Culture
Ep. 160: Adam Berninger - Heft Gallery
In this episode of Artsense, host Craig Gould speaks with Adam Berninger, the owner of Heft Gallery, about the intersection of contemporary art and technology. They explore the evolution of Berninger&...
Ep. 160: Adam Berninger - Heft Gallery
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Speaker A
This is artsense, a podcast focused on educating and informing listeners about the past, present and future of art. I'm Craig Gould. On today's episode, I speak with Adam Berniger about the new Heft Gallery, which recently opened at 300 Broome street on the lower east side of Manhattan. The gallery features artists who utilize contemporary tools such such as artificial intelligence and algorithms to reflect on the contemporary world. In the conversation, we discuss his journey from running the gallery online under the name Tinder to opening the new physical space for Heft. We also delve into how his background in photography and fabrication has influenced his approach to curating and presenting works, as well as the evolving role of the gallerist and the unique opportunities and challenges of working with artists who are deeply connected to both traditional and digital art communities. And now, a conversation about creating a physical space for digital art with Adam Berninger. Adam Berenger, thank you so much for joining me today on the podcast. Adam, you are the owner operator of Heft Gallery, 3, 300 Broome Street, Lower east side of New York. The gallery has a focus on reflecting artists that are using the tools of our time to reflect the world around us. I want to talk to you all about what that means and your journey from where you've been, where you're going. Art on the cutting edge Today Adam, I like to start these conversations with a common question, which is if you were sitting at a dinner party, next is somebody who's a total stranger, knows nothing about you or what you do? How would you describe to them who you are, what you do? What is Heft Gallery?
Speaker B
Great question, and I'm excited to talk about all those things that you mentioned with you today. So thank you for having me on. I guess I would tell somebody that I'm an artist and I run a gallery and I get to work with artists doing some of the newest work out there today, really at the forefront of contemporary expression and using various systems processes in their work, whether that's algorithms, using artificial intelligence and trusting ways, writing instructions and rules that guide their practice and trying to present them in new and meaningful ways. And I do that at 300 Broome street here in New York.
Speaker A
Having a physical location is not necessarily something that has gone alongside some of the artwork in this space. Can you talk about the evolution of bringing the world physical work that's produced using these tools that are on the cutting edge?
Speaker B
Yeah, I of course, would include my description too, that I present works online and I have done that for the past three years. So while this space is Only now six weeks, six weeks into operation. Under hef, I have run this gallery under the name Tender for the past three years. And there we've shown over 60 comprehensive series from about that many artists online in pop up exhibitions and at art fairs in Miami and Paris. So, you know, ever since I started working with artists, I immediately made an effort to find ways to bring some of those digital works into physical space. And I have a history with fabrication and high end, very high end museum quality printing techniques. And I have a photography background myself, so that lends to this opportunity to help translate into great prints. So I had a very early printing service with a master printer that would allow collectors to, you know, display some of these amazing artworks in their home. I've also worked with a lot of novel fabrication techniques. Oil painting from digital files and CNC fabrication into metal and all kinds of things. And so that combined with experiencing how those artworks are received in physical space, such as a fair, really validated how much opportunity there is to introduce new people in a meaningful way to these works that they otherwise either would not see online or maybe would not be open to really growing close with them and understanding a bit more about what the artists are, what the artists are doing, what they're saying with their work. So I use those fairs as almost a testing ground for how impactful a gallery space, permanent gallery space, could be in sharing their works. And so that's kind of what led me to pursue opening here in the Lower east side for the last year and finally where I was able to find the right space, find the right partner to help get it open, get it off the ground. And here we are.
Speaker A
Can you talk to me about your curation? Because, you know, when I, when I look at the work that's on Tinder, when I look at the work that's on Heft, when I see the visuals of, of the shows that, you know, the, your big group show that opened these new solo shows, it looks like work I would see in a, in a Chelsea gallery. And that, I don't know if that's necessarily what people think. When you throw around terms like crypto art or NFT or AI, each time you use a term like that, people have kind of a silo in their head that they kind of put those ideas in. Can you talk about your curation and maybe where you're coming from and how you're finding and choosing the, the artists that you're working with?
