Today we’d like to introduce you to Timothy Smith.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Timothy. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am a New York transplant who worked in galleries all over Chelsea and Soho for 23 years. So, it took something special to convince me to uproot my life and family and relocate to South Florida. That something was actually someone, a loyal client who just happens to own Gulfstream Park, along with the adjacent shopping, dining, and entertainment venue, The Village at Gulfstream Park. Mr. Stronach called me out of the blue one day and told me he was thinking of opening a gallery. He told me he wanted me to create it from scratch and run it and that he would let me do whatever I wanted with space. Even so, it was hard to say goodbye to my space in New York, I was doing well as an art director in the most important art center of the world, and at the time, I knew nothing about the South Florida market, so I really had to give it some thought. But in the end, my wife was ready to leave the hustle and bustle of the city, we wanted to raise our daughter in a less urban environment, and I was thrilled for the opportunity. And with that, Sirona Fine Art was born at the tail end of 2013.
The design of the gallery was to be open and airy, the opposite of many of the New York galleries he came to know and love. The first intention of some gallerists is to put up a lot of walls to maximize the amount of exhibition space. But, I did the opposite, opting for many moveable walls so visitors could see the art in the round with nothing blocking their view. I sought a balance to show as much as possible, to benefit the artists’ chances of selling.
I understand the challenges of artists firsthand. I did a lot of freelances illustrating for books and magazines when I finished school. It was incredibly fulfilling, but I knew it could be unstable. So while produced somewhat whimsical illustrations by night, I worked with very traditional, serious prints and pre-20th-century art and antiques by day at the galleries. In 2006, with a baby on the way, I knew it was time to let go of my freelance work and focus on developing my gallery business. But, I felt like I needed to change the choice of work I was exhibiting, art from the past. Because I was giving up that hands-on, creative side of me, it became incredibly important to work directly with living breathing artists, as opposed to the auction houses and estate holders that typically handled the iconic pieces I was working with. To know that I was helping support artists in the slightest way by being a small part of their craft was very rewarding. I wanted that connection with them, and from my own experience, I know how important it is to feel like someone has your back and is giving you that support and encouragement we all need. To that end, I make it a point to sell only original pieces at Sirona, which concentrates on contemporary representational art. Why would you want a reproduction when you can have a one-of-a-kind original?
I also want customers to buy to art not because their financial advisor told them it would be a good investment, not because their interior designer told them it would look great in their living room and certainly not because some art consultant told them it had artistic merit. Art should be instinctual, like music. There has to be some primal attraction to it, maybe even one that can’t be explained. It’s the opera you love even though you don’t speak the language or the silly pop song that you’re drawn to for no reason at all. Buyers have to listen to their gut and go with what moves them. There’s merit in all kinds of art, but you have to be moved by its inherent magic.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The choice of my art is representational and highly skilled, as opposed to obviously commercial, contemporary and abstract work favored in South Florida. But the artists I choose do not compromise in their choices to do highly skilled work that requires dedication and years of practice. I should do no less. Art galleries walk a thin line and they can open and close quickly. We have been fortunate to keep our gallery open for nearly 5 years.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Sirona Fine Art story. Tell us more about the business.
I have a hands-on approach with all my artists, I do not see them as supplying “product” but regard them as incredibly special people. I will keep certain works on the wall for years because I believe in them. I do not care about the people who are not interested in a great work, I am waiting for the person that does care, understand it, and takes it into their home.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Good and bad luck happens to us all. However, nothing good has ever happened to me in a vacuum, it has happened because I was putting myself out there in some way and my luck is in occasionally finding a connection in making myself visible. There is much to be said for waving your hands around and jumping up and down on a daily basis, it is much more certain that you find your own luck than it ever finds you.
Contact Info:
- Address: Sirona Fine Art, 600 Silks Run, Ste. 1240, in The Village at Gulfstream Park, Hallandale Beach, FL 33009
- Website: sironafineart.com
- Phone: 954.454.9494
- Email: timothyartsmith411@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sironafineart
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