Kate McCavitt

“According to Wikipedia, Six degrees of separation refers to the idea that, if a person is one step away from each person he or she knows and two steps away from each person who is known by one of the people he or she knows, then everyone is an average of six “steps” away from each person on Earth. I believe that, at the end of my art career, I will look back at SOLO and Artexpo as the beginning place; that first important step in the connection to a broad and changing Art World.

There is no such thing as an overnight success in the art business. After years of local shows, disappointing weekend juried festivals, opportunistic art associations, and massive energy expenditures on marketing I decided to rethink things. I cashed in a retirement account and jumped! I did the 2007 Artexpo Las Vegas SOLO show.

Las Vegas taught me the most important lesson of all; that my art was ready to compete in the “big pond” and it clarified what I did and did not want regarding my confusion about publishers. I am pleased to say I got three fabulous gallery contracts from it. My L.A. gallery is currently featuring me and has sold 8 of my smaller works this month alone! I have a solo show with them in April with bigger pieces and will be their featured artist during the 2008 Culver City Art Walk sponsored by the Museum of Contemporary Art. My Hawaii gallery sold my first big piece to a NY Yankee baseball player; I’m sending them 3 more works next week. OK, now I feel the ground moving under me. I needed that bit of success to feel ready to take on New York.

I think it’s early to write the whole SOLO success story for New York! There is still so much radical potential for me to take advantage of. I LOVE NY. I joke that there, ART is part of Maslow’s heirarchy of needs! I sold 9 of the 12 paintings that I brought with me during the two trade days and consigned the other three to a DC gallery that came on the VIP passes I sent them because of a Vegas connection. It’s nine days now post-AENY SOLO and my goals of landing 3 quality east coast galleries has been met. I’m just getting started with the many exceptional contacts I brought back, including some awesome international opportunities.

Please check in with me at SOLO at Artexpo New York in 2009…I’ll be the grinning artist in the big double booth. SOLO is the Place you MUST go to if you ever really want to acomplish what you say that you do. Believe! Six degrees of Separation. I think that now I won’t need to ‘retire’!” – Kate McCavitt

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