We recently connected with Brandon Wisecarver and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Brandon thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

I came to NYC in 2008 with a simple dream to work in the arts… somehow, whatever that meant. Within the first two weeks of arriving in NYC, I received a response from a Craigslist ad looking for artists to show in a small Lower East Side gallery. It turned out to be a vanity gallery (one that asks you to pay to show your work on their walls) and I was naive enough to try but I didn’t have the $500 they were asking for.

Before moving here, I had never been exposed to the concept of a vanity gallery. I might’ve walked away had I known how bad the foot traffic would be or how under-prepared the proprietor was to sell art. I was hungry for any movement forward so I proposed a deal with the aspiring curator. I would watch the shop for 2 weeks in exchange for my one-week solo show. They agreed and I was set down a path towards working with artists in the gallery setting.

Since then, I’ve worked with influential people and reputable organizations while maintaining a good reputation. It takes work in a field widely regarded as pretentious and cut-throat. I’m sure there were ways I could’ve “sped up the process”, but creating art is a very long game. Selling it is no different.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m very proud of the work I’m doing now through Solas Studio’s membership program. I’ve taken all the lessons I’ve learned working with commercial galleries and artist-led community organizations to make our org the best it can be. I worked closely with the studio’s founder to develop a business model that helps relieve some of the financial pressure artists can feel when taking their personal practice to the next level and growing their own brands and collector lists.

Our in-person meetings, developmental workshops, quarterly art exhibitions, and print sales offer a way for people to come together in the real world and meet face-to-face with others who can help them get ahead. We’re focused on more than getting their art out the door. We are building a business centered around helping artists and photographers grow, improve their craft and business acumen, and forge lasting relationships. Creating art is intensely personal and because of this fact, can be extremely isolating.

As a printer and producer of fine art objects, we take a “Dunder Mifflin” approach. We’re not the biggest print producer in NYC and we’re not trying to be. We take a personal approach and guarantee our work/client satisfaction in a way a larger company simply could not. We’re always trying new things, making new partnerships with local producers, and aim to act as a hub or one-stop shop for our members. We want them to think of us first when they have any questions, concerns, or material needs relating to their art practice.

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

I am a big fan of any tool that can help artists make a living. As a digital artist, I was initially very excited about the rise of NFTs. It was a match made in heaven. Art is a market that essentially boils down to selling and trading certificates of authenticity. Despite popular opinion, digital art takes just as long as its analog counterparts, yet it is difficult to sell.

Before NFTS, I once asked an attendant at one of my favorite digitally-focused galleries (Bitforms) what I would receive if I bought a video piece that was on display. They said I would get a piece of paper authenticating the work and a USB drive with the file. NFTs are a better alternative than this.

However, the problematic nature of a completely deregulated space has proven to be too much for them to maintain a good public image. Rug pulls, pump-and-dump servers, scammers and a focus on medium-as-message over digital artistry have left a bad taste in most artists’ mouths. If an artist I work with now is not primarily focused on digital work, they physically recoil at the mere mention.

Have you ever had to pivot?

My origin story as an ambitious young artist turned gallerist and community manager was a pivot. In some ways, I live as a weather vein turning into the wind, rather than a train moving down a clear track. I love art because it is constantly evolving and changing rather drastically. I love New York City for the same reason.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.solas.studio/membership
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/solasstudionyc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/solasstudio
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@solasstudionyc4698

Image Credits

David Vega