We recently connected with Brigette Hernandez and have shared our conversation below.

Brigette , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Five 3 Gallery is the vision of gallerist Brigette Hernandez. It produces and presents a programme of exhibitions and events as well as provide a vital platform for a wide range of disciplines, cultures and contexts. Presenting art in a way to satisfy and excite collectors of established and emerging artists alike.

MISSION

To develop an understanding and appreciation of art’s complex role in reflecting and affecting how people relate critically and creatively to a changing world.

To present a changing programme of well-curated, visually stimulating and thoughtful exhibitions that are supported by appropriate events and publications, which make a distinctive contribution to their viewers and win the respect and attention of local, national and international audiences.

To provide a platform for established and emerging artists, as well as create a destination for collectors to discover new artists and works in a personalized and streamlined fashion.

In pursuit of its mission Five 3 Gallery is committed to the principles of artistic freedom and acknowledges the special relationship that exists between galleries, artists and collectors.

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 consider myself an accomplished art advisor with over 7 years of experience in the art world. I have developed a deep understanding of the art market and a keen eye for identifying emerging trends, establishing a reputation for providing expert guidance to clients looking to build or expand their art collections. I began my career as a gallerist in Los Angeles, earning a Bachelor’s Degree of Fine Arts from Loyola Marymount University.
I somehow always knew that one day I would end up owning a gallery but didn’t see that as my immediate career. During my time in collage I started an online boutique selling handmade jewelry that became my main focus after graduation.
In 2017 I moved to Newport Beach, and everything changed. I sold my business and started working at an art gallery in Laguna Beach. The director took me to open a new space in New York City and it was then that I realized I would open a gallery of my own sooner than I had anticipated. By then I had developed a deep knowledge of art sales and honed my skills in curation and collection development.
In 2018, I founded Five 3 Gallery, an art gallery and advisory firm that helps individuals, institutions, and corporations build world-class art collections. Over the last couple of years, I’ve built a track record in the art business, working with clients to acquire works by established artists as well as emerging talents.
I am very passionate about art and dedicated to helping clients find pieces that speak to them on a personal level. I like to take the time to understand each client’s tastes, needs and investment goals, and provide tailored recommendations that align with those criteria. With me as your art advisor, each client can trust that their art collection will be built with care, expertise, and a long-term view.
I am also passionate about helping artists build their careers. I love working with artists. You’ll often hear me say I love working with artist so much because they bet on themselves. The vulnerability is admirable; to put pieces of your soul on canvas and then try to put a price on that. I find it commendable that they can tell a story, evoke emotions, or show their world view through different mediums.
I provide guidance and support to emerging artists by helping them in the areas of marketing, networking, and all around understanding of the art market. I also help them to develop a strong portfolio, artists statment and assists them in finding gallery representation, exhibitions, and advise on pricing and negotiation of sales.
A big part of my job is to connect my artists with collectors, curators, brands and other industry professionals.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I’ve always been passionate about art and had a great eye for talent. I spent about two years working in galleries and art fairs, building a network of contacts, gaining a deep understanding of the art market, developing my art sales skills, and really just soaking up and learning everything I could from the people I was meeting and working with in the art industry. However, I am an entrepreneur at the core of my being and I always want to work for myself not someone else. I saw gaps in the business that I wanted to improve on. I felt like every art director I met was so out of touch with the artists they represented and I wanted to do things differently. I wanted to showcase new emerging artist, trends ,and ideas. I wanted to change the way people approach art galleries and breakdown preconceived notions about galleries being unapproachable and a place for only the ultra-rich. I ultimately wanted to open a gallery where I could us my knowledge and expertise to help emerging artists achieve success and help young collectors start exciting collections.
But let’s be honest starting a business takes money, and I knew that I would need to have a significant amount of capital to get my venture off the ground. So, you decided to start with your own savings from the previous business I sold. My initial ideas was to start off as a traveling art advisor. Where I would travel to different art fairs representing a handful of artists and grow my collector base that way.
I did a small emerging art fair in LA that was really expensive and I didn’t sell much at all, the sales barley covered the cost of the booth. So I knew I needed a new plan.
Artists want a gallery space to showcase their work and that what I needed as much as I didn’t want to be tied to a physical location. At this point I didn’t know how I was going to pay rent on a gallery space in Laguna Beach but I knew that if it was God’s plan then he would make it happen, and he did. I met an artist was looking to lower his costs by renting out part of his gallery and I jumped on the opportunity. I also had sold a painting that was just enough money for my first month’s rent & deposit. #Godsplan. A couple months later the artist I was splitting the space with decided to move and I absorbed the entire gallery space.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

I like this questions because I think it’s obvious to any entrepreneur that you don’t have a business if you don’t have clients and in the art world it all about having the right clients. In my industry everyone, and I mean EVERYONE wishes they had a Billionaire that they could call their client. The truth is you really only need a handful of true collectors and a couple great interior designers to have a successful gallery, but that is not an easy feat. These relationships take lots of time to create, nurture, and develop. It also takes putting yourself out there and placing yourself in uncomfortable situations. I was lucky I started when I was young because when your young, you’re dumb and you’re more likely to do things you wouldn’t when you’re older. Like stake out women with luxury handbags at art fairs and try to convince them that you’re the art advisor they should work with.
I can’t tell you the countless times I would eardrop on people’s conversations and then politely interrupt if they even slightly mentioned art. I put myself out there and it paid off. Networking is the single best thing you can do to grow your art business. And making sure you network with the right people at the right events. In the beginning I would go to young entrepreneur networking events but I quickly realized these people are not my buyers, and I was wasting my time.
There was a program we utilized in college to identify our market segmentation called Prizm, I used that and found deep insight into who my buyer intimately is and used that information to my advantage.

I also knew I needed a handful of interior designers so I joined The American Society of Interior Design as an industry partner, where I would later become an event chair and meet some of the most important people who helped shape my business. Some people in my business shy away from working with other gallerists and advisors but I love a great collab. Sometimes they have the client and you have the artist and vice versa. Throwing amazing events and collaborating with other businesses is a great way to meet new clients. We throw an event every year called Creation through Collaborations that brings together people from all different industries to create an amazing experience for our clients, family, and friends.
Digital and social media marketing have shown a great return for our online store where we showcase our entire collection of artworks from over 200 artists from across the globe.
I found that nothing beats quality customer service, if people like you, they see that you work hard, keep to your word and, you can deliver you bet you will get referrals and repeat business.

Contact Info:

• Website: five3gallery.com
• Instagram: five3gallery
• Facebook: five3gallery
• Twitter: five3gallery
• Youtube: five3gallery

Image Credits
Kelvin Cheng Cherry Day Ne