Marc Gurton has created a real problem for me. And a great joy. I keep bringing home art.
I had owned very little art before I met Marc in his Mass Ave gallery/shop 13FOREST Gallery. I had been to gallery events in many cities. I would stroll through galleries and gallery districts. Admire some pieces. Scoff at some. Act as self appointed critic of the art and the attendees. 🙂
But I couldn’t see these pieces in my home. Or afford/talk myself into the ones that I thought I did want in my home.
The gateway drug for me might have been a gallery show that I attending on Newbury Street in about 2004? I mention what might be an obscure show, because it impacted me. And I have met many people since then that remember that specific show. It was a gallery show of “small works”. And it began to change my thinking about paintings and what I would bring home and where I would hang them. Since then, in my real estate life, I have seen paintings in people’s homes that I remember from that show. And they did, indeed, buy the pieces from that show and spoke similarly about the show and how it changed them a bit in their thinking about art.
Buying a large statement piece for my home would take up a lot of any budget that I might assign to art. It would take up a lot of wall space in my home. And it would keep me from having many other pieces. That large piece will take a lot of thought and some kinds of accommodation/sacrifice to own. It feels like a lot of pressure to make the “right” choice.
Smaller pieces have been a revelation for me. I can have many pieces that bring me joy displayed in nooks and crannies throughout out my home. And they add so much happiness.
Marc currently has a small piece show running, and always has small pieces available in the gallery. Heading into the holidays, he has stocked up on additional small pieces that are even more accessible for gifts and, you know, treats that I might buy for myself and call #selfies.
My treat? I finally bought a Carlos Santiago. Marc introduced me to his flowers a few years ago. But I ran into the many mental hurdles of buying a large piece and spending a large chunk of money and what if it just doesn’t make me happy on so many levels?
But I have bought my first Carlos. And I am sure there will be more.
And thank you to Marc for making it so easy. And happy.
Marc offers a few incentives for buyers. First, I can’t believe how well he knows his customers and keeps track. He can recognize me when I come in, remember what I have bought, and what I have loved and not yet bought.
He offers payment plans that let you have a layaway plan to ease into a purchase while not missing out. (Yes, I have seen paintings from that Newbury Street show in people’s homes in recent years that I wish I had bought when I saw them. But I missed out.)
And my favorite feature of 13FOREST Gallery? The THANK YOU PROGRAM.
Here it is, from their website
We appreciate your continued support of 13FOREST Gallery and the local artists we represent. That’s why if you spend $300 or more with us during any calendar year, you’ll be automatically enrolled in our Thank You Program.
Members of the 2019 Thank You Program are entitled to our gift of 20% off any one item purchased by March 31, 2020. Â
We look forward to thanking you in person!
13forest.com/thankyou
Thank you, Marc. You have brought much happiness and joy into my home.
And one day that Thank You Program is going to put a large painting on my living room wall. #goals
