We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Walter Maciel. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Walter below.

Hi Walter, thanks for joining us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

Being my own boss and running my own business has been an enjoyable and rewarding experience. I started my business nearly 19 years ago and opened my contemporary art gallery 18 years ago on March 18. Prior to that I had been employed by other galleries and had the lead position as the Director. Working for other small businesses was rewarding for several years while I gained experience and built up a clientele, as well as a trust with artists. However, I soon realized that I was truly invested in the artists and their work, and I was continually taking my work home with me in the evenings and on the weekends. At some point I thought to myself I might as well have my own business and be my own boss if I am going to work this hard. I started making a financial and conceptual plan to open my own art gallery which was scary and had me diving in head first. I lost my mother a few years prior and she had an auto-immune disease which took her life at 59. The most powerful thing that came out of that incredibly sorrowful experience was realizing that life was for living and part of living is to accomplish your dreams. Her death gave me the courage to take the risk and be my own boss. I had been living in San Francisco and chose LA as my new home for my new business as it was a much larger art scene and more connected to the international art world. It was also cheaper to open a business in Los Angeles in San Francisco back in 2005 and there were a handful of artists who I wanted to continue working with who did not have gallery representation in Los Angeles. Having my own business certainly has its ups and downs, and I will say the one thing I miss is a consistent paycheck. The pendulum always swings in a small business and especially when you’re selling art at a higher value per item. When times are lean, you really feel it and you wonder how the next round of bills are going to be paid. Then things turn around and after a couple sales, you catch up and feel like you’re finally getting ahead only to realized you are paying off the debt or planning for the future. All in all it is a life dream and I am happy to be supporting a group of artists who are making an impact on the world. My motto is as long as I can keep the doors open and my head and body are in a sane position, I will continue to be in business.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I studied studio, art and art history at UC Berkeley and was introduced to the gallery world in San Francisco through one of my professors, Katherine Sherwood, who I now represent. I did an internship right out of college, which led to my first part-time job eventually becoming the Director of that gallery. After six years I moved to another gallery in San Francisco and was the director there for seven years. I opened my LA gallery, Walter Maciel Gallery in 2006 and represent about 25 artists whose career levels are range from emerging to mid career and established. I tend to support artists who work with identity as their main subjects, and specifically comment on their ethnic background, sexuality, gender and/or nationality. I also like work that deals with process and materials often explored in painting with very evocative surfaces. I have sold work to many important museums throughout the US, Europe and Asia. I have established relationships with important private art collectors who have continued to support me over the last 30+ years. My biggest joy is seeing an artist’s career grow over the years and part of that growth stems from exposure in museum exhibitions and important collections.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

In 2008 just after getting my feet off the ground with my new business, which was then 2 1/2 years old, the financial market crashed causing many uncertainties about the future of my art, gallery and livelihood of my artists. During that same fall, my husband, who was then my partner of three years was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, and was in and out of the hospital for a total of four months. My daily routine was getting up in the morning and going to the hospital and meeting my mother-in-law who would stay with my husband most the day and then I would go to the gallery and try to run my business. I would then return to the hospital and stay there until about 1am and head home to feed my cat , and drink as much wine as I could to forget about my life. I was 38 years old and certainly learned to pivot in order to prioritize and survive. Obviously, the health of my husband became my main focus and somehow I managed to keep the gallery going all by myself. I remember staying there late one night installing a show and having a total meltdown crying myself into a fervor. I also remember driving home from the hospital and screaming the words of some of my favorite songs at the top of my lungs. I felt like I was living in a nightmare that kept getting worse and I would never wake up. Luckily, my husband beat his illness and we have continued our life journey, together for the past 19 years. We got married in 2019 and we have made many decisions together as the main operatives of my art gallery.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I come from a very middle-class suburban California background with deep roots to hard-working people who are very resilient. My ancestors date back four generations in California and stem from the farming communities who helped build the fruit bowl of California. My parents were very safe with their financial planning have had great benefits working for the State of California, They built their dream house and traveled mostly by car for holidays. My exposure to the art world introduced me to philanthropy and many different ways of living at a higher level of life. When I made decision to open my own business, I had to plan financially and didn’t know if I would be able to pull it off. As I mentioned before, my mother had passed away and I inherited a little bit of money from a life, insurance policy which became the seed money for my business. Two other collectors and one of my dearest artists trusted and encouraged me with small loans And a flexible payback option. I started my business in the same location that I am in today but I initially shared the building so build-out costs of the space were split into two. That helped tremendously in terms of the necessary capital that I would need to get the physical space together for my art gallery. I have always moved forward in every step of my business with a few good ideas, some financial strategy, and a whim and a prayer.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.waltermacielgallery.com
• Instagram: @waltermacielgallery
• Facebook: Walter Maciel Gallery
• Linkedin: Walter Maciel
• Twitter: @wmacielgallery

Image Credits
Courtesy of Walter Maciel Gallery