FRED.GIAMPIETRO Gallery

Hello everyone! I am so excited to keep you all posted about my incredible summer internship! I am an intern at the FRED.GIAMPIETRO gallery in New Haven, Connecticut, right across the street from the Yale Art Gallery and the British Art Center, where all the museums are in dialogue with one another. The Giampietro Gallery is an incredibly special kind of gallery, which unfortunately is fading in the art world. All of the artists represented, and the pieces in the collection, are carefully, and lovingly handpicked by the owner, and he specializes in discovering up-and-coming and local artists, as well as folk art. The gallery’s vision merges folk art with contemporary art, to reintegrate contemporary art with art that has traditionally not been recognized as Fine Art, and giving these artists a place in the art historical conversation.

I was very excited and nervous to begin working at the Giampietro gallery, because my plan has always been to work in the art world as a painter, and potentially open my own gallery, however I did not know how these two could merge, and even if the gallery world was the right place for me. After working two weeks at the Giampietro Gallery, I can confidently say that the gallery world, and opening up my own gallery someday, is exactly the place for me! I have already learned so much. I have mastered the inventory program used by most galleries and museums in the country which is an incredibly beneficial skill to have upon entering this world, learned the cataloging system, have formed relationships with many of the artists and other well respected gallerists, updated the website and artist’s pages, managed the press and publications for the Gallery’s blog, learned the intricate process for packaging and shipping art, and even played an integral role in the installation process, as a new show just opened last Saturday! All of these skills are CRUCIAL when working in the gallery world, which is an intimidatingly elitist industry.

As sad as it is, art and artists really do not receive press, and therefore, much respect in this world unless they are in New York, but Giampietro gallery is the only gallery in Connecticut, and one of the only galleries outside of New York that is honored to participate in many art fairs in New York.

I have learned so much about the art world’s atmosphere, and about which kinds of galleries or museums I would best fit in, and I can clearly say now that I have a vision for what I want to do when I graduate, which was my biggest goal for this summer. I am so incredibly excited to continue throughout the summer and gain more and more experience and responsibility in the gallery! I already have a key and have been trusted with opening and closing the gallery, and I am so excited to take on even more responsibility and absorb as much information as I possibly can in order to open my own gallery, and learn the next steps for me.

Here’s a sneak peek at the show that just opened on Saturday with artists: Becca Lowry, Elana Herzog, and Jane Miller.

Olivia Joy ’18