The Snack is delighted to introduce you to Christiana Ine-Kimba Boyle, Director of Online Sales at Pace Gallery.
Pause: Why are we taking a time-out from our regularly scheduled programming to dedicate this Snack to one individual?
As you already know from our last Snack (if you missed it, click here): we’ve been going hard on the art world’s move towards DTC marketing. And Christiana is a goddess in the digital realm―an OVR queen, really―facilitating that transition.
But seriously folks, through my years of professional involvement in the art world, I’ve met many women who have made a difference, like Christiana. So we decided to sprinkle some of those expert takes into your Snack going forward. This is just the first in what will be a series, so stay hungry. And we hope you take away some valuable morsels!
The OVR Origin Story
How did we get here?
The Online Viewing Room was a concept born out of the Covid-19 pandemic, when the shutdown forced galleries to close
Most galleries resisted online marketing and sales until this point―some were quicker to adopt digital marketing than others
Cue Christiana Ine-Kimba Boyle: at the time, a 26-year-old Sales Director at New York’s Canada Gallery
Not only did she teach herself to code, she put those skills to use to build a web-based platform for the gallery that could support digital presentations of the gallery’s artists and sales (casual)
When the gallery reopened and started hosting IRL exhibitions, Christiana curated a radical exhibition introducing a new generation of Black female Contemporary artists active in the digital space, and organized concurrent digital programming, accessible only online
We chatted with Christiana about how she capitalized on her experience in the early stages of the OVR to curate Black Femme: Sovereign of WAP and the Virtual Realm, which opened at Canada Gallery in Spring 2021 to critical acclaim.
Wendy: What inspired the concept for this show?
Christiana: I’ve always had a huge interest in Black creatives and Black popular culture and how they’ve heavily influenced internet culture. With this show I wanted to, especially after the wave of Black Lives Matter, create a love letter to Black people, and specifically to Black women, who are driving forces within the creative space online. I was a huge Tumblr kid, and grew up very much online, with an iPhone, and that heavily influenced the way I see things, and how I view the art world especially.
Wendy: What role did the OVR play in the Black Femme show?
Christiana: Black Femme was accompanied by a robust OVR with a playlist and a reading list, and mood boards for each artist that delved further into their practices. It was prompted by Covid, but the show would have had an online component regardless―these are Post-Internet* artists and there was much rich content that lived purely in a digital format. It couldn’t have existed any other way.
*TLDR: basically, the world wide web is to a Post-Internet artist as a paintbrush is to a painter.
A Post-Internet artist is a digital native raised on devices who can’t think about making art without using the internet for content; someone who takes advantage of digital tools to make art.
Bonus Snacks: You can still check out the exhibition’s OVR, complete with reading list and mood boards here. And speaking of moods… access the Black Femme playlist here for maximum vibes while you browse!
The OVR 2.0: Art Consumption in the Age of Covid
Christiana agrees that hybrid art consumption is here to stay as a tool for going deeper into an artist’s practice
Case in point: Christiana, in her current role as Director of Online Sales at Pace Gallery (a role she originated, btw), developed the In Focus series, programming exclusively accessed on Pace’s website, providing context by delving deeper into an artist’s practice
Most recently, Christiana created a stunning OVR to accompany the gallery’s current Peter Alexander exhibition
Alexander is a prominent California Light & Space artist, whose resin sculptures must be seen in person to truly understand their surfaces, and the way they naturally glow with light ✨
Christiana’s OVR is an exhibition in its own right, featuring the artist’s works on paper (which are not part of the physical show)
The OVR adds a layer of complexity to the sculptures while not distracting from their sumptuous presentation
A bonus for me: learning that Californian Alexander was influenced by the consummate New York painter, Mark Rothko, which makes perfect sense because Alexander was also obsessed with light 💡
Thanks to the OVR, I now have a deeper understanding of, and appreciation for Alexander’s work. Brava, Christiana 👏
Christiana says…
I’ve always thought of the OVR as an unofficial, virtual studio visit. Most of the content that I’ve developed online gives that ‘behind the scenes’ view. That’s how I like to tackle online programming: thinking inclusively, focusing on education more so, and letting that be the guide.
