Steven Vail Fine Arts to celebrate new location with exhibition
Sierra A. PorterTO READERS: This story has been updated to reflect the following correction: An Oct. 6 story about Steven Vail Fine Arts in Des Moines should have said Iowa has more than one fine art appraiser with Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice certification. Among those appraisers is Jon Thompson Appraisals of Cedar Rapids.
Steven Vail, the owner of Steven Vail Fine Arts-Project Room, is celebrating his new location with "The Show Must Go On" exhibition.
Now located at 1501 Walnut Street in Des Moines, the exhibition will feature works from artists that SVFA has represented over the years. Vail, a Windsor Heights native, already had in mind who he wanted to feature in the upcoming exhibition. Artists featured in "The Show Must Go On" will include Joe Andoe, John Baldessari, Ross Bleckner, Jonathan Borofsky, Andy Burgess, Karin Davie, John Giorno and more.
"We have an inaugural opening in October," Vail said. SVFA hasn't had an opening or an exhibition in approximately five years. Vail noted that some people think the company has fallen off the map, so the opening of the show will be a commemorative. "They're indicative of what we've been doing over the past two decades," he said.
SVFA formerly occupied the Historic Teachout Building located on Locust Street for over a decade. On why he decided to move to a new location, Vail said: "We started seeing more local people interested in the gallery. ... This is much more accessible for them, and I'm excited about this area."
SVFA has been occupying its new space for three months now.
Architects converted a dim space on the ground level of Des Moines' Fitch Building into a light-happy space at Vail's request.
"They didn't put a whole wall up because they wanted to leave the past, a reminder of that and that's why this floor is this way," Vail said.
Vail and his friend Jake Christensen, owner of Christensen Development, found the new space. Christensen was the first person Vail called to help him scout new locations.
"When we walked into this space, it was instant. I mean we both could visualize the potential," Vail said.
Comprised of the main exhibition salon, an art research library and auxiliary exhibition space, SVFA is free to the public. Patrons can utilize the space for events. Former City Manager Rick Clark got married in Vail's last gallery.
Where it all began?
Vail has been in the art industry since the 1990s. He initially attended Drake University as a finance major.
"When I was younger, I bought a few pieces of art, and when I was in my early 20s, I sold a few pieces," Vail said. He then began to spend more time in New York City around artists, poets and musicians. When Vail made his return to Iowa, he asked his friend David Sanders to build him a gallery, and his art career began.
Vail's first gallery was on Southwest 5th, and then he moved to the Financial Center. Vail later became a private dealer. Vail started to build his clientele, and now part of his business includes appraisal work.
"We've done work for some significant estates on the East Coast, and there's a lot of analytics that goes into what we do," he said.
Now, Vail has a clientele that runs five pages long and a staff of up to seven people, which includes a chief researcher who creates illustrated exhibition guides.
SVFA specializes in modern and contemporary American and European art.
"Every one of our artists has some institutional authority or are in museums," Vail said. "A lot of the work we have, by coincidence, we've been handling them for more than a few decades."
The pieces showcased at the gallery often comes from auctions, dealers or publishers.
"It feels like we have our niche and we refer a significant amount of business to other galleries here," Vail said.
What: "The Show Must Go On" Inaugural Opening
When: Friday, Oct. 25, 5 to 7 p.m.
Where: Fitch Building | 1501, Walnut St, Des Moines, Iowa 50309
More:Steven Vail Fine Arts-Project Room
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