Anna Wunderlich, Memphis-based art consultant, offers a behind-the-scenes view of how she came to love art and what a typical day looks like for her as she dons her many hats. She also offers some advice on how to curate a personal art collection that tells a unique story.
Q: Describe your background, professional path and how you came to love art.
A: As far back as I can remember art has been at the center of it all. My grandmother, Joyce Gingold, was an art teacher and an artist. As a form of babysitting, I was placed in her art classroom and carried around to countless galleries and museums. It was daily exposure, but also very much what I was drawn to as well. I studied art and art history at the College of Charleston. Upon graduation I went on to teach art for 7 years. I was also somewhat of a studio artist myself, painting and studying while teaching. I continued visiting galleries and studios and organically started helping people select artwork. No question my studio artist background and arts education experience has given me a unique perspective to share with clients.
Q: Describe a typical day in your life as it relates to your profession. What do you love about your job and where are the challenges?
A: I guess the biggest challenge and what I love most is that there is no typical day!!! I have a lot of energy and thrive on a lot going on at one time - so I like that there is variety. Any given day you could find me…wearing a hard hat during construction phase of a project, developing project concepts with a branding team…climbing on furniture in an office space to measure a work of art for cataloging…visiting an artist’s studio before a show to hear about the process…visiting galleries…searching the internet endlessly on gallery websites for potential client needs…facilitating an install of carefully selected works with thoughtful placement…attending artist lectures and gallery talks…meeting with a designer to assist in expanding upon the design vision with a layer of art collecting and placement guidance…FaceTiming or Zooming with an out of town client…and, if I am lucky, wandering through an art fair seeing hundreds of works under one roof.
Q: What is the best way to build a personal art collection?
A: When working with clients, it is very important to me for an art collection to feel personal and unique and to tell a story. This is more than art as decoration or filling a space. It doesn’t mean that this has to take forever or that it can happen in an instant. It is a process and is developed with specifics for each client.
Q: Describe your art collection.
A: Luckily, my collection started with a few gifted things from my grandparents, including Burton Callicott and Carroll Cloar works as well as specialty buttons created for Joyce by local artists like Veda Reed. This showed me the profound necessity for me to live with art. Usually when I buy art, it is different than when I work with clients. It happens by accident - most likely when I am on the hunt for others, whether in a gallery or on an artist’s studio visit. A work of art will speak to me and I just know. I don’t exclusively think about specific intended spaces, things move around, but the end result is that my collection is personal and unique. I like a lot of variety and often the unexpected.
Q: You have created a lot of wonderfully creative gallery walls. Can you describe the process behind the creativity?
A: First and foremost, there is not just one way to go about it. I think about gallery walls as mini art collections. The principles and elements of design are important to consider, like ensuring there’s a balance of scale, color, texture and medium. I find gallery walls to be more interesting when they incorporate a variety of such. Often an addition of “objets or curiosities” can add unexpected interest and mix. Ideally, the process develops organically, layering on items that work together and that tell a personal story.
Q: I want to know more about how you source art and the process you refer to as an “art twirl”.
A: A friend of mine in Charleston started calling a fast-paced art adventure day with me, art twirling…it does describe it well! For instance, when I visit Charleston, I have my must-do stops at galleries, artist studios, frame shops and more, only stopping for a latte’! A Memphis art twirl, spinning west to east, would include the Metal Museum, the Medicine FACTORY, Tops Gallery, Sheet Cake Gallery, Crosstown Arts Galleries, Studiohouse on Malvern, Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, David Lusk Gallery, Goetze Art and Design and the Dixon Gallery and Gardens. Always trying my best to see what is out there!