Why you do what you do?
The opportunity to run my own gallery, curate and exhibit diverse works of art is a dream job for me. What makes this job even more dreamy – and challenging – is that I’m not limited to four white walls, instead the gallery embraces open natural light where space and art
interact with the public. It’s a whole different feel than other gallery spaces. The original concept of running an art gallery in a large public space (approximately 10,000 sq ft of wall space) came from the owners of 180 Maiden Lane – and I was thrilled when they approached me with the idea. The New York City Planning Commission approved the idea as well, and I was able to launch Anderson Contemporary in 2015 with a solo exhibition of philanthropist/photographer Russell James. Since then I have exhibited multiple emerging, mid-career and established artists as well as hosted many special events, dance performances, women’s networking events, charity events, and fireside chats with artists. A few of the highlights before Covid have been collaborating with outside organizations such as Animation Nights New York/Best of Fest, a monthly screening of curated animated short films (some were on the Oscars short list) followed by a two day interactive art and animation festival; Working with The Chinese World Arts Eduction Corporation supporting/exhibiting 10 amazing
emerging female artists from China; A photography exhibition of stunning images by 20 renowned Israeli photographers from Karen Lehrman Block’s book “Passage To Israel” with a charity concert featuring singer Matisyahu; and a wonderful collaboration with Villa America Fine Art featuring work by legendary writer/cartoonist Anthony Haden-Guest. I am very proud of and thankful for all of the exhibitions/events at Anderson Contemporary and I think having an open mind has helped bring some extraordinary and diverse projects to the space. I believe/hope this public arena provides a wider contribution to the greater art community of Lower Manhattan (and beyond) – and that is what excites and motivates me to continue on this journey.
Ronni Anderson
Owner/Director Anderson Contemporary
Is a life goal important to you and how would you define this?
My life goal is to proceed on this path of discovery – continuing to give voice to artists with diverse backgrounds, attract more recognition for the artists and the projects at the gallery, and being open to more interesting collaborations. Most importantly for me is to remember that life is about living, experiencing as much as possible, not taking things too seriously, being supportive and loving to my family, friends and colleagues.
Why is it important to follow your dream and what have you share from this?
It’s important to follow your dreams, but not to get discouraged if your dreams morph into something else – always keep an open mind!
Where do you go from here, what does the future hold?
Working at Anderson Contemporary for as long as possible is the plan! Retiring on a boat! We have an art event on July 7th with collectors and artists from our current exhibit “Future Myth.” This exhibition is curated to reveal the way artists see and define their worlds through the culture of personal and cultural myths that helped form their perspective on the world they’re living in. Real stories and examples in the lives of the artist’s will also be rich resources for these reflections. The artist’s creative approaches are extremely diverse in play with context, craft, and selected media. And, in so doing, ideally, the impressions and alteration of the myths of the/our world will perpetuate. Artists: Frank Ape, Chee Bravo, Patrick Dougher, Distort, Mason Eve, Isabelle Ewing, Ivan Orama, Franc Palaia, Brian Rothwell, Ian Sullivan, Misha Tyutyunik. We have some upcoming women’s events and possibly a fashion show this summer/fall – And we are gearing up for a big abstract/figurative painting exhibit in September with a preliminary line up of work by Lowell Boyers, Minako Iwamura, Andrei Petrov and Richard Nocera. The date of the opening is TBA (For more information – http://www.andersoncontemporary.com)
About Ronni
I’m a California native, but I left at age 19 to start my undergraduate studies at the Universite Paul Valery, in Montpellier, France (a life changing experience). After 2 years I returned to California to finish school and received a Bachelor’s degree in French literature and Art History. After backpacking through Europe I landed in NYC and began working for Sotheby’s in their Trusts and Estates department. After the art market crash in the early 90s, I moved to Miami Beach where it was just beginning to morph from God’s waiting room into the fashion/arts Mecca it is today – I helped launch a restaurant on Ocean Drive that hosted one of the biggest Drag “Tea Dances” of the time, where dancing to 70s music in the street and on top of Beer trucks wearing cone-tipped tassel bras was all the rage! At the same time I worked as a studio assistant to artist Kenny Scharf –followed with working on special projects and events for Ocean Drive Magazine. Back in New York (I had two babies at this point) I worked part-time for photographer Patrick McMullan and simultaneously worked some print/commercials/modeling jobs – but it was important to me to return to working in the art world so I became the director of Keszler Gallery, a Contemporary art gallery with locations in NYC and
Southampton – representing works by Russell Young, Banksy, Bert Stern, Peter Beard, Russell James and others. In 2011, I co-launched Mayson
Gallery on New York’s Lower East Side, and in 2015 I had an amazing opportunity to launch Anderson Contemporary, a contemporary art gallery, located in the vast, enclosed-glass public plaza of a commercial building in NYC’s Financial district. (180 Maiden Lane) Over the past seven years I have exhibited a range of contemporary works in abstract and figurative paintings, street art, sculptures, photography, and XR art experiences.
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