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?
Yes, we have kept in communication with our collectors, and we have been heartened by their continued support and commitment to Night Gallery, which has been felt in the last weeks of quarantine.  

Brie Ruais, “Currently Halted Tide (130 lbs versus 180 lbs),” 2020. Image courtesy of the artist and Night Gallery.

In your opinion, how long will this temporary shutdown of the LA art world last? 
While it is seeming like California is (gradually) readying itself to reopen businesses like ours, it feels too early to say when we will reopen our exhibition space in Downtown LA. That said, with so much happening online (including our current presentation in the Dallas Art Fair Online Viewing Room), the art world doesn’t quite feel shut down—we are as busy as ever, and again, have been greatly encouraged by the ongoing enthusiasm from our artists and collectors. 

How are you overcoming the challenges we are now facing?
Though shelter-in-place is certainly a restriction and an interruption of our normal goings-on, we are focusing on the positive aspects of being pushed to share work in new ways, and are finding much to be excited about. We have been especially happy to embrace the opportunities that online viewing rooms provide, in particular our ability to guide viewers through some of our artists’ most elaborate or research-intensive projects. We are currently preparing multiple presentations highlighting individual projects by artists on our roster and beyond.

Anna Rosen, “Colorfield,” 2020, from her solo exhibition “How 2 Burlesque the Void,” on view in the Night Gallery Online Viewing Room through May 30, 2020. Image courtesy of the artist and Night Gallery.

How can Artillery’s readers help galleries and artists while they are closed? 
The perseverance of art—not only the markets, but the persistence of inspiration and artistic creation even during trying times—is deeply affirming to us. Artillery‘s readers who are artists should keep making art, and all lovers of art should continue to peruse the websites of their favorite galleries and artists for much-needed encouragement during dispiriting times. 

During the Great Recession, were people still buying art? Can that still happen again? 
Night Gallery was founded in the wake of the Great Recession, so its shadow looms large over our history, though our story does prove that people were still buying art and artist-run spaces were still viable. While it feels early to compare that time to now, people have supported the arts throughout history, as art is a vital part of civilization.

Davida Nemeroff with her daughter at Night Gallery.

Some gallerists are worried, others hopeful and optimistic. Could the only silver lining of this situation be is that art fairs are now canceled? Is there anything surprisingly positive you have noticed so far? Or something you feel you or we all could learn from this?
This moment has really solidified what we have already established over the last 10 years, and that is our community, which reaches beyond the artists we represent and the collectors who support our program, even our core team at the gallery. Our community includes the many people that support Night Gallery, namely our family, photographers, journalists, framers, fabricators and our audience.  The best we can do with this moment is appreciate the resourcefulness we have found in ourselves as a team and continue to run with it in the future. For me personally, the silver lining is spending time with my daughter, which has honestly been a gift beyond words.