by Caroline Wright
The Art of Cedar Street
When you meet Mike Schnack, you might want to ask him to tell you the story of his great-great grandfather's arrival in Hawai`i in the mid-1860s. It's an tale of perseverance and will that beautifully illustrates his ancestor's amazing strength of character.
Now, almost 150 years later, Schnack is creating an Island legacy of his own. He and his wife Sherri are the owners of Cedar Street Galleries, an innovative space for the display and trade of some of Hawai`i's most talented artists.
"We're trying to be a real resource for designers, architects, and developers," says Schnack. "That's why we've got these moveable panels set up." He is referring, of course, to the panels that enable his 1100-sq. ft. gallery to hold the work of over 100 artists. "Space utilization is very important," he says. "I had seen some galleries that had tried moveable panels, but they never worked... frames or paintings were constantly getting damaged."
It took a while for Schnack to develop a system that he felt was viable. The resulting network of panels, which he uses as a filing system of sorts, utilizes 24 panels of varying sizes. Most are 8'x6' in dimension. "We technically have only 100' of wall space," he explains. "But with the panels, I've got close to 300 linear feet to hang art!"
Cedar Street Galleries fills an unusual niche in Hawai`i's art market, mixing realism and representational art with abstract works. "One of the reasons we've been enjoying a steadily growing clientele is the fact that we have such diversity in here," comments Schnack. "People keep telling me that this is the only place they can see this kind of diversity. There aren't places where you can generally find the abstracts, at least in this town."
The works of at least 100 artists are constantly on display at Cedar Street. "We also take things on consignment, so we get some collectors' pieces, and old historically significant pieces. Of course, when you get those, sometimes you'll just have one of that artist." A good example of this is a painting by Hawai`i old master Madge Tennent, which Schnack says will probably carry a price tag of $50,000.
The gallery's Web presence provides an additional forum for viewing the works of represented artists. "With our site, we're able to whittle someone down to the point where there's maybe only one of their pieces in the gallery, but there might be five on the website. So we still have a good representation of that artist."
In April, Schnack and seven Cedar Street artists participated in the 17th annual ArtWalk in San Diego, sponsored by Hawaiian Airlines in promotion of its new Honolulu-San Diego route. Cedar Street Galleries was the only outside vendor participating in the event, which attracts attendance of roughly 50,000 each year. Works by artists Chris Campbell, Chuck Davis, Jodi Endicott, Snowden Hodges, Rick Mills, Mapuana Schneider and Kelly Sueda were all displayed at the event.
"Oh, it was a great opportunity!" says Schnack. "They take over all the storefronts and vacant spaces in the Little Italy section of San Diego, so there's a ton of different venues." The airline shipped Schnack, four of the artists, 55 paintings, and five sculptures to the event. "It was quite a working experience, because we really had to hustle!" The team set up its displays, worked the event, dismantled, and shipped artwork back to Hawai`i in a wild four-day adventure. "We sold a few pieces and made a lot of contacts. We're hoping that the airlines will be interested in doing it again next year!"
Visit Cedar Street Galleries online at www.cedarstreetgalleries.com
CONTACT WRIGHT FOR YOU |