“Artists actually make money when selling through me because the commission is so low,” he said, adding that the price of the art isn’t necessarily lower (the more than 200 pieces sold so far range from a few dollars to more than $2,000). “Because I am operating this way, I’m akin to a nonprofit for showing art. I find it easier to ask for donations from the general public. It’s a side I’d like to develop further.”
Melikyan’s energy and fresh perspective reflect his international background. Born in Istanbul, he moved to Paris when he was 9 and attended university there, earning a degree in Marketing for Nonprofits. He moved to New York City when he was 26 and then, after getting married, transferred to Fort Worth, Texas. For 12 years, he ran the Marketing and Public Relations Department of the Van Cliburn Foundation, which was named after the famous American classical pianist and sponsors piano competitions. After his wife got a teaching job at SUNY-Purchase, they moved to High Falls to be with her family.
When he started Wired, he primarily showed his own work, until he realized that he felt more comfortable exhibiting other artists. His first contact was his brother-in-law in High Falls, the amazing woodworker Josh Finn, who made the introductions. “I quickly realized I was filling a niche not only for artists, but also the local community. High Falls was going through a difficult period where many businesses had moved out. I felt invested with a mission. I wanted people to realize that whenever I have an opening, hundreds of people come, and many afterwards go to the local restaurants. I grew aware of the importance this business has, and I’m proud of it,” he said.
One of his biggest surprises in moving to High Falls was that Chagall had once lived and worked in the hamlet. Melikyan was so impressed with this fact that he joined the committee that put up an exhibit of photographs recording Chagall’s stay in the town – a show that he continues to shepherd from library to library (coming up at Gardiner Library and then Locust Grove). “I just could not believe Chagall lived here and had this immediate reaction. That’s one reason I got involved.”
He also had no idea how rich Ulster County was in artistic talent, and has yet to hit the bottom of the barrel. “When I feel like I have a good sense who’s out there, then there comes by a dozen new artists. It’s why I have restricted the scope of the art I’m showing to our base within a 25- or 30-mile radius of High Falls,” he said.
The current exhibition, “The Show of Shows,” curated by antiques dealer, art rep and artist Lenny Kislin, which opened October 12, is the first in which Melikyan has used a guest curator. The paintings, drawings, prints, sculptural reliefs and assemblages on display look uncommonly good against the dark walls. Inspired by Peggy Guggenheim’s famous Art for this Century Gallery in the 1940s, Melikyan devised a system of hanging work from wires attached to metal pipes that causes each piece to stand out dramatically from the wall, thanks to the cast shadow. The system was the creative answer to a big problem: walls that had too many windows and were covered with paneling that could not be tampered with.
The dark paneling not only serves as an effective background for the art, but also lends a cozy, rustic warmth. “Trying to emulate the gallery feel you’d see in Chelsea would be totally out of character,” he said. “I’m in a rural area, and I’m proud to show great art that combines that warmth.”
Continually seeking to expand the ways in which he can give his artists more exposure, Melikyan plans to spend January and February improving the Gallery website for online sales. He has sold pieces to people as far away as Seattle from the site, but wants to get it up to speed as a beautiful venue in its own right. Most of the artists whom he shows don’t have an online store, so he believes that he will be filling a gap for the work that he will be curating online. (He himself recently sold two pieces to a collector in England through his website.)
Melikyan also hopes to tap into the New York art market. “I’ve been in communication with the Affordable Art Fair, and am seriously looking into bringing some of our Ulster County artists there, to raise our flag,” he said. The schedule of five to six exhibitions a year at Wired can easily be accompanied by simultaneous shows elsewhere, he added. “The model is unconventional,” he acknowledged. “I’m looking for opportunities to bring art wherever I can.”
Wired Gallery, weekends, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., 1415 Route 213, High Falls, www.thewiredgallery.com, www.facebook.com/wiredgallery.
