Gallerist Q&A - Ben Loveless

How did you find your way into working in the art world?

My father was an ethnographic art dealer who was deeply engaged with art in general. Some of his clients were artists. Later, I studied art history and anthropology. I guess everything was leading in one direction.

How did your journey take you from England to Sweden and eventually to running Galerie Nordenhake in Stockholm?

I met a Swedish girl on the beach on holiday in France when I was 18. Now I am 54, and we have adult children. Seems most English men in Sweden are romance migrants.

Galerie Nordenhake was the unshakeable pillar on the Stockholm art landscape. One was aware of Claes as an authority and something of a mentor. Turns out he was aware of me, I think via common contacts, via my projects with Nordenhake artists at Riche, and via my earlier gallery activities. He approached me while I was bar manager at Riche in Stockholm and asked if I would be interested in running the Stockholm gallery. Incongruous and unlikely career journey…

If you hadn’t entered the gallery world, what other métier do you think you might have pursued?

I wanted to be a vet or a carpenter.

How do you see the role as gallerist in today’s art world, and what do you consider your key responsibilities?

Support and promote our artist’s careers and build their markets. Make great shows.

When shaping the gallery’s programme and deciding which artists to represent and work with, what do you look for and what do you expect in return?

I want to be confused, challenged, and even annoyed. If I’m still thinking about something I’ve seen a week later, then it’s interesting. And then one wants to be engaged in the wider discourses that define and mirror the ongoing cultural and societal climate.

With gallery spaces in Mexico City, Berlin and Stockholm, how do you see the Nordic art scene differentiating itself and what does Galerie Nordenhake contribute to the scene?

Having galleries and colleagues in different regions is a resource. I can discover artists and markets by having people on the ground there. And that is what the Stockholm gallery can offer those other galleries and regions - introduce them to Nordic artists at ground level: Lap-See Lam, Frida Orupabo, Thea Ekström, Mattias Selldén, and so on and on.

Galerie Nordenhake celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. If you could invite one artist from the gallery’s early years to collaborate with a contemporary artist today, who would they be and what would the exhibition look like?

Imagine David Hammons and Frida Orupabo making a work in dialogue. Hammons made a work with his sisters’ nightdresses hanging on a line. Imagine these together with some of Orupabo’s female protagonists.

Since you began working professionally in the art world, what do you consider the most significant development or change?

The middle market has reduced greatly and there is a huge focus on brands. Artist brands, gallery brands, institutional brands.

If you could encourage collectors to adopt one new habit, what would it be?

Don't chase brands. Stay curious. Don’t follow the herd.

Looking ahead, what are the next steps for Galerie Nordenhake in terms of exhibitions, programming, and broader ambitions?

I would like to experiment more and become more playful in the programming. In Stockholm we can use our showroom and our FOCUS space to invite new artists to make projects and proposals.