Greg Kucera and his gallery are a Seattle institution.
From the day he opened his doors in 1983, Greg has been a leading voice
in the regional art scene and a fierce advocate for the artists he represents.
Well, 38 years in, Greg decided it was time for a change.
He sold the gallery to his trusted long-time associates
and moved to a castle in the south of France.
But, before he hit the road, I wrangled Greg for this exit interview.
Hi, Greg. Hi, Nancy.
All right, so the gallery opened in 1983; on a scale of one to ten,
how naive were you about what owning a gallery would entail?
I would put that at about a nine.
I'd learned a lot from Diane Gilson
who I'd worked for, but I had learned a lot, also from just
wandering around and seeing what the galleries were doing.
But of the prospect of owning a business was was,
you know, an amazing shift in model.
Name one, just one, favorite moment from those 38 years.
Nancy, that is so cruel.
OK. In 2009, we had our second show of the Gee's Bend quilters.
And again, we brought several of them
up to Seattle from from Alabama,
and we had thrown a dinner for them at our home.
And at the end of that dinner,
Revil Mosley, who was really the great singer in that group, stood up
and she she sang for us: "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands."
And she's saying all the various choruses of it...
And then she sang: "He's got the whole world in his hands.
He's got Greg and Larry in his hands." And it just made me cry.
I'll never forget the feeling of having this very elderly Black lady
celebrate these two gay guys
who were throwing a party for them. That's meaningful.
That is exquisite.
You shown lots of big name artists.
Helen Frankenthaler, Kerry James Marshall, Kiki Smith.
But your genius to me is recognizing new talent, and case in point
is the fairly recent Cornish College of the Arts grad Anthony White.
How can you tell when an artist has that special quality?
I do think that there is something that happens with
some of these artists, and that's certainly has happened with Anthony,
where they realized
the gravity of the moment that they're being represented,
and the dealer myself in this case, recognizes it as well...
And when I went to Anthony's studio to meet him, one of the questions
that I asked him was "What do you want out of the gallery relationship?"
And he said, "I want to see my work at the Met."
You know, I've had artists say I want to be in the Whitney Biennial,
but to say they wanted to see their work at the Met
that seem very special to me.
You sold Kucera Gallery to Jim Wilcox and Carol Clifford.
What is it about Jim and Carol that gives you confidence that the gallery
is in good hands? Working with Jim for the last 23 years,
and seeing in him the ideals that that I have
for the gallery, and knowing that Jim will never mistreat someone...
And knowing that Carol holds those same values.
You're moving to France,
a country known for its bread, wine and cheese.
Are you gluten free?
I am not. I am a gluten addict.
Are you sober? I'm going to be
the social pariah over there because I really don't like wine much.
Are you lactose intolerant?
No, I am... I am so tolerant of lactoses.
I love those cheeses.
So you'll be living in a castle with your best friend Larry and your partner Sean.
Three men, one castle... who will be king?
We'll be fighting over that crown!
Greg may be gone,
but Greg Kucera Gallery is going strong. Catch "Quilts
and Etchings" by Gee's Bend quilters now through December 23rd.
More information is at gregkucera.com.
And catch Art Zone Friday nights at 8
and anytime online at seattlechannel.org/artzone