Speaker B
Yeah, I see two topics in what you're just asking, and one of them is Just about the terminology. And I know amazing crypto art and I understand why people talk about NFTs and I have a lot of passion for what they can provide, but I actually don't use those terms. I don't them, for the most part, in presenting works in person, at fairs, at the gallery, with a mixed audience, frankly. And I think that focusing on the art, it is contemporary art, whatever process it was made with, those are stories that we can tell as people get to know the artists, as people get to know the works and have their own first impressions without so much of the detail around how they were made. Once they, once they're at that point talking about the digital processes, the fact that they are tokenized and you know what that brings as an opportunity for them as collectors is fantastic. In fact, it's a lot better received once there's a focus on the art first. So just in terms of terminology, I understand where some of, or at least I try to understand where some of the prejudice comes from. And instead of fighting that head on, I really try to meet people where they are in terms of their appreciation for, for art and what their collecting desires are and what fits. So, you know, at the same time with the curation, I am looking for something that really is new. The term avant garde gets thrown around a lot, but there really are artists working in such a new way, but in such a really strong community of artists who are feeding off of each other and doing something so interesting with these tools, with code, with artificial intelligence. And so I'm looking in some ways for an expression of the breadth of that work with the curation. So rather than trying to establish some certain style, which I think a lot of people have a preconception that digital art has a style or AI art, there's a style of it. But what I find is that people come into the gallery and they look around, they say, oh, this isn't, this isn't all just a bunch of AI slop. Like maybe some of the things that they're looking at used, some of the things that they're used to looking at. And I think the breadth of what we present is part of the potential power. In some ways, it's not about one curation, it's about an entire new movement of what art can be. And so if you think forward five years, 15 years, 25 years, are artists going to be using these tools more or less? Of course, I believe it's going to be almost ubiquitous. And we're seeing blue chip artists integrating these tools into their Process, whether known or not known, whether talked about or not talked about, it is happening and it will happen more. And so instead of trying to keep it in a niche or in a silo with a label, I really try to get out there as art. And it's interesting that there are very few galleries showing this type of work to me when it is so broad. And so while my program can be very broad right now, I expect a lot of these artists to branch out and be discovered by other galleries and for them and artists like them using these processes to proliferate further. But for right now, it's a pleasure just to be able to support these artists and expose them to a much broader audience this way.
Speaker A
What common thread do you see with the artists that you're working with? I mean, did they go through the traditional gatekeeping that we see in the art world in terms of ART schools and MFAs and painting practices and photography practices, and now they're expanding their vision using tools, or are a lot of these people coming from the technology side in evolving the art of their tool set?
Speaker B
There's definitely a common emphasis on a conceptual approach within the practices of all of the artists that I work with. Their backgrounds vary. Many of them are, I put in quotes, like traditionally trained, whether through art school or otherwise. Some of them have other backgrounds that, you know, have led them to this place where they have a strong vision to communicate and they're completely dedicated to evolving their, their craft and their vision through their art. And so, yeah, there's not sort of a one size background that I'm looking for in the curation.
Speaker A
What about collaboration? I. I guess on several fronts. You know, you talked about fabrication. Are you collaborating with the artists to help them take work from the, the digital realm into a physical space? Also, I know, like conversations I've had in the past with folks that do work with like Pace Verso. A lot of times you have, like traditional artists that wind up having a technology team come, come alongside to help create generative work that kind of reflects their, their real world physical work. What sort of collaborations do you see in the relationships that you're forming here?
