Behind the Scenes: DUMBO’s Klompching Gallery

I went down to 111 Front Street in DUMBO yesterday to chat with Klompching Gallery co-owner and co-director Debra Klomp Ching. Debra and her husban...

I went down to 111 Front Street in DUMBO yesterday to chat with Klompching Gallery co-owner and co-director Debra Klomp Ching. Debra and her husband and partner, Darren Ching, opened the gallery just six months ago, and it’s doing quite well already. It seems like DUMBO could quickly become the new Chelsea; 111 was absolutely hopping when I stopped in.

Debra Klomp Ching, co-owner and co-director of Klompching Gallery

Ms. Ching is fairly new to running a gallery space, but not to photography; she held many administrative and curatorial positions while working in the UK, is one of the US Jurors for the 2008
Flash Forward Emerging Photographers Award, and has reviewed portfolios
at various photography events including Review Santa Fe,
Rhubarb-Rhubarb, Houston Fotofest, Center for Photography at Woodstock
and powerHouse.

It was at Rhubarb-Rhubarb that Debra met Darren Ching, in fact, who is currently the Creative Director of PDN. A seasoned juror and designer himself, Ching has been a judge for Magenta
Foundation’s Flash Forward, PDN’s 30, Photolucida’s Critical Mass,
Ozzie Awards, CPW’s 2006 A.I.R., NYU’s Daniel Rosenberg Fellowship, and
the Society of Publication Designers.

Holy cow, that’s quite a list.

Anyhoo, I’d heard of Klompching back when it opened; they represent some great talent, including Lisa M. Robinson and Simon Roberts, both of whom are making a real impression on the art world at the moment.

Lisa Robinson, Solo, 2005

Simon Roberts, Apartment Blocks Reflected in Water, Sakhalin Island.
Far East Russia, October 2004

So, how does curator with brand new gallery choose a stable of artists? Debra says:

“Our objective is to find photographers we have confidence in, both creatively and professionally. We want to form long-term relationships. We expect a high level of professionalism from our artists, and artists who are invested in themselves, because we expect a 50/50 relationship.”

Further to this, the photographers at Klompching are responsible for their own printing, as well as the framing of their prints. Which is the reason that Ching says they “try to sell off the wall first” during an exhibition; all the framing costs are then recouped for the artists. Ching knows that representing an artist means that the livelihood and careers of the curators and artists will become intertwined, so they won’t work with artists they haven’t met personally. In addition, they are taking their time adding artists to the program: “We are being careful about how quickly we build our roster. We don’t want to take on too much too soon.”

Debra and Darren chose a space in DUMBO after having gone to Soho and Chelsea and seen much smaller spaces for the same amount of money. “New York is a competitive city for recruiting photographers” Ching says. “If you have too small a space, you can’t give them enough room, and it also restricts you in terms of the scale of an exhibition.” They also looked for spaces in Williamsburg and the Lower East Side, but settled on DUMBO because it’s accessible, and has a good visitor experience.

Here’s a preview of the William Greiner show, which opens tomorrow night. Greiner was a student of William Eggleston’s, and works very much in the same vein. The images are carefully constructed large-format shots of New Orleans before the flood, between 1995 and 2005. Greiner lost his home as a result of Katrina, and now resides in Baton Rouge.

The William Greiner show, installation shot

William Greiner, Sports Palace, 2005

DUMBO’s commitment to the art community is demonstrated on the first Thursday of each month with the “First Thursday Gallery Walk“. All the area galleries and artist studios stay open until 8:30 pm.

Check it out tomorrow night! See a full list of the participating galleries after the jump.

5+5 Gallery 111 Front St., Suite 210
Aswoon Gallery, 14 Jay St.
Brooklyn Arts Council, 111 Front St., Suite 218
Byrd Hoffman Watermill Foundation, 111 Front St.
DUMBO Arts Center, 30 Washington St.
GalleryQB, 163 Plymouth St.
Gloria Kennedy Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 222
Henry Gregg Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 226
Klompching Gallery, 111 Front St.
Melville House, 145 Plymouth St.
Nelson Hancock Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 204
Oil Drum Art, 111 Front St.
Pochron Studios, 20 Jay St.
Powerhouse Books & Powerhouse Arena, 37 Main St.
Pratt Institute, 111 Front St.
Rabbithole Studio, 33 Washington St.
Robert Wilson/rw Work Ltd, 111 Front St.
Safe-T Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 214
Smack Mellon, 93 Plymouth St. @ Washington Street
Spring, 126a Front St.
Tivoli Home, 111 Front St., 1st floor
Umbrage Gallery, 111 Front St.
VII DUMBO, 28 Jay St.
Wessel + O-Connor Fine Art, 111 Front St., Suite 200