Galleries try to hang on in hard times

Galerie Timothy Tew, a Buckhead townhouse in a posh strip of antique shops and galleries, exudes the same luxe aura as when it opened, decorated to the nines, in 2005. Just don’t ask for a drink unless you want it from the tap: When the economy tanked, the spring water contract hit the cost-cutting room floor.

“We’ve cut advertising, catering, the size of the mailing list,” owner Timothy Tew said. “I have taken no salary for four months, and the staff is working fewer hours.”

Globally, the market for art, like other discretionary purchases, has deflated like a bad souffle, and few Atlanta galleries are unscathed. The most dramatic evidence: Fay Gold, a doyenne of the art scene for almost 30 years, will close her gallery Wednesday.

The art business is always up and down. The response to the exhibit that month, seasonal impulses and the vagaries of long-term projects are among the factors that affect sales. Today’s uncertainty makes fluctuations more unsettling, though. Tew says that sales started drying up in September. January saw the largest drop in his 22-year history. Though February was normal, he doesn’t know whether it’s a trend or a blip.

Still, Tew plans to wait it out, as do most of the dealers surveyed for this story. Like Tew, they’ve trimmed their budgets and their sails. Most nip and tuck in unobtrusive ways —- keeping lights off, cutting extra phone lines, sending out e-vites rather than printed invitations.

Inevitably, some measures impact what visitors see. If galleries mount fewer shows or ship fewer objects, that means less variety and narrowed choices. And probably, fewer new faces: In this hunkered-down environment, artists will have more trouble getting in a gallery’s stable.

But the fallout isn’t necessarily bad. Some dealers are trying new things with interesting results. Contemporary art dealer Nancy Solomon is pitching quality over quantity. Four works, which she describes as “signature, investment-worthy pieces,” occupy the main gallery of Solomon Projects.

With an eye to sales, she is offering up affordable alternatives. The fine-art prints in the foyer space introduce the work of a new press, Charlotte’s Firsthand Editions, to Atlanta. She asked Atlanta artist Radcliffe Bailey to create domestic-scale works on paper for his May exhibit.

In a bear market, gallery owners are more open to discounts. They are hustling more, too. Mark Karelson says that renting out Mason Murer Fine Art for evening events helps offset the decline in art sales. Still, when your monthly electric bill is $3,500, you’ve got to be proactive.

“You have to go after business now,” he said.

Decatur dealer Shawn Vinson, who closed his gallery space last fall, has started a novel Internet sales campaign. His Weekly Art Update, an e-mail that simply showcases three works, has led to a jump in hits on his Web site, and a print by Briton Chris Pig sold in a click, he says.

Past customers can expect more personal service. “We’re calling clients instead of waiting for them to come in,” said Carr McCuiston, owner of the Signature Shop and Gallery, which specializes in crafts.

Anna Walker Skillman of Jackson Fine Art says that, tough times notwithstanding, she has enjoyed her renewed emphasis on building relationships with committed photography collectors.

“I don’t miss the people coming in asking what’s hot right now, just wanting to flip the art,” she said. “I’m not a stockbroker or a fortuneteller.”

Corny as it sounds, art dealing is the kind of business in which vocation and avocation merge. The pleasure of being immersed in art doesn’t pay the bills, but it’s a factor in the bottom line —- and the will to survive the economic downturn.

Says Tew, “We’re here, and we’re in it for the long haul.”