Londoner's unique focus on women artists earning global attention
A London artist and gallery owner is quietly changing how art by women is sold, earning her coverage in international media, including a Vogue-related publication.
Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.
Article content
A London artist and gallery owner is quietly changing how art by women is sold, earning her coverage in international media, including a Vogue-related publication.
Nuria Madrenas, who attended Lester B. Pearson school for the arts and Central secondary school, has created a online art gallery in Toronto called Tacit that sells and markets work done solely by women artists.
That unique business model has seen her sales double in each of the past two years and earned her coverage in Vogue Living, the art, lifestyle and décor online publication of Vogue magazine.
“I don’t know if I have fully digested it yet, if it has even really hit me. I think it will take time for me to relish the moment,” Madrenas said. “I do know there is a disparity in the industry and I think there’s an opportunity to lead change.”
Madrenas was employed in communications, having graduated from a York University communications program, but continued to work as an artist, a lifelong passion. Working for various fashion brands as well as doing public relations work for hotels and restaurants, she tried to work visual arts into her campaigns.
“I had a great relationship with artists and their network and I was always asked, ‘Where can we sell our work?’ ”
She says too much of the major art industry is focused on male and “blue-chip, high-end art” and unwilling to represent young women.
She can cite a litany of figures to back up her concern, noting only two per cent of spending at gallery auctions is on women artists. She agrees with figures from the National Museum of Women in the Arts in the U.S. that at major American galleries, 86 per cent of collections are male.
“When you learn about the disparity, it hits home,” she said.
Madrenas wants to help change that.
She created Tacit in 2019 as a “side hustle” and now represents about 60 women artists. She also got the attention of Elle, House and Home, the Globe and Mail and Toronto Life, to name a few publications.
“I hoped it would resonate with some women and not be just another typical art shop, but dedicated to female artists,” she said.
She saw sales double in 2021 over 2020 and it looks as though 2022 will be just as good. She no longer works in communications, devoting herself full time to Tacit, she added.
“We have seen steady growth,” said Madrenas.
Tacit has also struck a partnership with the Art Gallery of Ontario where Madrenas curates with the gallery work done by women artists to create “capsule collections.”
About 70 per cent of her art is from Canadian artists, the rest international.
She curates the work herself and has tried to create a consistent aesthetic among her artists, so regardless of whose art is purchased, or where it hangs, it will create continuity where it is viewed, she said.
“I would say it has a more minimalist appeal. It feels fluid, not disjointed. It’s photographs, abstract work, realism, but when viewed together it’s like one collection,” Madrenas said.
“I hope we can continue to grow and reach new people.”
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.