Kristine Woodward is the founder and owner of Woodward Gallery, which she and her husband, director John Woodward, established in 1994. Kristine graduated from Beth Israel Medical Center and Pace University, before retiring as a Board Certified Critical Care Registered Nurse. She has been the AGBU invited Moderator and Panelist on “The Art of Business” with the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Paddle 8 Auction. Kristine appeared in various episodes of television programs, such as “Home By Novogratz”, “Art Detectives”, and the local news. Kristine consulted and was featured in the Richard Hambleton documentary, “Shadowman” by Oren Jacoby which premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. In addition, Kristine has published numerous essays and press releases on both contemporary and urban artists and their work.
What is it like being a NYC Art Gallery for nearly 25 years, a quarter century?!
Working with the public to provide art culture and public exhibitions has been quite a ride! We started in SoHo and have been pioneers on the LES for quite a while. There have been huge changes with the way people appreciate art today versus 25 years ago. We have adjusted to a global art market through technology. Art collecting has moved into a virtual age where people research and see lots of material online to make informed decisions. We are able to help navigate their interests and introduce additional ideas.
It has been our pleasure to have met incredible folks who respond passionately to art and have allowed us to help develop their collections. We have worked with extremely talented Artists and have raised awareness on several who have made lasting public impressions, like Artists Roy Newell (1914- 2006), Richard Hambleton (1952-2017) {There is a documentary out now about Richard Hambleton, Shadowman by Oscar nominated filmmaker Oren Jacoby, which we were involved with for the eight years of filming!}, Artist/ Actor Val Kilmer, and Gorillaz co-founder Artist Jamie Hewlett.
Our mission has always been to feature artists and educate the public. It is wonderful to have touched so many guests with the shows that we mounted throughout this time. By having open hours, our exhibitions received 1000 people a week! It was both inspirational and exhausting to be in the exhibition space all day every day, but exhilarating all the same.
Just last year we moved to an appointment model of operation, so we could offer more individualized attention. People can now experience our exhibitions 24/7 from our street level windows and receive additional details through our website. Clients call to make an individual appointment to visit and talk further about their interests. It is an exciting new phase for our gallery! The response has been amazing! We have had a great time meeting people from around the world and sharing knowledge.
We also show fine art throughout NYC in Lincoln Square, SoHo and Tribeca at the Gourmet Garage locations. We have been featuring original art in their windows and large store interiors for over 15 years. We believe gourmet food and art culture are a nice combination!
How do new Artists get a show at Woodward Gallery?
Our Director John Woodward has kept his eyes open to potential new Artists all along and has been instrumental in developing careers. He is well connected and fully engaged with the art market. He has been known to invite a new Artist into a group exhibition to be shown with contemporary masters. Our Artist Review Criteria changes yearly and updates can be followed through our website (WoodwardGallery.net) and on social media. My best suggestion to aspiring artists is to become familiar with the Gallery you are submitting your work to and understand their policies or specifically what they are seeking. For instance, we receive 3000 submissions a year on paintings, street art and sculpture. If you submit a proposal for a black and white photography show for instance, that is not necessarily something we specialize in.
What is the key to your success?
We have been very creative with our Gallery practice all these years. Have stayed dedicated and passionate about the art world. We try to stay ahead of trends and have been lucky to have survived major NYC events like 9/11, Hurricane Sandy, the financial recession. We strive to build lasting relationships, remain relevant, and lead by example.
What does your typical day look like?
Wake up too early usually after staying up too late, and walk our 2 Sharpei dogs. Walk dogs again to work by 11am, drink lots of coffee! Get ready for the day by preparing for appointments. We have warehouse storage for the collection, so we bring paintings in tailored to the meetings ahead. Artwork can be seen night or day through our exhibition windows, so we get requests at all hours to see and talk further about something specifically. My day never seems to have enough hours as we answer emails, respond to phone calls, identify new inventory to buy, keep the website updated. Will end the gallery day by walking the girls home. We live and work in Manhattan, so it is such a pleasure to be able to commute by foot.
What social media are you obsessed with?
Facebook was my go-to, but now I love Instagram. We are an art gallery and pictures are what we do. We try to post Art of The Day or educate on Artist birthdays. It is rewarding to connect by sharing events, artwork from our Artist studios or the chaos of the gallery day through photos! We try to begin or end the day with a landscape, cityscape, sunrise or sunset shot, engage with beautiful images.
https://www.facebook.com/WoodwardGalleryArt/
https://www.instagram.com/woodward_gallery/
See the original article at: The Native Society