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Dear Friends of
Viveza -
I have some news... Viveza is closing.
Our last day will be January 31st, 2008.
Jen Graves, art critic for The Stranger,
just published an obituary on Viveza in
the latest issue.
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=490852
Opening and running
Viveza Gallery over the past five years
has been the hardest thing I've ever
done in my life. I can't say I regret
anything about it. I can say, though,
that I have learned a ton more about the
art world, about running a business, and
about personal limits and constraints.
It's sad for me to say that Viveza, in
it's current fashion, is closing. As a
young business, we've been on the brink
of closing from year one, but I've
always had enough energy and financing
to pull through and keep going. This
past year has been tough, though. I've
met the end of my energy reserves...
What do you do when you no longer have
the energy for something? And that you
don't have energy for anything? I never
thought I would know what it means to be
spent, now I know. And that is why I
have to close Viveza.
I'm proud that we were able to sell over
125 works of fine art to over 110 art
buyers. I thank the buyers for
supporting us, attending our shows, and
acquiring art through us. May the art
always bring vividness to your life.
I'm proud that we've been able to show
and support the following artists:
Raymond Morrow, Casey Curran, Francesca
Berrini, Doug Smithenry, Eric Olson,
Rebecca Woodhouse, Eva Speer, Brian
Scott Campbell, Christopher Santer, Jeff
Koegel, Cara Enteles, Carl Faulker,
Reilly Donovan, Korey Gulbrandson, Day
of Dead group show artists, Denise
Whitlow, Roderick Rojo, Melinda Hannigan,
Jamey Baumgardt, Etsuko Ichikawa,
Marilyn Jones, Paul Paiement, Heinrich
Toh, Terry Hecker, Julia Haack, Merima
Adee, Michelle Salazar, Edie Nadelhaft,
Doughlas Remy, Nathan Corwin, Carole
d'Inverno and Mattie Iverson (and many
others we showed for shorter periods of
time).
I will continue to follow the trajectory
of their careers as many of them are
poised for greatness (especially the
artists we worked with in the last
couple of years as we became a more
mature gallery with a refined
aesthetic). I would urge you to continue
following their careers as well. If you
are interested in their work you should
feel free to contact them. Just do an
Internet search on their names... Or
e-mail me and I will put you in touch.
I truly do believe in the work these
artists manifest - they reflect the soul
of humanity in that what they do is
purely human (vs. manufactured for the
masses). They create to express and
bring something into the world that
contributes to the emergent complex
system of culture. Support them when you
can and buy their original works of art.
By doing so, you become part of the
process. You empower art to happen,
which ultimately shapes contemporary
culture and our future.
I'm proud that we've been able to
provide financial support to the
following arts organizations:
- Cornish Scholarship Fund
(http://www.cornish.edu)
- PONCHO (http://www.poncho.org)
- Seattle Art Museum
(http://www.seattleartmuseum.org)
- ArtistTrust (http://artisttrust.org/)
- Pratt Fine Arts (http://www.pratt.org)
I'm proud to have worked with a talented
set of individuals who are 110%
committed to art cultivation:
Thanks to interns and staff who've
helped out over the last 5 years. A big
call-out to Chad Wasser and Jeremy "Jjo"
Johnsen as they were core to running the
gallery most recently and did an
excellent job being managers and
directors of the gallery. Anyone who has
them on their side is VERY LUCKY. They
are awesome. A big thank you to Jeff
Ball, who's been with Viveza the longest
period of time and was key to making the
Viveza space blossom and thrive with his
inventions and space changes. Daniel
Cross, my patient partner, helped out
immensely with events and overall moral
support. From the bottom of my heart,
thank you! Here's to a future with less
on our plates and more time to enjoy
life, friends and family, and each
other. Raymond Morrow, artist and
friend, has been involved with Viveza
from inception and has provided the
artist's perspective on all decisions we
ever made. Thank you for sticking with
us and for your help and wisdom over the
years. Deborah Priest deserves accolades
for her patience, steadfastness and
innovation during the tumultuous first
year of Viveza's existence. A big thank
you to Eric Beseler for being
second-in-command and helping take
Viveza to a new level during our 3rd
year of existence. And a BIG THANK YOU
to people involved with Viveza and
Viveza projects in some capacity over
the past 5 years: Kathryn Gordon, Kurt
Schlatter, Melissa Gill, Thomas Jensen,
Kelsey Marcum, Justin Wieder, Lani
Lehman, Brandon Gaylord, Katy Sugano,
Stephen Gifford, Ben Larson, Jenni
Hensler, Rachel Sacco, Sara Walls and
Travis Talburt. It was a pleasure
working with all of you and I wish you
all the best in all you do.
To anyone who has ever stepped foot in
Viveza, visited our website, attended
one of our shows or openings... THANK
YOU.
Please feel free to e-mail me at
michael@viveza.com for any questions you
may have. We are not going to suddenly
disappear. We are in the process of
shutting down, shipping art back to our
artists, managing monthly payments for
buyers... I am happy to answer any
questions you have.
All my best,
Michael Rivera-Dirks
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