The OVR 3.0: Art Consumption Post-Covid
We asked Christiana to break down Pace Verso, another online modality for selling art that exists separate from Pace Gallery’s traditional exhibitions and online programming
She explained Pace Verso as a Web3 platform where minting and selling NFTs is just one component
…and yes, Pace Verso does accept Cryptocurrency as a form of payment
Pace Verso is positioned to enable Pace’s artists to take advantage of a new marketplace, such as the NFT they sold for $550,000 at Art Basel Miami Beach in December 2021, Block Universe, 2021, by Studio DRIFT
Inside the Digital Market at Pace
Wendy: What’s a typical day as the Online Sales Director of Pace Gallery?
Christiana: I’d say 50% of my day is focused on online … everything from working with my assistant to pull stats on who’s visiting our OVRs and the volume of inquiries we receive, inquiry delegation, and a lot of data analysis. I do a lot of calls too, especially for Pace Verso, working with and identifying technical partners for NFT projects. I also work closely with artists, having conversations around projects they’re developing, like NFTs. Then I also do all the things that a traditional dealer does, like in person viewings of art and sending offers via email. It’s crazy!
Wendy: How does your role as an online Sales Director intersect with Pace’s initiatives to embrace and promote digital art?
Christiana: I’d say that roughly 70% of the work I sell is physical, 30% digital, but I imagine that will grow as we launch more large-scale NFT projects. Our first was Pass the Baton with Glenn Kaino, a partnership with Hashed, a NFT platform based in Korea. We’re working on a couple other larger scale projects with gallery artists, so I’m sure that statistic will change… soon!
Wendy: Are a lot of the gallery’s online sales concentrated in the USA, or are online sales global?
Christiana: It’s incredibly global, especially with Pace Verso. We have a huge collector base in Asia. It’s a very active crypto collector market, even given the restrictions [around crypto] in China.
Christiana’s Collecting DOs and DON’Ts
Wendy: The online space is changing rapidly and, frankly, can feel overwhelming. For inquiring Snackers: What advice would you offer to a first-time collector looking to navigate the online marketplace? What would you suggest as a good point of entry?
Christiana:
✅ DO use great editorial platforms to start your research
Christiana stresses the importance of this step. The Snack recommends Artsy, Artnet, Artforum, Juxtapoz and Cultured Magazine, to name a few
✅ DO read and look as much as possible to hone in on your taste and find the artists you really like
We suggest starting with in-person museum and gallery exhibitions: consult the nifty See Saw app and Artforum’s comprehensive gallery guides for shows in your area
🛑 DON’T limit yourself to one platform or type of programming
There are many ways to consume art beyond seeing it IRL―don’t underestimate the power of Instagram rabbit holes to supplement your in-person viewing
🛑 DON’T get lost in technical details (aka Web3 and NFTs). As Christiana says, “The reason a lot of people are confused about digital art is that they get wrapped up in the inner-workings”
✅ DO focus on the art first, not the tech behind it
Christiana emphasizes that this is the best way to navigate digital art and OVR art consumption―and we agree!
And for in-person art viewing, Christiana says…
Galleries with an online presence still are traditional in terms of meeting the collector and having them visit. Take this as an opportunity to develop a relationship with a dealer: depending on who you work with, they not only instruct you on what to buy within the gallery’s program, but they also can advise you on how to build your collection… if you don’t have a good art advisor like Wendy! Just seeing as much as possible is the best way to really start.
In Conclusion…
Wendy: What’s the most exciting exhibition you’ve seen recently, and why?
Christiana: The New Bend at Hauser & Wirth [on view through April 2]. I’ve been following the Gee’s Bend movement for a couple of years, reading about its history, the artists within the movement … a lot of the older artists have ties to some of the artists who I love and have worked with at other galleries, like Qualeasha Wood who was in Black Femme, and Anthony Akinbola who was in Convergent Evolutions. When you think about the influence of textiles on Contemporary art right now, and the way in which [curator] Legacy [Russell] was able to really track the movement and its resurgence, it’s just an incredibly well thought out exhibition.
Wendy: Part of what makes the art world special is that it’s an agent for change within the broader world. What are you looking forward to in your career, and the future of the art world at large?
Christiana: I’m really optimistic about a restructuring of hierarchies within the art world. It’s interesting to see the way in which powers are shifting and to whom those powers are being bequest. I’m the youngest director at the gallery, and I don’t think that 3 or 4 years ago I could have imagined I would be in this position. I’m just so excited and hopeful for more of that. I think that it’s incredibly important in terms of the sustainability of the art world to have more voices like myself. And I think about the team that I have here―it’s all women! 💃