SLO County News BlogGolf, Wine, Real Estate, Business & Travel NewsSLO Art to NO ArtMonday, October 24, 2005This December, owner Gail Johnson will say goodbye to the cozy space she opened a decade ago in a Victorian house she restored on Marsh Street. Business at the Johnson Gallery just isn't what it used to be.The Johnson Gallery is an artistic wonderland where guests can see an array of pieces -- from blown glass and oil paintings to silver necklaces and Peruvian funerary dolls. "We did really well until about three years ago," said Johnson, who plans to focus solely on the framing portion of her San Luis Obispo business. "Things had started stalling, and that's something that you're willing to put up with when you can see there's going to be a turnaround soon. But if you can't visualize a turnaround, how long are you willing to continue under the circumstances?" San Luis Obispo can be a tough town in which to operate an art gallery. While many gallery owners have done well over the years, others say luring customers is a constant challenge, even in a county that's attracting more affluent tourists and residents with disposable income. Several commercial and co-op galleries, including the McConnell Gallery, Compact Gallery and the San Luis Artists Gallery (where artists subsidized the gallery's operation), have closed in recent years -- either because customers weren't buying enough art or artists were stretched too thin to keep it going. As well, The John Landon Gallery closed in March to make way for seismic retrofitting of the building at 962 Monterey St. The gallery, which sells art locally and internationally, has offices in Shell Beach. Landon's art is also available at Visions gallery in Morro Bay. John Ramos, known for his tropical scenes, moved to Baja and closed his gallery on Higuera Street last year. His work is now sold at Hands Gallery. No one can say for certain why the gallery scene appears to be losing some of its luster. Economic uncertainty, the cost of renting gallery space, seismic retrofit construction and the increasing cost of doing business hasn't helped, some gallery operators say. Perhaps it's that San Luis Obispo, unlike artist enclaves in larger cities, doesn't have the clientele to support the galleries, especially those that sell higher-end pieces. Read entire article at: Vanishing art forms The Tribune, Julie Lynem To see more of The Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to www.sanluisobispo.com. (c) 2005, The Tribune, San Luis Obispo, Calif. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. Read More
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