RJD Gallery - The Art of the Pursuit
I opened RJD Gallery in 2009, after a business sabbatical taken in 2002, in the hope to cultivate donors and raise awareness for a myriad of non-profit causes, including, The Southampton Animal Shelter, amfAR, Fountain House NYC, and The Retreat where I was on the board for over 14 years. The gallery has endowed a portion of our proceeds to their support, continued growth, and the success of their missions ever since.
Developing the art of the pursuit, and the refining of specific collections dear to me, started very early and has encompassed many forms; from vintage toys and automobiles, homes, and now to the passionate pull of the narrative artwork that consumes us.
Art is a passion that all of us can enjoy daily, and even multiple times a day to enhance our lives, bring joy to our hearts and a new light to our daily vision. The art we offer is readily shared with one’s family and friends and creates very passionate and deep conversations.
It is also often a wise investment for future generations to learn about and enjoy as well as to potentially create future financial diversification and growth.
Today we are proud to serve an extensive and growing roster of talented artists, and an abundant list of global collectors, many of which share common ideals and a common synthesis of life priorities. We’ve become very close friends with many and prior to Covid we had an annual intimate collector’s party at our home, that was enjoyed by all that attended.
Early on we established exhibitions for Women Painting Women and an annual event in recognition of Black History Month, which reached new attendance levels in 2019, as we were fortunate to have both Don Lemon and Chris Cuomo, of CNN, agree to act as our guest moderators for the evening, and we brought together many of our artists to act as panelists. Phillip Thomas, a Jamaican artist that we met through the New York Academy, and Eric Fischl, has had an exemplary two years, and had 2 artworks acquired by both Beth Rudin DeWoody, and also the Harlem Museum.
We also recognized a developing demand for “American Magic Realism” and one artist, Andrea Kowch, wherein her gripping and unique compositions and artwork have been sold “sight unseen”, and well in advance of completion dates. New pieces of her artwork are now sold out through and paid for, into 2023.
The thematic compositions found in American Magic Realism, and the strong creative narrative that draws us all in, are also found in the artwork offered from the RJD Private collection, in the artworks of Bo Bartlett, Jamie Wyeth, and others.
Our cumulative sales have begun to recover from 2020 and we’ve integrally been involved with many successful museum exhibitions and sales for several of our artists, with more already planned through 2023.
RJD gallery works closely with our artists to plan multiple sized artworks in their exhibitions so that the artist may find creative expression and satisfaction, and to also yield a fair amount of artwork, at varied sizes that we have a demand for. With artwork available both large and small, and through select commissions, they have an opportunity to appeal to a larger audience of collectors, with price points for all budgets. These exhibitions enable and empower the artists to move forward on their journey, and to better serve our collector’s needs, as many of them have virtually little or no wall space left.
We maintain a stellar reputation, wherein the artist and the collectors come first, and we invest heavily with our time, and attention to all details, that are superior to what most would even contemplate, or attempt. We might make it look easy, but it took over 40 years in marketing, development, and customer care priorities to achieve and master the services that we provide to best facilitate and support the artists, and the collectors we all supply and service. Our entire staff is well trained, and works endlessly, 24/7, to serve our artists and collector’s needs.
We are very focused on the quality of the art that the artists create, its strategic placement, as well as the professionalism and knowledge of the gallery team that brings the best and most effective results.
At this time most of our sales are out of our own state, and much of the art travels overseas. Our client list includes everyone from A-list celebrities, Silicon Valley titans, royal families of the Middle East, successful businessmen and women of the Midwest, and astute collectors all over Europe and Asia.
For the fine artists we serve, painting is their most effective, preferred, and important means of communication and expression. The gallery staff must effectively interpret their needs in creating and planning unique individual artist marketing programs as we build their long-term careers, strong and steady museum representation, and collector relationships, with our presence and offered assured provenance, that they, and astute collectors deserve.