One of the things we love most about Cleveland’s creative scene is how often local talent is thoughtfully connected to a much larger conversation. Abattoir Gallery has been a familiar presence in our newsletter for that very reason—continually bringing meaningful work, compelling voices, and a national perspective back home. In this Q&A, gallery founder Lisa Kurzner shares how she supports Northeast Ohio artists, builds bridges with collectors, and what’s inspiring her most on the art fair circuit from Miami to New York.
Enjoy,
Jen Waters
Q&A
How has Abattoir supported Cleveland artists and expanded their reach beyond Northeast Ohio?
The gallery opened in 2020 with a mission to show important work from Northeast Ohio in a national context. As far as helping Cleveland artists, I’m pleased to say that I’ve placed their work in public and private collections in other cities as a result of participating in art fairs. I’m always pleasantly surprised to meet people who follow and respect our program!
I began my art fair participation with a local artist. Shawn Powell, in 2021. In Miami, I exhibited two Cleveland artists —Jen Harris and Gianna Commito—within a larger group. I was thrilled with sales and discovery by new art lovers. In fact, an art advisor I met at the fair is visiting the gallery next month.
Can you tell me about your gallery's strategy for attracting new collectors and artists to the Cleveland art scene?
I hope to grow collectors here with exposure to artists from New York, Chicago, and other major cities. Since Abattoir enjoys a strong reputation with artists, galleries, and consultants in these cities, we have been able to attract established artists to exhibit in Cleveland. The current show, on view until mid-January, includes three painters from New York—an established artist, Cameron Martin, who is represented by a major Chelsea gallery, and two younger painters, both MFAs graduates of Yale University. Both younger artists have excellent exhibition track records.
Hopefully this tailored approach to the exhibition program will encourage art curious Clevelanders to come visit the gallery and chat about our program. I am always open to visits and will open the gallery anytime outside regular hours as long as I’m available.
You regularly exhibit at major national fairs like NADA in Miami and the Independent Fair in New York. From your perspective, what were the most compelling themes or conversations happening across the fairs this year?
The fairs in Miami this year were refreshingly strong, despite lots of handwringing about the decline of art sales during the past year. The quality of work overall at NADA was high, with many curators of corporate collections as well as museums acquiring work at the fair. I found galleries exhibiting a wide range of subject matter and size, with figuration and identity politics waning and abstraction returning. Interestingly, there was a fair amount of work by older artists at NADA, as well as the many recent MFA’s from top programs.
As one of the only Ohio galleries participating at this level, how does showing on a national stage influence your curatorial decisions back home in Cleveland?
When I moved to Cleveland, I was amazed to discover the high level of arts throughout the region in museums and non-profits across the creative spectrum. After working in several non-profit arts positions--as research curator at the Cleveland Museum, and curator for the first Front Triennial—I feel well placed to bring new artists to a wider marketplace and, with that, to establish a market value for these artists beyond the local platform.
What trends or artistic movements did you notice at this year’s fairs that you feel Northeast Ohio collectors should be paying attention to?
Painting is always in full force at the NADA fair, while Art Basel Miami Beach, with its larger stage and booths, begs for more theatrical presentations, including large sculptural installations and very large scale, room size paintings. Textile work continues its strong presence, in wall work, and sculptural installations. Work by Indigenous and Native American artists, historical and contemporary, continued its popularity, seen in the last few years. As an art historian, now gallerist, I am thrilled to discover artists making compelling beautiful work in so many different locations.
What excites you most about Cleveland’s art community right now, especially in the context of your continued presence at major fairs across the country?
More artists and creatives are choosing Cleveland as a great city for green space, and lower cost of living. These artists will soon be participating in the exhibition pipeline, bringing new voices to the creative environment here. I will add that conversations, in the form of programming at galleries and non-profit spaces, are imperative to keep the energy fresh and challenging (in a good way). Abattoir tends to add artist talks to our opening evenings, as a way for visitors to learn about each artist’s curatorial choices for solo or group exhibitions.
We have held artist talks at the gallery for the past three shows—Dominic Palarchio, a Detroiter now in New York, Michelle Grabner, professor at School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and Cameron Martin, based in New York, now also teaching in Chicago. All these artists regularly exhibit in New York and nationally. So it’s a great way for Clevelanders to gain access to out-of-town voices. We also have had Gianna Commito, Dana Oldfather, and Shawn Powell speak during their solo exhibitions as well.