2003
I, having won the competition of the US Department of State, in January 2003 went for an internship in Charlotte. My program included working in several of the leading galleries in Charlotte, North Carolina, but I was practically introduced to all the galleries in that city. The first place of my internship was Myers Art Gallery, founded by the famous American ceramist John Mayer. He is the co-founder of about 50 galleries scattered from the Pacific to the Atlantic. My main tasks that I set for myself on this trip were to find out the mechanisms of the main relationship: gallery and power, gallery and sponsors, gallery and artist, gallery and buyer. The second place of internship was the University of Winthrop in the town of Rock Hill (South Carolina). This university has faculties of fine arts and design, two student and one professional gallery. My task was to get acquainted with them, as well as with the process of teaching fine arts in studios. On my return to Charlotte, I was introduced to the non-profit form of bringing artists together into a commune. Artists, musicians and actors live under the same roof of an old brick four-story house. The building houses artists' workshops, three exhibition halls, a theatrical stage and a stage for music concerts. On the final weekend we flew on an excursion to Washington. The main part of the galleries in the center turned out to be mainly focused on modernist art. Upon my return from Washington, D.C., I started working at one of Charlotte's leading galleries, Shain Fine Art. The owner of the gallery, Gabrielle Shane, gave me complete freedom of action, and I, longing for practical activities, gladly took up the work. Gabrielle was delighted with the exhibition and later wrote to me that with my light hand, almost half of the works were sold on the opening day. It was the best praise for me.