Speaker B
I love the word collaboration, but it can be tricky in terms of how it's applied to artworks. And so I'll break it down. Like, my approach is incredibly collaborative. As a gallerist. I don't have a gallerist background. I have more of an artist background. And so coming up from critique culture at art school to being a creative director working with many artists for over 15 years, in many art institutions and galleries, I, I try to bring that experience and then a kind of dialogue into all the relationships that we have with artists. And so I think, you know, in a, in a more transparent world and a, an evolving gallery practices, I'm looking to make sure that there's true value that we can bring to artists that in particular the artists that I work with have a lot of access to collectors directly. So it's a, it's a different world. And of course we have a gorgeous space to offer for shows and I think some good credibility and visibility online. But I think the biggest value that we can bring is in helping artists in whatever way that they want or need, bring out their next best work. And so that can be just serving as a sounding board from the initiation of a project and conceiving it and evolving it to helping fabricate it, how we present it and talk about it. So definitely the process is collaborative and open. We're not collaborators of the artists. It's still their work. It's absolutely their singular work. And there are, you know, conversely, there are some opportunities that I see to bring different artists together with different skill sets. And certainly those who are a bit deeper with some of the technologies and the craft behind it, I think have a lot of potential for forming really powerful collaborative collaborations with established artists. Most of those that I'm looking at are not so much about bringing a technical skill alone to an artist. It's really about when they have a shared vision and their processes can come together. It's really a rare, it would be a rare combination, but in fact we were able to present a work in our first show that I think really represents this type of approach where Edward Burtynsky, world renowned photographer for over 40 years, we were able to bring a collaboration together with him and Alkanav Zolu, a Istanbul based artist working with artificial intelligence who has expressed, you know, being inspired by Edward's work, presenting completely new series on his own, but then bringing them together to co create something that never would have existed without the two of them coming together. And so I think that kind of multiplier that can happen in collaboration is a great potential for some of the established artists to continue evolving. I'm looking for it maybe just in.
Speaker A
Terms of helping people understand where Heft lives inside an ecosystem. There are what we think of as our traditional galleries and then there are the galleries that have sprung up over the years tied to folks like Super Rare or Super Chief or your gallery isn't necessarily full of large scale, high Resolution LED displays. It's a little bit more physical than that. Right?
Speaker B
Yeah. I've had people come in who do know that we present works online and that they're. There are a lot of digital processes used in creating them and ask why aren't there screens everywhere? As if that were a given. And I, I'm. It surprises me to still actually, even though I've seen those galleries and it's a different approach, but definitely everything that we're doing with the gallery is trying to take a very, a very thoughtful and intentional approach to what might have otherwise been some norm, whether it's an. A normal practice for a traditional gallery or an expected practice for so called digital gallery. I'm way less interested in finding place within a niche or a pre existing established expectation and would really like the presentation to reflect the best display of the art and what the artist's vision is and help, you know, that presentation should really help them reach people in a more powerful way. So if that's helping create physical pieces and media that the artist hasn't used before, we'll do that. If that helps collectors feel comfortable with bringing something home and hanging out in their wall instead of only in their wallet, their digital wallet, then we'll do that too. So yeah, I think we, we want to be somewhat fluid where we can live in a lot of these territories, the gallery world, the Web three world. I think there's a lot of adjacent communities for us to reach as well in design, music and other arts that are also using systems in their own, in their own way, in their own processes and where that sort of story is actually native to say a design community or architects who, who I think, you know, have that, have that background and can see the connection of how it translates into fine art. So yeah, really I've like enjoyed taking those guards down and just trying to welcome everybody in as much as possible.
Speaker A
Can you talk about getting the work out of the wallet and onto the wall? You know, puts more emphasis on the art. I feel like when a person's entire collection is sitting in a wallet somewhere, it almost feels like it's a speculative investment. Right. I think traditionally we feel like we want to purchase and own art so that we can experience it and live with it. And that's not necessarily the case when something is stuck in a wallet. Can you talk a little bit more about that?
Speaker B
Dissecting the feeling and purpose of ownership is an interesting topic that seems to really come to the forefront when talking about NFTs and digital asset ownership tokens. Themselves. And I understand it both ways. I understand the appeal of owning something and displaying it on your wall, in your physical setting, and sharing that with people who come into the environment and having a discussion about it. I also understand the idea of owning things in a digital wallet where you might not be looking at it all the time, but there's a feel that you are supporting an artist by having that ownership that you've collected. Collected something that you're going to keep with you potentially forever. And maybe it is sometimes, maybe it's speculative, or maybe it's also, at some point you might trade that into art that is new. And it gives you that opportunity to say, hey, I've lived with this art in my collection for a certain amount of time, and now I can trade it for something new that I can appreciate as well. So there's benefit. There's benefit, I think, on all sides. And I think that's an important part of the mission for this gallery is, you know, again, in. In my last response of being fluid between communities is making sure that we have something for offer to many different states of mind in terms of collector, collector desires and what's interesting to people.
