Behind the Scenes: DUMBO’s Klompching Gallery

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.

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.