Selena Cerami, Director of Eve Leibe Gallery
Eve Leibe is a pop-up -bricks and clicks- kind of business. The concept of a nomadic gallery gives us the flexibility to collaborate with different spaces, going from London to Florence and Los Angeles without bounds. Moving from a permanent space allows us to be part of a new art community every time.
Currently, we are showing the works of Cristina O’Hanlon, Lena Grewenig, Lukas Luzius Leichtle, Marianne Vlaschits and Marta Pierobon in collaboration with 13 Project in Soho London. In May we will be showing Manon Steyaert, Amelia Briggs and Mona Broschar in Florence in collaboration with the art residency Numeroventi. In June we start in London again with a solo show with Giorgio Celin following up its first digital show Pajaros del Atlantico. Celin through his art sheds light on the Latinx Diaspora phenomenon, underlining the gloomy sense of not belonging to a specific geographical location and the immigrants' struggle to get accepted and integrated into our society.
Hi Selena, can you tell us what is your background and how this affected for being a gallerist in London?
London is a great city to meet talented artists, curators and collectors, it’s an honour to be part of this wonderful art community.
The city and its urbanism offer inspiration on a daily basis, from historical buildings to the best art collections of any period and time
For a crash course on contemporary art and market, London gathers annual fairs which are also the perfect spot for networking.
In the last 10 years besides the well-known institutions and the Mayfair gallery's net, new collective and art spaces have been opening and spreading in every borough of London. Since an early age I have been visiting London with my family, at the age of 8, I knew already I was going to live there.
I have studied in London and my background spaces from design and architecture to art market strategies and global studies.
Art has been a constant throughout my life, it seems like it has always been there.
What challenges have you faced in this job that you have not thought about them before?
Any business can be challenging, when your passion becomes your profession, it is hard to manage the time in your day and life. The first years of a business are pretty intense. We are still considered a “baby gallery”; establish a name, an image and a programme means a lot of work, a lot of research. Not only the collectors have to trust and support your choice, but also artists have to believe in your concept and vision.
Building a cv takes time, but you can’t forget to have fun with it too. The gallery schedule is a bit different from a traditional Monday to Friday job. Exhibitions are pretty hectic, from the concept idea of a show to the opening night, there are meetings, 1000 emails, 2000 phone calls, and it all becomes very physical too with installing, packing and shipping (which is my nightmare).
How do you discover emerging artists and what is the most important feature about choosing artist?
Nowadays, I discover artists mostly online, reading articles, checking online and physical exhibitions when possible. A few artists are also introduced to me by collectors, art dealers, curators and other artists. I am missing going to degree shows in London, which is the best for networking and getting to know talented emerging artists.
What do you think about trends in Art and how important it is for artists to address this trend?
I am not sure about following the trends. If it’s good art it is timeless!
I am sure we are all unconditionally influenced by what is around us, however, at the same time, we are that society that makes the “trend” that artists depict in their works. We are constantly changing, which I see as a good sign, art should not be static. I am glad to witness a slow change, the art world is becoming finally more inclusive.
In the art world who determine what is “hot” and what is not are mostly institutions, mega galleries, big collectors and auction houses. It’s all interconnected.
Said that…I still think artists should have the freedom to explore different compositions, techniques and topics, especially if they are at the early stage of their careers. Find their own language that is truthful to them. The best part for me is to see the evolution of their practice and see them grow.
During the pandemic period, London was one of the cities that was complete locked down for months. How did this situation affect the gallery process?
Surely, 2020 was a demanding year for all of us. Our lives have changed profoundly, postponing, cancelling exhibitions and art fairs has been very frustrating. Many art businesses and institutions struggled to stay afloat. Despite the difficulties, I believe that this weird time has also shown us the great resilience of our industry. The art world, however draining, conservative and difficult it can be at times, has also revealed itself as the strongest survivor, without ever stopping to share culture, educate people and let them enjoy the greatest form of human expression: ART.
Eve Leibe Gallery had the opportunity to embrace innovation and implement online strategies that changed the way art is experienced, bought and sold.
When I came up with my gallery, I knew that I didn’t want it to be traditional, I wanted to experiment with something new, perhaps not so common in the conservative art gallery space. It is great to see more and more social, cultural and practical barriers breaking down. I am very excited to see what the future holds.
What do you think about virtual exhibitions? Are they as successful and satisfying as physical exhibitions for both gallery and artists?
Art for me is also a synonym of experience, exploration and challenge. The gallery must follow. Digital and physical shows are 2 very different things and they must be treated as such. They are both very satisfying, in a sense. I had so much fun designing Eve Leibe Gallery digital space in collaboration with the LA-based Studio Tarn @studiotarn. We displayed more than 60 artists in our virtual space and the feedback we received was gratifying from all parties, us, artists and visitors.
Can you tell us about your current exhibition, ‘Cave Canem’. How you choose curator, theme and artists for your shows?
CAVE CANEM co-curated by Lauren Powell, is a collaborative project that was born during the pandemic and it involved a curator, a gallerist and an architect, each bound at home with their furry friend. Aimed at analysing and highlighting the companionship between humans and dogs during a time of social distancing, CAVE CANEM is a visual and emotional support to us all, but it also explores digital and physical enclosed spaces - from homes to art galleries - and natural outdoor settings. The gallery, which was uniquely designed for this exhibition, blurs the boundary between what is modern - such as a virtual art gallery - and what is natural - such as woven canvas painted by the artist or a blade of grass. We assembled a home for our furry friends in these works while allowing visitors from all over the world to step out of their apartment and get into a play on the natural world, awakening the biophile in us all.