Speaker A
Now, you mentioned earlier how it's. It's really interesting working with this group of artists that, you know, are very in touch with their customer base. That's not necessarily true for most gallerists. A lot of gallerists, they're fulfilling that end of the cyc cycle, you know, the customer and collector facing. Can you talk about the evolving role of the gallerist? Maybe how your role as a gallerist looks a little bit different than others, Whether that's through the lens of, you know, a broker, an interpreter, an advocate. Can you kind of talk about who gallerists are these days and how maybe you look like that or how you don't look like that?
Speaker B
I can try. I'm not sure I've been around long enough to. I haven't been around long enough as a gallerist to, you know, be the. Be an expert voice on what they are and what they're evolving into. I certainly have, you know, been in and around the gallery scene for a couple of decades. So I understand, you know, how it works, and I can at least talk to a little bit of how we're approaching things a little bit differently, whether that turns out to be the right approach. Time will tell. But, you know, again, everything that we're doing is purposeful. We are trying some new things to work with the different factors that are challenging galleries I think, you know, in terms of this exposure between artists and collectors, in terms of desire for artists to find different markets and different opportunities with other, with other locations around the world fairs that different galleries have access to. So, you know, wanting to, to be both supportive and responsive to those environments, I think is really important for us at least. And certainly the artists that we're working with are a mix of those who have a lot of experience in a more traditional gallery relationship and also artists who not only don't have experience with that, but have not found a lot of interest in it. And so, you know, the practices that we have, you know, respond to the conditions that we can provide value to. So again, back to like, you know, if we can help along the creation process, if we can help with an extra element in the fabrication and presentation process, if we can bring artists to new environments, whether it's more traditionally traditional background artists, bringing them into an online community, or artists who have worked more online bringing them into physical space and environment, you know, markets like New York or Miami, fair scene, those are crossovers that I think we can uniquely bring. And so having that these last three years of really authentically being embedded in a web three scene is something that I think probably a lot of traditional galleries don't have the experience with. And then I also tried to bring a lot of, you know, those decades of being in the arts, specifically here in New York city, to the web3 scene, which also is not particularly a common set of skills and background.
Speaker A
You know, a conversation I've had a few times on the podcast is about the role of mid market galleries and the challenges of mid market galleries in terms of if you do your job well and you do your job right. Right. When you are at the peak of building value for an artist, a larger brand gallery may swoop in and take away something you've built up. You haven't been in this physical realm long enough to have a first person experience of that happening. But do you think about that, do you think about how that might happen and are you preparing yourself emotionally for how you want to deal with those long term relationships?
Speaker B
That gets asked of me a lot because of the different types of practice that we have with artists, which to be clear, we are not exclusively representing artists per se the way that a traditional model would. And you know, I want to work with amazing artists, which I'm able to do. Fortunately, I'm blessed to do that and I want to keep doing that. And certainly there will be times where a relationship ends that I don't want to, and it will be difficult. That's the way things go. Whether you work with exclusive relationships or not, that's how things are. And, you know, I think a little healthy sense of competitiveness actually is one of those things that drives people to make great work or great presentations or run a great gallery. So I don't deny that. But at the same time, I don't want to operate the program out of fear and bring on practices that are only in response to that fear. So what we really focus on are building, instead of representational agreements and engagements, focusing on building partnerships and relationships. And for those artists that we work well with together and they're happy and we're doing good work and we want to keep doing that, we will keep doing that whether there's an agreement or not. And for those where we've worked together for our first time and we realize it might not be the right fit for whatever reasons, could be a great relationship and just, you know, for other reasons, it wasn't the right fit. We're not locked into that. And so if ultimately that means that we work with an artist once and that helps them step stone to another gallery with more exposure and a higher self, I'm happy for them. If it's an artist that we get to work with for five, 10 years in a close partnership and they go on to one of the blue chip galleries in the world, I'm happy for them. You know, I think that there's so much art that we want to show. There's so many artists that I would love to work with where if that's the problem, the quote unquote problem that we have, we're doing a good job, and, you know, maybe that even attracts some of the next generation of artists that we get to work with as we evolve and grow our. Our presence as a gallery. So I don't see those as sort of a scary part of how we evolve.
