Temporary Space

ent the artists entire body of work in simultaneous gallery and on-line exhibitions. This will allow the ideas, sketches, studies and related works to be accessible, in addition to the works on display. There will be no sales people or curatorial restrictions on the exhibited art. Temporary Space will function as the connection between the artist and the collector, eliminating the middleman and the exorbitant fees they charge the artist. The mission of Temporary Space is to create a more pleasant, stimulating, and rewarding environment for artists to display their art, for viewers to experience art, and for collectors to purchase art. Temporary Space will overcome the barriers the audience associates with viewing and collecting art by creating a digitally interactive, viewer friendly environment for exhibiting the artists entire output. This will create a more democratic model for collecting art by offering a great variety of artwork at a broad range of prices. Temporary Space will also offer various digital means for interactive educational experiences. This technology will allow the viewer to broaden their understanding, and increase their appreciation, of the artists work. Temporary Space is an experimental platform that celebrates mid-to-late career artists, by providing a physical and digital exhibition outside of the traditional gallery experience that connects artists and art buyers directly. It’s a platform for artists and buyers to come together and for buyers to rediscover the hidden gems within the art world…the artists that have spent a lifetime devoted to their craft. Whose idea is Temporary Space? Richard Shelton, an artist, visionary and businessman began thinking about Temporary Space nearly five years ago. Long involved with art world, Richard Shelton had been thinking about ways to bring artists and collectors together directly, since so much of what is on view in the traditionally gallery world is edited by people other than the art producer and the art buyer. Since then it has been moving from concept to full realization with a variety of iterations therein. Wait a minute. This is Richard Shelton’s concept and the first exhibition is of his work. Is this a vanity exhibition? No. There is no such thing as a vanity show. If an author publishes his own book, is that a vanity book? If actor produces, directs and stars in a film, is that a vanity film? If a musician produces his own concert is that a vanity concert? So why are artists singled out? They weren’t until about 50 years ago. Artists have been exhibiting their own art as a means to bypass the art establishment for 250 years. In the 19th century David, Greuze, and Benjamin West mounted their own exhibitions. In the 19th century Courbet, Manet, and Firth mounted their own exhibitions. There are countless examples in the 20th century of artists mounting their own exhibitions. The label “vanity show” is a relatively new concept devised by the art establishment to discourage artists from mounting their own exhibitions without the stamp of approval from the gallery/salesperson. It is one of the many ways art dealers have framed the art dialogue for the purpose of making artists dependent upon them and discouraging them from taking control of their own careers. Who is Richard Shelton? He is an artist who has been producing art for 50 years and is fed up with the art establishment, which he feels is corrupted by the business interests of art dealers and collectors. He is an artist who is standing up for the rights of artists by challenging the values of the contemporary art establishment and proclaiming it is time for a change. Richard Shelton, together with his fellow mid-to-late career peers, is forming an alternative platform for exhibiting and selling art, just as the Impressionists, Expressionists, and Surrealists did in the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. When will Temporary Space Open? Temporary Space will be launched in the Spring of 2015, in the mid-Wilshire area of Los Angeles, CA. There are plans for additional locations, and an alternative show to the next Whitney Biennale in New York City in 2017. Is it a Temporary Space? Yes. Temporary Space will be open for two shows in Los Angeles then it will move to a new location in another city, if the model is successful. Why would artists choose to exhibit at Temporary Space, rather than at a traditional art gallery? Temporary Space empowers artists to take control of their exhibition experience. The artist decides what pieces will be on view, and will open their entire body of work for view, allowing collectors to see their complete works in one physical and digital experience. Temporary Space provides the artists with tools to help them with their sales, including a selective archive of their existing works and the technology to continue adding works to it. The artist also sets their own pricing and conducts sales directly. What is a mid-to-late career artist? Temporary Space is interested in artists who have at least 20 years of substantial productivity. These artists tend to be between 40 and 80-plus years. A 40ish artist who has dabbled in art for 20 years would not meet these criteria, but a 40ish artist with a strong, consistent and growing body of work would. Why would a person interested in buying art, go to Temporary Space? Temporary Space provides an opportunity for a collector to have a deeper experience with an individual artist. The exhibitions will provide context about the artist experiences and influences as they were producing the works. Art buyers will also be purchasing works directly from the artist, rather than a gallery. Each Temporary Space exhibitions will rotate works. So, each artist will have multiple shows within each show time frame. For example, if an artist is exhibiting at Temporary Space from March-June, the physical works on view will be changed within the March-June time frame, allowing visitors to see more of each artists work in person. It sounds like an art gallery. Why isn’t it? Temporary Space is the opposite of a traditional gallery. It is a free market experiment directly connecting art producers with art buyers in an unfiltered atmosphere. An inclusive experience, we invite everyone to visit the space in person, or online. It is a community-building platform, and has a goal to break down barriers and make art accessible to everyone. Art galleries tend to show an artists’ most recent works. Temporary Space embraces the entire body of work and believes that there is a strong value in opening these works for public view. Who are we to say what should and shouldn’t be shown? Our team is so committed to the idea of art for everyone, that we are actively investigating different ways to for potential buyers to bring works home. Fine art has traditionally been a cash-only business, but we wonder why? You don’t need cash to buy a car, other things, why not art? So, it’s just art on view? Anything else going on? Temporary Space will also have a selection of programming addressing the creative arts (visual art, performance, creative writing, music, etc.). You don’t have Sales People. How can I buy art? All sales will be conducted between the artist and the art-buyer. There will be an opportunity to purchase digitally on site, or interact directly with the artist at their studio to purchase, or one can purchase online at home. Galleries tend to take between 40-60% of sales as a gallery commission. How can Temporary Space stay open? Temporary Space will have a set administrative fee of 25% to fund overhead costs. Our goal is to put as much of the proceeds of art sales in the artist hands.