Ann Nathan Gallery

This review is purely for the interaction that I’ve had with Ms. Nathan and her staff. Contrary to what other reviewers have said, I have repeatedly (read: every time I’ve interacted with her) been subjected to Ann Nathan’s unprovoked rudeness. She is just flat-​out mean, and I can’t understand how she has been around for so long in a business where success relies heavily on reputation and networking. She is rude to the point that her status as an elderly woman is all that keeps people from yelling back at her; she’s rude to the point that I can’t understand how her very friendly employees can possibly sit in there with her all day. I have no prior relationship with her that would warrant her harsh verbal abuse, I’ve simply been in her gallery to see art. She literally cuts you off in the middle of every sentence, and treats everyone as if she can’t believe she has to sink to their level to talk to them. Absolutely abhorrent personality.

This place has charisma. I am not good at writing about art, but I love the space, the music on the sound system, the friendly staff, and almost all of the work (she emphasizes people who can draw, and ambitious, monumental paintings with dark themes) – and I am not alone in that, because every time there’s an opening, everyone seems to be drawn to the place and to be happy mooching about and either looking at the art or getting, forgiveably, in each others’ way. This woman introduced me to both Alan Feltus’s paintings and to giant Cheetos, which she dishes out to the clientele in a giant, very beautiful Moroccan-​looking ceramic platter that could otherwise hold a whole roast kid (a bad idea).

Visiting Ann Nathan is a comforting experience. The space is warm with its exposed brick walls and loft-​like feel. The work is curated against painted walls (not the almost sterile-​white walls of neighboring galleries). And the artwork is accessible (in a visual way) to the art neophyte.
However, the problem with Ann Nathan is exactly what Robert S. says: it’s hard to pinpoint her taste or her area of expertise. I came here on two occasions: to see Mary Borgman’s large-​scale portraits and to see S. Majumdar’s paintings. The quality of the artwork was great but it was curated almost as if there was no narrative behind the artwork and no story behind the artist. The artists pieces would often be opposite a wall of completely unrelated art. It’s hard to tell, in such a confusingly curated space, what the gallery was going for.
As a collector and someone in the trade, I also found the gallery assistants here to be somewhat rude. I asked some pretty simple questions (Do you have an artist statement? May I see a price list?) and was begrudgingly provided information.

If River North art galleries were governed by a monarch, Ann Nathan would be the Queen. One of the most respected and loyal, both to artists and collectors alike, her gallery presents some of the most engaging and well-​rounded exhibitions on Superior Street. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what Ann’s tastes are. There’s a heavy emphasis on broad figurative work, often large-​scale humanist-​style paintings and works on paper, but the gallery routinely has small works to counterpoint the larger work as well. In an adjacent part of the gallery, tribal, folk art and metalsmith furniture fills out the eclectic mix. Ann Nathan Gallery exhibitions are well-​planned and prodigious, and I hope to see the gallery around for a very long time.

This gallery has an eclectic mix of art. I saw contemporary paintings, large-​scale sketches, furniture, and African artworks.