Our Art-o-mat machine, newly refurbished on the inside, refinished on the outside, and painted a deep shimmery blue will be taking up official residence in art251 in mid- to late-August. We are very honored to be the only Art-o-mat location in North Texas. Most of the other 90-plus machines can be found scattered around the U.S., in museums, boutique hotels and funky art spaces. Find ours (2nd row, 4th column).

Clark Whittington, National Bureau Chief of Artists-in-Cellophane, runs the Art-o-mat program from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Clark first came up with this crazy scheme in 1997, and has since recruited around 400 artists. As a sign that pop culture has caught up with the Art-o-mat program, I recently found that Clark has an entry in Wikipedia.

I’ve been thinking about our requirement for artists to have an artist’s statement, which will help connect the artist to his or her viewers and collectors. Our customers have told us this is important; some wish to learn about the artist, some wish to understand the creative process or an artist’s influences, some wish to grasp the narrative (if any) that accompanies the art. This all makes sense. Many fine art galleries and art spaces do this, and many artists offer an artist’s statement as a matter of course.

Then, I realized that we, at art251, don’t have something similar in place that summarizes our goals and motivations in plain sight for artists and others to see. Wouldn’t it be refreshing to hear why gallery “xyz” is in business — other than to make money, we assume. Wouldn’t it be interesting to know the goals and aims and desires of a local gallery owner before an artist consigns his or her precious work, or before a customer buys a piece of art?

With this in mind, I think it might be useful for you to know why we’re in business, and why we do what we like to do.

So, here’s our “gallery statement”:

While we’ve both been art lovers for life, we only started collecting art ourselves a few years ago. We found the learning curve to be high and the whole process intimidating and unnerving. We knew we couldn’t be the only ones feeling this way — there had to be a better approach. Thus, came art251.

art251 is art for the rest of us. We want everyone to own high quality art and to enjoy the experience of collecting it. Our mission is to make exceptional art more accessible to more people, one community at a time, accompanied by superb customer service. We search for the highest quality art from artists in the N.Texas area, offering original works that are unique, authentic and uncommon, and which come with a compelling narrative. We’ll have a broad spectrum of works at art251, covering painting, photography, jewelry, glass, and sculpture.

We believe that fine art and handcrafted works can be affordable and that the process of buying and collecting art can be fun, informative and educational. We provide an environment that offers an engaging and straightforward alternative to typical galleries. We like our customers to browse and ask us questions, and although we may not have all the answers we welcome conversations about our art, artists and space. Our customers are welcomed by our friendly staff who will demystify the collecting process. Prices and “lifestories” will be posted next to each piece of art, and our buying process is straightforward; we don’t negotiate over price (which hurts both customer and artist).

Later this year we plan to offer two other programs to make art more accessible. First, we will have an art leasing service that allows individuals and businesses to sample work before purchasing or as a way to refresh rooms and offices by regularly rotating art. Second, we will reproduce select works in limited, but very affordable editions, of different sizes.

Overall, our goal is that customers, artists, and the staff of art251 will equally enjoy the art251 experience, both the art and the process of collecting it.

Mike and Kim Gerra, owners art251

The more we discuss our gallery with artists, potential customers, art lovers, friends and advisers the more we learn about what to do, and, just as importantly, what not to do.

We have a strong idea of how our space will look. We have a strong feel for the type of art we’d like to show. We have a equally strong sense of how to behave and deal with others, whether with artists or clients. We’ve tried to communicate this to the artists we’ve met — it’s certainly easier for people to get a sense of who we are in a face-to-face meeting. But for those of you we have yet to meet, I’ll try to summarize our business and personal code of ethics, and matching expectations below. It’s rather simple, and much is based on the Golden Rule.

• We strive for openness and honesty in all our relationships, and expect this of others
• We’ll not be sneaky and underhanded and appreciate artists who treat us the same way
• We don’t ask artists to be exclusive (only for the art that is consigned)
• We honor our financial obligations to our artists foremost
• We believe that consigned art belongs to the artist until sold
• We don’t negotiate the sales price for a piece of art with customers (the Saturn of art spaces?)
• We care for a piece of art as if it were our own (and we often wish it were)
• We aim to give an artist frequent feedback, both positive and negative, in a nice way
• We believe in Karma — what you give, is what you get in return (isn’t this a line from a song…)