Speaker A
Who do you hope to reach? When you were running Heft as Tinder, you probably have a pretty good avatar of who your user is, who's coming, what world they live in. How is that vision of who you're trying to reach with the physical space? How is it different?
Speaker B
The digital space is such a global audience of collectors, and there might be pockets of particularly active countries, but it's incredibly global. Right now, I'm so focused on New York City. You know, of course, there's a lot of people who pass through. There's events that bring in a global audience, and that's definitely part of who we're trying to reach. But there's an amazing art community and scene here and market here in the city that we are not connected with, that don't know about, the artists that we're working with, that don't know about our program, and that's my primary focus right now, is reaching them. The obvious focus of that would be people who are visiting, you know, so called traditional galleries already and engaged in that community and frequenting museums here in the city. But I think that there's also those adjacent communities that I mentioned as well that are extremely active here in New York that I think, you know, would be excited about a lot of the work that we're showing who might not even be that engaged in fine visual art otherwise, but could be excited about how new some of this stuff is. So I think of the fashion communities, design and architecture, music, and just, you know, some of these adjacent. Yeah, adjacent industries that I think could be really excited about this work here.
Speaker A
A few months ago, I had a conversation with a guy who opened up the first gallery in SoHo with a pop show back in the mid-60s. And there's something about your story that kind of feels the same. I mean, it's outside of the norm. It's in a neighborhood that I don't, I don't know, there are a lot of galleries in, in your neighborhood. There's kind of a trailblazer sort of feeling to it. Right.
Speaker B
It's funny. Yeah, the, the neighborhood has great energy. It's the, it's the neighborhood I moved into when I came to New York City almost 25 years ago. Actually, two blocks away on Eldridge street was my, was my apartment. So it's great to be back here. And I think that it's the perfect location for us. It's really where I focus the search for a gallery on. And you know, to your last question of who we're trying to reach and what I didn't mention also is a new generation of collectors. It doesn't specifically mean only young people, but that is a, that is a part of it, I think, as not just the years, but the decades go on for that demographic to find visual art, fine art that resonates with them is important. And you know, these are generations that are digitally native from birth. I think that some of the tools and the way that they're used are not going to be as surprising to them as they have been to past generations. That's just the way it is. And so being here in a neighborhood that reflects that energy definitely Feels right. And there is an amazing, actually there's an amazing arts community here. There's over 100 galleries on the Lower east side peppered throughout. You know, what's not a huge geographic location, but definitely we wanted to have a ground level space with, you know, ample room for showing a lot of art here. Because of that visibility within, very, very active, creatively connected community.
Speaker A
Can we talk about some of the art you currently have a show up with, Gretchen Andrews? Can you tell people about maybe this show and you know, maybe some examples of folks that were in the group show when you opened up back in May?
Speaker B
The work here at the gallery is really going to look varied over the year and years, for sure. Opening our first solo with Gretchen Andrew has been an amazing way to show the richness of what, what art can be by using and addressing some of the culturally relevant uses of technology today. So looking for her work, these are, these are oil paintings that integrate facetune algorithms. Facetune algorithms are a prolific modification to videos and photos on social media used by a high percentage of online posts. And so it's been interesting watching people come into the gallery and you know, kind of knowingly not. Oh yeah, face tuning. Well, when you see that applied to Miss Universe contestants and how dramatic the modifications are to these, you know, I'll put in quotes again, most beautiful women in the world. It's really striking how much this common app is actually shaping and reshaping visual culture and our concepts of beauty. So Gretchen Andrew identified this years ago and has been working on this process to, to, you know, pose these questions about the impact of, of how we look at beauty and how we use these apps. And I think by creating oil paintings out of them, it becomes sort of a more, a larger point for consideration. And having them in the gallery sort of emphasizes that moment that's needed to stop and reflect on what's happening in our culture today. Those are the types of conversations that we want to create at the gallery. And I think we have the opportunity to do with artists that have a wide variety of whether it's a message to communicate, a vision to share. And I think with our first group show there was a strong thematic approach that really examined the changing definitions of what is reality today in a world that's impacted by AI and fake news and the so called post truth world. The artworks, the 17 artworks in that show, each in their own way, re examined that, that moment, this, this moment that we're in right now through their work, we actually have another group show. It'll likely be the last group show that we do for a while. But it's important one because together with the first group show, it sort of triangulates the program. And as I talk about the breadth of what we're going to show and the types of artists that we work with, you know, there's something very, very different in this next group show. There's more abstraction artists working with code directly. There's a lot more material experimentation in sculptures and light installations and all sorts of different media. So, you know, I think through those two group shows, we'll see a lot of what the program will embody over the coming years in terms of solo shows.
