be encrusted with paint. I even put up with curious white bogeys and paint getting caught in my ring (wedding). I need to do this because as with many parts of this gallery I want to stand back and say with confidence that we did that.
I appreciate that there aren't too many people who have opened a gallery before but let me say.. Wow it's hard work. I mean, really it is. At opening events, gallery owners will smile and play down the shear effort that has gone into showing other peoples artwork. But trust me when I say that every one will need a holiday afterwards.
In June Last year Mooch art, Oldham street, opened to a receptive crowd. Perhaps people would have been more impressed had I have put the before pictures of the gallery up on the wall. There was a monumental effort involved by workmen and myself in getting it ready in time. Pure graft and passion went into that gallery.
Mooch is expanding sooner than expected and this effort is being repeated in the Triangle. We are in Unit 17, and we have already figured there is a great community in the triangle as there is in the northern quarter.
I had a chat with the guy who runs the Titchy coffee company and its fascinating to find out the history of the building. The triangle used to be the corn exchange "For many year's, (up to the time of the bombing), the building acted as a covered market hall, a Mecca for students and specialising in "alternative" produce - vegetarian foods, numerous "New Age" and Occult shops, palmists, tarot readers, books, aromatherapy prerequisites, music and clothing. Well worth a browse, even if nothing takes your fancy." But now the triangle is one of the most underrated retails spaces in Manchester. Glorious Victorian architecture houses a modern light spacious interior. Go through the fairly well hidden opening into a triangular courtyard. Calling the triangle a "shopping centre" is like calling Charlize theron a "tasty bird". It's just not classy enough. The gallery's doors will open inside to the interior but also onto Cathedral street. A beautiful cobbled street runs between the Triangle and Manchester cathedral that should be the biggest drawcard of the "Shopping Centre". Many shops for security reasons haven't utilised the best looking street in Manchester. I'm serious, it's picture postcard stuff and having lived in Manchester for 8 years kept wondering why I didn't know about it.
I have yet another spell of 12-13 hour days to get it ready and looking pristine, white, and as good as possible. The satisfaction is immense, the artwork will speak for itself. Great quality original art always does. Mooch art is passionate expression concentrated onto a canvas and I love it. If you want to come to the soft launch of the new gallery e-mail info@mooch-art.co.uk with the names of who wants to come. We are pinning in tuesday the 14th April but this may change. It will be fairly low key until the proper launch will be sorted out.

Probably the best new gallery in the world.

Mooch is opening a new gallery in the triangle shopping centre in Manchester city centre. I opened the Oldham street gallery in June last year so this is an exciting time. Mooch is growing fast and the additional gallery offers a huge amount of wall space to exhibit.
I have always know that people need to see the artwork to appreciate just how good it is. More choice from online galleries mean that the quality is patchy at best. The key to a great gallery is representing fewer, higher quality artists. The bottom line is that with fewer artists, a gallery can focus and boost their career more effectively which means the artwork is much more likely to rise in value.
Mooch has relatively few artists but even with the 20 artists, it is impossible to show all their work. The Oldham street gallery is a light and airy space that is in the creative heart of the city. However it's a bit of a walk for those shopping in the arndale or Deansgate so the Triangle will be a great location for more customers.
The gallery in the triangle will be open in 3-4 weeks so we have plenty of work to do in order to get it up to standard. Think of the amount of work you think is required and then triple it. Many galleries need a monumental effort for every opening and change of artwork. It's time to pull out the stops and make the new mooch gallery the best in Manchester, dare I say, the best in the country.

