Studio Gallery would like to highlight one of our fantastic curators, Gaby Mizes, who curated two of our recent exhibitions: Carolee and Ellie Jakes’ The Seven Sisters and Chris Corson and Gary Anthes’ Figures and Ground. It is a privilege to have Gaby as a curator, with her thirty-five years of experience in the professional art world. Having worked as an art historian, museum registrar, art advisor and curator, Gaby brings with her immense knowledge and focus to any space she works in. Gaby makes genuine connections to artists and their work in order to curate the best show possible.
We are so thankful for Gaby Mizes’ talent, care, and efforts, and it is truly an honor to have her working with us at Studio Gallery. To learn more about Gaby and her work, read the interview below.
What would you say is the most important thing you’ve learned during your thirty-five years of experience in the professional art world?
Patience, flexibility, being a good listener, and being organized are vital qualities in the professional art world. The most important thing I have learned is to tackle several projects at once and to stay focused. Working in major museums around the world (Museum of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires, MoMA, New York, Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, Glenstone Museum, in Potomac, MD) has been an amazing learning experience as well.
How did you get into curating?
It was in 2018 when a non-profit organization, Latinas 4 Latinas, contacted me to be the Curator for their Silent Art Auction – Connect 2018 – that they were organizing to raise funds for NUEVA VIDA to help Latino women with cancer in the DMV area. It was an unforgettable experience selecting 50 artists and 100 works and installing them at the Mexican Cultural Institute, in Washington, D.C. Despite the art being so eclectic, the display ended up looking like a museum exhibition. I realized that I had a hidden passion for curating.
What is your curatorial process?
I sometimes prepare a floor plan with the artworks in the show or prepare a foam core model to get an idea of how the exhibition will look.
At the exhibition space, I like to see all the works on the floor, against the wall, and study them visually. Then I begin to move them around and place them according to color, style, size, meaning. There needs to be a connection between the works. I always like to hear the artist’s thoughts because to me, it is the artist who must be happy with the outcome.
Then I like to see them lifted on the wall to give us an idea of distances between the artworks as well the height to determine the eye level. Once the works are positioned, they are hung. It is hard to explain in words, but the process always flows very smoothly and the artist’s consent.
What are some highlights of your career?
I would consider the highlights of my career to be: my initiation and development of the storage space for sculptures at the Museum of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires in 1988; working for MoMA on the exhibition Latin American Artists of the XX Century, which traveled to Seville, Paris, Cologne and New York in 1992-1993; developed, organized, and oversaw the move of Glenstone Museum’s collection into the new Pavilions and curating its storage in 2018.
Do you have any favorite exhibitions/shows you’ve worked on?
Latin American Artists of the XX Century, MoMA, NY; American Arts and Crafts (traveling exhibition organized by Los Angeles County Museum of Art); Divina y Humana, National Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C.; Glenstone’s The Inaugural Exhibition, Fischil & Weiss and Roni Horn exhibitions; Embassy of Argentina’s collection in Washington, D.C.; Artina 2020: Light: A Sculptural Solar Dance, in Sandy Spring Museum, MD; and recently, Philip Guston Now! At the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and at the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
What was your experience curating The Seven Sisters by Carolee and Ellie Jakes and Figure and Ground by Gary Anthes and Chris Corson?
It was wonderful working with these artists. They contacted me some months ago to ask if I would be willing to curate their shows. I am always happy to help so I did not hesitate and agreed. Because we were installing both floors of Studio Gallery, I had to divide myself and give each exhibition my fullest attention during a Sunday afternoon. I worked with Carolee to envision the globes, made of her collaged prints, to be in the front room. I wanted them to be seen from outside so it would attract people passing by to enter the show. The globes became the focus of the front room, with one large black and white print on the left wall. In the second space we placed the pieces in a just right and original way, working with the space itself. It brought me a big smile once I knew that Carolee was pleased with the final display.
When I arrived at the lower space where Figures and Ground was shown, I thought to myself: how are we going to make all of the pieces fit in this tight space? Chris had his thoughts on where to place the kiln fired clay sculptures, so I first followed his suggestions. I believe it is extremely important to always consider the artist’s vision. Both Chris Corson and Gary Anthes agreed that we would first place the sculptures and then work with Gary’s photographs. It became evident that Rabbit Hole, the ceramic sculpture with the sitting figure inside a metal hexagon lined with mirrors, was such a powerful work that it needed to be at the end of the space to draw visitors in. My overall idea for the exhibition was to make the sculptures and photographs complement each other: the three-dimensional renditions of human form with the photographs of mannequins, masks, statues, puppets. There was a conversational balance in the exhibition, a dialogue between the artists and the viewer, between the curator and the viewer, and between the artworks themselves. Gary Anthes and Chris Corson’s work coupled with their warm and kind personalities made my experience as curator truly inspirational- a real privilege.
Why is promoting new artists so important?
It is essential to promote new artists so they gain visibility and ultimately, credibility. Everyone needs a chance. There are so many great artists in D.C., and they are hardly known. I am always amazed at how creative they can be in their use of materials, techniques, mediums, processes, and colors, but without art marketing, people will not see their work. As a result, they will have a hard time selling their work and building a career as an artist.
What is your favorite period of art history?
Art history is fascinating. When I was 12 years old, I wanted to be an Egyptologist because I loved Egyptian Art. Then I traveled to Florence and admired all the Renaissance works of art. Later, I thought I would specialize in 18th century French Decorative Arts. I like Impressionism, the play of light on objects and how color was intensified using pure pigments in small brushstrokes so that the eye blends the colors and creates new ones, rather than mixing colors on the palette. One the other hand, I am also attracted to the abstraction of Neoplasticism, where the language is restricted to horizontal and vertical lines and squares and rectangles, the three primary colors (blue, yellow, and red) and the three non-primary colors, gray, white and black. It is very hard for me to pick one favorite period!
Do you have a favorite artist or work of art?
I have several favorite artists: JMW Turner, Claude Monet, Van Gogh, Xul Solar, Piet Mondrian, and Agnes Martin.
Interview conducted by gallery associate Lydia Embry.