Chris Quidley wants you to come into his gallery to experience art - stand before it, listen quietly for a message and immerse yourself for just a moment. Or more. Ask questions, form an opinion, change your perspective, trust your emotions and responses.
Or, shrug your shoulders and move on to the next piece.
“We give customers space to have their own experience, without any pressure or intimidation at all,” says Chris who opened the gallery on Broad Ave. five years ago. “Of course, we can share details about the artist’s approach, technique or story, but in the end, we want visitors to enjoy themselves and feel comfortable and moved by the art.” Quidley & Company has successful galleries in Nantucket and Westport, Conn. featuring works from artists around the world, but primarily from the east coast.
Art is indeed personal. While a cool calm mesmerizing marine landscape may whisper encouragement to some, a bright abstract will reach out and grab others, elevating moods with color and movement.
“You’ll know it when you see it,” says Chris. His team encourages new buyers to come in with opinions on artists they like, styles that speak to them and interior design swatches. Quidley & Company welcomes interior designers, working with them to find pieces (large and small) that will enhance a specific room, lighting and color palate. “We are pleased to work with designers - and homeowners- choosing a few different pieces of art and delivering them to the home to be experienced during different times of the day, watching it in the daylight and darkness, as people move through the home. Keep the art for 3-5 days and interact with it.”
That interaction is important to Chris. When they opened the Naples gallery, they took time to learn about what collectors and buyers who live here are looking for. His grandmother had lived in Naples and his father, artist Peter Quidley, showed in the area, but exploring the demographics, Chris found many residents were from the Midwest. “We discovered people generally gravitated toward modern work, abstracts, unique works with texture, bending toward bright and cheerful,” says Chris.
So, while the east coast galleries show more traditional work, coastal landscapes and marine art, that would not necessarily be the case here in Naples.
“It was eye-opening,” says Chris. Quidley’s roster has evolved to include more new younger artists who work with a variety of materials and techniques that appeal to first-time buyers who are discovering original art can be affordable.