Angela Wakefield update at Mooch

Angelas exhibition is doing really well and has had some great press if you check out these links.

http://www.citylife.co.uk/arts/news/12453__angela_s_a_hit_at_mooch

http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/chester-news/local-chester-news/chester-celebrations/2009/02/06/city-scenes-in-artistic-exhibition-59067-22866390/

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/ribblevalley/4086882.Ribble_Valley_artist_s_exhibition_is_inspired_by_Lowry/

http://www.chesterstandard.co.uk/chesternews/Colours-inspire-Chester-city-artwork.4937579.jp

http://www.lep.co.uk/news/Story-shorts--030209.4939478.jp

I hadn't seen the Lowry connection but the more I look at her images of Oldham street the more I see. We've reduced the density in the gallery to give each piece more room to "breathe". I think it really works and not only are the comments really positive Angela is also furiously painting to fill the gaps left on the preview night. It's a nice position to be in but I guess people see the quality in her work.

The Manchester art scene - In a recession

Happy new year. My boiler packed in a couple of days ago and I awoke to minus 7 degrees. Sweet Jesus bring on global warming if it means I don't whimper getting dressed of a morning.
After the excesses of Christmas and New Year is there a finite amount of good will to go around? If so then its time for me to get into the mood, kick back and withdraw into 2 months of grouchy apathy "That's it my love, I'm spent". Listen to the gloom and you get sucked into it. Ignore the media and continue with a positive mental attitude. When you can do that, let me know how it's done.
There are still economic woes for many and there are a few big names yet to fall. So what of the art industry? Well in Manchester it is still pre pubescent and feeling slightly embarrassed at its high voice and lack of stubble. Underdeveloped doesn't come close, you can count the number of commercial galleries on one hand which for a population of half a million is shockingly few.
So if it isn't that great in the 1st place what's going to happen in a recession?
Clearly there has been a reduction in demand for art and anyone who says not is telling fibs. Mooch is really well placed, has already made a great impact and continues to grow, adding new artists every fortnight. I strongly believe that the recession could be a good thing for the businesses that are forward looking and positive in their outlook.
A guy called Maslow worked out our pyramid of needs, working up from psychological (I need air, water etc) up to self actualisation which involves creativity. There will always be a market for food; artwork on the other hand is on a roller-coaster of a journey. There are ups and downs and that's the key. Buy on a downer and you'll get a nice return on the upper.
You don't find galleries overtly slashing prices but they will be very carefully considered and will generally be lower than at any time in the past few years. Besides which, stocks and shares don't look anywhere near as nice on your wall. Think of a great looking room and your friends compliments as your dividend.
Buying artwork can however can be a little daunting so I will soon post a blog on how to buy art in a recession. It will give you an insight into how you should go about choosing artwork and hints and tips to get the best deal, the best investment and the piece that suits your home to a tee. We are also offering a free advice service for those unsure of what type of art is appropriate for a space. We can visit your home and help you make an informed decision.
When it comes to artwork there has never been a better time to buy so what are you waiting for?

Mooch art - running a new art gallery in manchester

If anyone is curious what it is like to be in the art industry, work in a gallery and meet up with artists then this is your lucky day.
Whether you think art and the industry is pointless, poncey, frivolous or flawed I want to just tell it how it is. Clearly from a gallery point of view, art is the what drives creativity in this country. Without it we would be stuck a rubbish environment, Orwellian and bleak with little colour or style.
Mooch art is a gallery in Manchester (England) and we opened on the 26th June 2008. Things are still pretty new and we are still building a name for ourselves. As soon as the gallery opened its doors, a flood of artists came by to show their appreciation for the gallery and to try and get me to sell their stuff. Hopefully some artists should read this because some of their approaches would've made Gareth Gates sound smooth.
I have had some brilliant characters through the doors. I will be talking about some of these weird and wonderful people that seem to gravitate towards the art scene. I want to tell people about these characters partly because after they have left I am left thinking it could be me who has gone mad. If nothing else It may change the way other artists approach to galleries if only by learning what not to do.
The sorry thing is that similar to acting and publishing, the art industry is very unfair in rewarding the top artists with most of the money. This means that for every artist who makes a good living, there are 100 hopefuls. Art though is appreciated in the doing as well as the viewing. Artists often do it as a hobby so I don't mean to paint a bleak picture.
Saying that there are loads of great talented artists who haven't yet made a name for themselves and are just starting out. Thats where we come in.

Halleluja