Past couple of weeks have been super busy, likely the next couple will be too but wanted to squeeze in some words on our latest major acquisition, an assemblage piece by Hunt Rettig, part of a pseudo-triptych called "Back Footpath." Rettig is an exciting artist with a gallery backstory that I love to relate. One day late in 2003(I think) I got a call about 15 minutes before hosting a wine-tasting event, something we used to do in the early days to get exposure for the gallery. These were frantic events, a lot of anticipation before and major clean-up (not to mention hangover) the next day. Needless to say I had little patience for anyone calling on other business minutes prior, let alone a brand new artist seeking representation. The artist who called that day gave me a story about being from Aspen and down for the day, he had just visited Robischon (widely considered, both then and now, the best contemporary gallery in town) who had told them that he should contact us and might be a good fit for our program. Now, it is quite often that you get this or a similar line, but usual not in relation to Robischon, so at the time even though I had no desire for an artist visit, I nevertheless gave enough pause for Rettig to find an in. I told him I didn't want him coming inside the gallery because of the event, but would meet him in the alley and take a quick peek, hoping I could dismiss him easily and not have to create a scene inside. I'll never forget that moment, as the artist agreed and took little time in showing me a small sample of his work and shoving a portfolio in my hands with a cover that was pure magic. All I could think was that the only reason Robischon passed him up was due to him being 100% green..... the work had a definite magnetic energy and character that was fresh and full of potential. I told him quickly that I would keep a hold of the portfolio (which I still have to this day) and get back to him. He was a good guy, didn't need to have his hand held or any promises made, mostly I suspect because he knew he was onto something special (and being from Aspen didn't hurt, in fact he had been recognized by the illustrious curator Dean Sobel from the Aspen Art Museum, now director of the Clyfford Still Museum, with his early works). I was pretty excited when I got back into the gallery and showed the portfolio to my associate Gilbert, trying to relate the back-alley conversation as best I could without losing focus on the task at hand. The next day upon further analysis we both agreed that we might give this guy a shot and in fact ended up working him into an exhbition that would mark the first major transition of the gallery the following year, when we brought on board a third player into the gallery, the widely known and esteemed gallerist Ron Judish. The rest of that story is too long to relate here, but essentially Hunt's debut was enough of a success on our end to get excited about his future potential, though issues surrounding the quality of his work did surface, proving Robischon's assesment of his being distinctly green. But the best part of the art business has always been taking risks and honing talent, and Hunt has ended up proving himself greatly......not quite to the extent as someone like William Betts, but his path has been pure and pretty remarkable. I still feel that he has created a very singular concept that cannot be repeated or transgressed through other methods to create a similar result. The best thing as that he has truly come to understand the depth of his technique and how to apply it in different directions that will make him very succesful and highly collectible, in fact he's one of the few artists we represent that has a valued collector list like no other, much of that due to his position in Aspen, one of the hottest scenes in the world. He's still a very cool and humble guy, but with just enough of a randy edge to be worth working with. This particular piece is part of a recent trio called "Back Footpath," which to me signified a distinctly exciting new understanding in his work, particularly at a smaller scale. We were fortunate to pick it up recently, fully knowing that a future acquisition would likely be way out of our price range. The work itself will always be a mystery. Hunt uses thin poly-films in a way that is super simple to understand yet completely incomprehensible in how he wields them to achieve the magical results. Most people think his works are photographs, but once you see how the curved areas capture light to create shifting hot-spots and different colors, you know more or less that there's a lot more in it than meets the eye. Almost impossible to capture the quality of with an image, which to me relates to some of the best art always.
