Catherine Couturier is the owner and director of Catherine Couturier Gallery, formerly the John Cleary Gallery, the premier photography gallery in Houston, which specializes in classic 20th century photography and contemporary work, in addition to a wide range of rare and vintage books and publications by many of today’s best-known artists.
The Catherine Couturier Gallery is committed to excellence with a dedication to the medium in all its forms, with the goal to showcase the best fine art photography available. In addition to AIPAD’s “The Photography Show”, Catherine participates in various art fairs throughout the year, reviews portfolios for organizations and festivals such as Fotofest, offers lectures for artists and collectors, and proudly serves on the Advisory Council of Houston Center for Photography.
How did you get started in the art world?
My first job in the gallery business also became my last. Just out of college, I was hired to work at John Cleary Gallery, Houston’s only gallery specializing in fine art photography. My background in photography consisted of one history of photography class in college and a fairly disastrous darkroom class at Parson’s in Paris where my lack of skill and passion (I had to have studio art classes for my major) culminated in being shunned to a broken enlarger in the corner, far away from the, I’m sure, quite serious art being made by my classmates. I started working for John in December of 1999, and here I still sit today, albeit after a change or two.
Tell us a bit about your process and how you work with both your artist and your collecting clients.
While I treat all my artists the same from a business perspective, everyone has their own unique styles and quirks when it comes to communicating and planning. Same goes for collectors! I like to meet people where they are, so if you’re really active on socials, let’s chat on socials. If emails aren’t your thing, we’ll text. Want to send memes back and forth all day? I’m your girl on that front too! I think you have to be malleable in any business where you deal with people because we’re all different. I’m lucky, though, in that I genuinely like everyone. Well. Almost everyone!
What makes a good gallerist?
I don’t think you can be a good gallerist without being honest or without being able to play well with others. The honest part is pretty self explanatory, but you’d be shocked to learn how many people in the art world aren’t (or maybe you wouldn’t be as you’re in it). And honesty doesn’t just mean telling the truth vs lying. It means being brave enough to tell the truth at all times, even if it’s embarrassing. Even if you screw up. We had a collector who asked us to send a photograph on approval. We sent it, she opened it, and she emailed us that she had to send it back because it was a similar but incorrect image. No problem! We’re sorry! Mistakes happen! She sent it back, we sent her the correct image. Except it wasn’t. We packed up and sent the exact same wrong piece. How embarrassing! But I had to be honest and tell her that we were just disorganized and rushing and made a mistake. I could give you so many examples of times someone has messed up, which we all do, and then lied about it, which we all don’t. Be honest in all ways. In what you think, in how you conduct business, and it how you deal with people. Lying is easy. It takes some real guts to tell the truth.
As for playing well with others, this business is all about relationships. You need to be able to work with your artists, collectors, curators, designers, consultants, and a whole myriad of other people. You can’t own a gallery without them. If you can’t get along with people, you’re sunk.
What sets you and your business apart from others?
Oh, gosh. I don’t know. I talk a lot, I’m very outgoing, and I’m definitely no elitist. That isn’t to say that other people aren’t the same, but I really do make it a point to make my gallery as welcoming as possible. I hate the inherent snobbery of the art world. Everyone should be out looking at and enjoying art. You can go into a museum even if you don’t “know” anything. You can come into a gallery without buying anything. This world is for everyone, and I wish more people knew that. Art can be really intimidating, and that stops so many people from enjoying it. I want to help end that.
What advice would you give for those looking to start collecting fine art?
Oh, I have so much! One, and most importantly, buy what you love. Don’t worry about which artist will gain the most in value or what piece might be about to sell out. Let’s say you buy a piece for $1,000. It’s a clever little piece that you pass every day on your way out the door. Ten years later you sell it for $1,000. But how much happiness did you get in that ten years? How many times did it make you giggle or start a conversation with a visitor? At least at the beginning, you live with everything you buy, and it should enhance your life. It should bring beauty to your life or make you think or just put a smile on your face for whatever reason. That’s the most important part.
After that, there’s all the basics. If you want to really build a collection, find a dealer you like and who’s eye you like who has a good reputation. There really are no stupid questions, so ask away. Always be looking so you can train your eye and find out what you like. Don’t worry about making mistakes because the only one you can make, really, is buying from someone unethical, but even then that’s really their mistake, not yours. Most importantly, have fun! Sure, your hand may shake as you write the check for that first piece, but after you get started, there is nothing more fun that searching and finding those treasures that become yours all yours.
Rapid Fire:
What’s your favorite place(s) in NYC: There’s this bar in midtown that’s right across the street from where we used to have a big art fair. It’s called Faces and Names. I’ve been going since probably 2000. They have these wild paintings on the wall, and something really fun always happens to me there. I met Charles Barkley once, for example. I had drinks with a few members of The Roots. And there’s many a night to which I’ve been sworn to secrecy, most notably one involving a disco ball, sliders, and a cab driver singing “Boom Boom (Let’s Go Back to My Room)” by Paul Lekakis. I should probably have said the Met or MoMA, but, as always I’m honest to a fault.
What’s your favorite place(s) outside NYC: I’m going to be terribly cliche and say Paris because it is!
Who are you favorite artists: I have about 20 who are tied for first, but today I’m going to go with Mark Rothko.
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt: A tour guide in Paris. I’d build an itinerary specifically for you, and no one would have to waste time seeing anything they don’t care about. Don’t like art? Don’t stand in the Louvre all day! Go to the Sewer Museum instead!
Or maybe a stripper. I’m 48 so I’m not sure I’m headliner material, but I’ve always wondered if I could dance well in those shoes. Barefoot? I’d be able to do okay, but platforms? Jury is out.
What is your favorite thing about working in the art world? The people, hands down. Coming from a small town, there is nothing better than constantly meeting new people who like the same things I do.
Visit The Catherine Couturier Gallery website at: https://www.catherinecouturier.com/
Till next time…
Madelaine