Speaker A
Can we go way back to your beginnings because you went to risd, right? And you know, RISD has a real reputation for having an old school fascination with craft. I think we can agree on that. And so I'm just wondering, you know, your own personal journey from an appreciation of craft to an appreciation of concept. And I feel like a lot of people enter the art world at different places, collectors enter at different places, and some people are kind of naturally predispositioned to feeling like if somebody isn't creating something with their hands that's fooling my eye, then, you know, it's not the same. We talk a lot about how, like, the advent of photography in the 1840s, you know, liberated painting to be able to go new places, that, you know, painting could quit its day job of representation and go new places. And now it feels like AI and many of the digital tools we have now are, we're kind of at the same place. But can you talk about your own personal journey or your opinions on, like, this dichotomy of craft and concepts?
Speaker B
Yeah, I was coming into RISD and got into RISD already. Art obsessed across a lot of media. I ran my school darkroom and was very focused on photography. I was an active painter and also was creating websites and digital art as well. So this is mid-90s, late-90s. And one of the reasons I, I, I really wanted to go to RISD was not only for their appreciation of craft, but most importantly, the way that they focused on how to apply craft with meaning. Like what is, what would be the purpose of using different material and media to reflect a certain vision, whether that's, and they divided between fine art and design, you know, so whatever the purpose, whatever the use case is, you know, how do you use that craft in a, in a purposeful, authentic way? And I really wanted that. I knew, I knew the, you know, from A digital perspective. I knew the design programs. I ended up going into the design, the graphic design program there. I wanted a more theoretical education. I wanted more of the traditional craft side of things. And I'm really happy I did, you know, great. Art school, I think, is so much also about learning from the other students that are there. And that was also one of the most valuable parts of that experience. And, you know, going through class critiques, heavy class critiques with those incredible artists, young artists, definitely shaped a lot of how I interact with other artists still today. And what I took into my practice as a designer for many years as creative director, running an agency that worked with arts institutions and lifestyle brands and, you know, interesting young companies in the. In the fashion and design space. So, you know, I think craft can go a long way in expanding a story in an artwork. It can pull people in to a greater appreciation of artwork. And I think that, you know, combined with a strong purpose, whatever that is, whether, however abstract that might be, is something that I still look for and highly consider with all the artists that we show.
Speaker A
What do studio visits look like these days with these types of artists? Because, I mean, it's probably not what we think of in terms of a traditional studio visit.
Speaker B
I have traditional studio visits and I have very non traditional studio visits. I am introduced to artists where I don't know their work at all. And that visit might be some of the first instruction. And there's ones that I've been following their work online for. For years, actually sometimes decades. I had the opportunity to work with Jason Sullivan and I'm still working with him recently. I came across his work, I believe, in 2000, 2001.
Speaker A
I had him on the show a couple of years ago.
Speaker B
No kidding. I gotta go back to that episode. That's great. He's incredible, you know, and so. And to watch how he has evolved, his practice is really inspiring. And anyways, back to the studio visits. You know, of course there's a lot that's done digitally. Having the gallery here has already changed the way that I interact with artists. And, you know, part of the long search for the right space was making sure that we have an area where we can take that collaborative approach. I talked about it and interact with people here. Have it be an alive space where not only I can work with and our team can work with artists as we're setting up shows and they're conceiving their projects, but also for other artists to meet each other and interact, for them to meet collectors and just have a fluid space. So definitely that's. That's definitely changed the way a lot of those interactions have happened.
