MEET THE GALLERY is an interview series highlighting returning exhibitors and first-time VOLTA galleries. More than simply experts, these VOLTA exhibitors are supporters of young and mid-career artists and provide insights on their presentation at the fair.

MEET THE GALLERY introduces Susan Eisner Eley, founder and director of Susan Eley Fine Art in New York and her “pandemic pop-up” that turned into a permanent second location in Hudson.

Susan Eley, we are excited for you to join us at VOLTA New York in May. Tell us a bit about your gallery and your journey in the art world.

Susan Eley: I founded Susan Eley Fine Art in New York City in 2006 with a mission to offer an alternative to the typical “white cube” gallery. Conceived as a salon-style gallery, SEFA NYC is situated in a Victorian townhouse on the Upper West Side. Its interior features the original brick walls and fireplace, reflecting an organic aesthetic and creating an intimate space for visitors. SEFA exhibits a range of contemporary painters, sculptors, photographers and printmakers from around the globe — primarily emerging and mid-career artists. I have worked with a number of my artists for many years now, such as Angela A’Court, Francie Hester and Allison Green. For me, it is a delight to establish these longterm relationships of creativity and care, and to foster their practices as their vision evolves.

In 2020, I established a second location in Hudson, NY. The gallery is a beautiful sunny space with large windows that overlook Warren Street, the main street in downtown Hudson. Initially, this space was intended to be a six-month “pandemic pop-up” that would allow me more freedom to share art outside of the urban confines of NYC during Covid-19.

I am proud to say that this space is now SEFA’s permanent second location. Of course, it took much hard work to establish this new location as a notable contemporary art gallery within the ever-burgeoning cultural scene in Upstate NY. With the support of my Assistant Director Liz Lorenz, SEFA Hudson is now a destination for locals and visitors alike. We have put great effort into genuinely engaging with the artists and diverse arts communities in the area, and we are looking forward to our next adventures within the Hudson Valley creative hub!

As for my background, I have worn several professional hats before becoming a gallerist. My first career was as a professional ballet dancer with the Feld Ballet in NYC. Later, I held several positions as an editor and writer for national and international cultural magazines. I have a BA in Art History from Brown University and an MA in Visual Arts Administration from New York University. Following graduate school, I joined the Morgan Library and Museum and worked in the public relations and education departments. As much as I adored working with illuminated manuscripts and Old Master drawings at the Morgan, my heart pulled me towards working with living artists. I suppose that I have also always had an entrepreneurial streak, and so was born my eponymous contemporary art gallery.

Which artist are you bringing to VOLTA?

Susan Eley: For VOLTA 2022, we will feature a solo presentation of new work by Rachelle Krieger. Currently based in Port Washington, NY, Krieger had her debut exhibition with SEFA in 2010. Since then, her work has been presented in a number of group exhibitions in our NYC and Hudson locations – as well as her notable solo exhibitions at SEFA NYC: Rocks and Rays (2015); Of Earth and Sky (2018); and These In-Between Days (2021). To me, the great appeal of Krieger’s paintings is how her compositions dance on that sublime edge between abstraction and representation. Inspired by the surrounding landscape and the energy and cyclical events of the natural world. Krieger’s imagery clearly evokes nature, from trees to wildflowers to swamps. Yet, her saturated colors and fantastical, even otherworldly, forms convey an aura of surreal abstraction.

At the fair, SEFA is debuting a series of large-scale paintings and works on paper that Krieger created during the pandemic—primarily rendered in acrylic, flash and spray paint. These exuberant abstractions pulse with motion and fluorescent hues. She builds up her pigments in multiple layers to create interweaving constellations of undulating shapes—transforming branches, leaves, rivers, suns. Additionally, our booth will feature a series of new ceramics that evoke similar forms to Krieger’s paintings. The ceramics are currently in-progress, and we are thrilled to first present them to the public at VOLTA!

What encourages you to support young and mid-career artists?

Susan Eley: Since beginning my career as a gallerist, my principal motivation is to exhibit artists who make work that has been rendered with excellent technical skill and, most importantly, that expresses a unique vision of the world. I am always seeking that “Aha! moment.” When I find it, I know that this is an artist I want to explore further. Omen, this can be a very intuitive and personal feeling, yet it translates into confidence and knowledge as I dive deeper into their practices. The artwork I choose to hang on the walls in NYC and Hudson must reveal an aesthetic, a response or a way of thinking that I personally have never seen before. If an artist can achieve this — and is professional, reliable and personable— there’s a fit for them with SEFA! Additionally, my roster and exhibition programming has organically evolved to highlight female artists. While this was not a conscious strategy, I realize that I naturally connect with their creative approaches and thematic interests—the stories that they tell. This emphasis on female creators is a source of pride for SEFA, especially as the gallery has always been female owned and operated.

Which advice would you give to the next generation of collectors that are making their first steps into the art world?

Susan Eley: Before you purchase a work of art, learn all that you can about the artist: comb their biographies and artist statements. Visit as many art fairs and galleries as you can to hone in on your own tastes and sensibilities. At the end of the day, buy art that you love and wish to live with — not as an investment — but as an object that will bring you joy.

Follow Susan Eley Fine Art on Instagram at @sefa_gallery.