Tarrah von Lintel is the director and owner of  Von Lintel Gallery in Los Angeles.

Is your current exhibition open to the public by appointment? And does it matter who the “public” is, i.e. only prospective buyers, art critics, art curators? Unfortunately, the Bendix Building, which houses 10 other galleries aside from mine, has completely closed the building until April 1st.  We are unable to access the space at all at least until April 1st.

Are you in touch with your collectors and are they still interested in buying art or are they showing hesitation due to the stock market slump? 
At the moment everyone is focusing on their immediate needs. Our conversations center around how everyone is doing and coping with the quarantine.

Bendix Building.

In your opinion, how long will this temporary shutdown of the LA art world last? 
From what I can read I believe this can last a month or more.  It’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better, unfortunately.

How are you overcoming the challenges we are now facing?
Like everyone else, we are focusing our attention online.  I am considering changing my website to reflect prices, which I have never done before.

How can Artillery’s readers help galleries and artists while they are closed?
There is one very effective way to help and that is to buy art.  All small business owners, artists included, depend on people buying art to make a living.  This would be a great time to get that work you always wanted.  

Kate Petley, Close Ties, 2019.

It’s common knowledge that most gallery pedestrian traffic doesn’t buy art, so how does the closing of your gallery affect your business? And can you see this as a trend for the future? 
The trend of declining visitors to art galleries has been going on for some time and I think it will intensify.  The problem for some of the galleries is that we champion younger artists that aren’t household names, so people haven’t seen the work elsewhere in a museum or public space.  It is much harder to get someone to buy a new artist’s work they have never seen in person.  If someone wants to get a Basquiat they already know what they are going for. They don’t need to be convinced anymore.

I think that we are already seeing how this is affecting art.  I believe that art that is easily read in a small jpeg–such as figuration–is doing better than abstract art, which is harder to read on a jpeg.

The closing of my business makes it impossible for me to get people into the gallery to have that one-on-one experience with the artwork.  It makes it especially hard when you are working with a new artist who hasn’t been seen in person by your collectors such as my current exhibition with Kate Petley.  It is her first exhibition in Los Angeles, so it is important for critics and curators to see the work in person and recommend it.

Tarrah von Lintel with (fittingly titled) Left Alone by Kate Petley.

During the Great Recession, were people still buying art? Can that still happen again? 
I guess anything can happen.

You mentioned your economic and market knowledge. I’d love to hear more about this. Could the only silver lining of this situation be is that art fairs are now canceled? (just adding a little humor here)… Is there anything surprisingly positive or otherwise you have noticed so far? Or something you feel you or we all could learn from this?
The effect of this global pandemic on business is going to be devastating and long lasting.  It is going to get much, much worse than it is now.  My hope is that by being forced to live in their own spaces people will start to re-appreciate the work that they have surrounded themselves with in their home.  At some point, people will start to visit each other again in small groups for dinners because we all need physical interaction.  I am hoping that it will reinforce the fact that seeing an artwork in person cannot be replaced by a jpeg or an online viewing room.