Speaker A
So with. With all those years as a creative director in that studio, visitor, in talking with him, do you ever find yourself tempted to ask for something specific that's a little bit different than what they're doing? You would have been on the customer end all those years, kind of asking for something that fits what you're trying to do. Right. And do you ever feel tempted to nudge an artist one way or the other?
Speaker B
Nudging and suggesting? Not only am I tempted, I do it all the time. And I think it's part of my job. I really do. I don't ever ask first things, I don't tell. But to have a sounding board for an artist, to have a sounding board in often a medium where you. It is. There is a bigger opportunity to edit and evolve just because of the nature of that medium. Whereas, like not gonna stand behind a painter and suggest how the brushstroke should go. There's a. There's a different process and oftentimes it's not very explicit, whatever I might say or suggest. And I always coach it as, you know, take it or leave it. But, you know, I think making sure that it comes from a place where it's nothing. Something about credit. Again, I'm not a collab. I am not the collaborator of an artist or work. But everybody's influenced by the things and voices around them, things that they experience. And if I can lend a positive influence or suggestion, I'd rather not withhold that because I think it's not my place. I'd rather put it out there and hopefully contribute something along the way.
Speaker A
What's on the horizon? More solo shows? What's the timing? Like every four, five, six weeks? What was it look like?
Speaker B
Yeah, it'll be around. Every four or five weeks. We'll do a new show. And you know, we have this group show that's opening June 25th. I'm really excited about it. It does crossover. It's a little bit pre summer. You know, it's the summer, but summer's not in full swing yet. And it's also the week of NFT nyc, which actually the event will have nothing to do with the conference, but it's a community.
Speaker A
I mean, that community is really. It's very loyal and very plugged into one another. Right?
Speaker B
Exactly. And it's a community that's looking for all the opportunities to come together in person. So I'm really excited about that and seeing a lot of those folks here in person at the gallery. For the opening, we have a solo show for Helena Sarin coming at the end of July, which I'm extremely excited about. It's going to be a mixture of her amazing ceramic work along with her early AI Gan work. In September, we have a solo, I call it a solo show of the collaboration between Edward Burtynsky and Alkan of Jolo that I mentioned. And that is really exciting also because it coincides with the ending month of his 74 piece retrospective at ICP, which is just a few blocks away. And we'll be doing a talk between myself, Edward Alken and David Campany of ICP at ICP about the work and about AI use in art and photography, which I'm really, really honored to be able to bring that conversation into ICP and the audience there because of just, you know, how this technology is on the front of people's minds. I think there's a mixture of excitement and fear that we would love to address as a team. And then we do have solar programming following that going through the fall and into the next year. So, yeah, lots of exciting stuff coming up for sure.
Speaker A
Adam, I really appreciate your time today. I wish you the best. If folks want to come see or they should come see the work in person, Hef Gallery, 300 Broome Street, Lower east side. Is there anything else people should know?
Speaker B
Adam, come visit us, please. We want to, you know, we're friendly, we want to talk to you, we want to answer any questions, you know, bring a friend, send somebody by. And also we'll be launching a new website in the coming weeks before that show@heft gallery.com and so that will be an important way for us to communicate more about not just what's being shown, but what we have shown. We have a rich history of projects that I think give context to what we're doing now and also, you know, previews of what's coming up. So we'll have some exciting digital releases as well as these solo shows. I've talked about coming to the to the gallery, so definitely please follow us there and on Instagram. And yeah, we're looking forward to seeing people here. Awesome.
Speaker A
Thanks for being my guest, Adam.
Speaker B
Thank you for having me, Craig. It's been fun.
Speaker A
That's all the time we have for this week. You've been listening to artsense. You can find the show on Apple Podcasts, itunes, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. If you've enjoyed this podcast, be sure to subscribe and while you're there, please rate the show and leave a quick review. Your feedback is the key to other folks finding us, and if you'd like to see images related to the conversation, read the transcript and find other bonus features, you can go to Cambia Art and click on the podcast tab. If you'd like to reach out to me, you can email me at craigamvia Art. Thanks for listening.
Speaker B
SA.