Voices: Irina Protopopescu, Slag Gallery, New York
Irina Protopopescu
Irina Protopopescu is the owner of Slag Gallery, located in Chelsea, New York City.
Irina Protopopescu, next to Naomi Safran Hon’s, Charlotte Pipe, 32 x 15 x 6.5 in, acrylic, cement, PVC pipes and lace, 2020. Courtesy of Slag Gallery and the artist.
Who is the artist in your program that you have worked with the longest? How did that relationship begin?
Dumitru Gorzo: I opened my gallery in 2008 with a solo exhibition presenting his work. I know Gorzo since he was an art student. In the years to follow we formed a solid friendship and collaboration.
Tell us about one show you are excited to present in your gallery.
I am excited about each and every show I present, but the April inaugural exhibition of the new Chelsea space comes with an extra thrill. I will present two solo exhibitions with works by Anthony Akinbola and Naomi Safran-Hon.
Naomi Safran-Hon, When Our Walls Were Green It Was All Different, 67 x 84.5 in, acrylic, gouache, cement, archival ink jet and lace on canvas, 2019, Courtesy of Slag Gallery and the artist.
What qualities do you look for in an artist?
Talent, passion, searching mind, restless spirit, dedication, tenacity, commitment and hard work.
Why are you passionate about art?
To me art is an interrogation on the limits of the self, a source of perpetual wonder, emotion, energy...art possesses the irreplaceable quality of pushing me forward.
Name a big overall lesson you've learned in running a gallery.
Keep the overhead expense to a minimum.
Slag Gallery, All My Lovers installation view, Naomi Safran Hon, 2020, Courtesy of Slag Gallery and the artist.
What is the best piece of business advice you were given when you first started out?
That practically the gallery should never be closed, the work we do as gallerists extends way beyond the gallery hours... in other words that I should always be prepared to promote and sell work even from the trunk of my car if necessary…
At what point in your life did you first learn about the art industry? What called you to it?
I learnt about art at an nearly age, back in Romania, where I grew up surrounded by artists thus it was a natural call later on. As far as the "industry" aspect of art goes, I learnt it as soon as I opened my gallery.
What does the art world need more? Less of?
More collaboration, less opportunism.
What is the most important quality you look for in a patron of the gallery and your artists?
To collect with passion and in depth.
Anthony Akinbola, CAMOUFLAGE #019 (Blue Streak 1999) 2019 Du-rags and acrylic on wood panel 48 x48, Courtesy of Slag Gallery and the artist.
Anthony Akinbola, CAMOUFLAGE #014 (Valentino) 2020, Du-rags and acrylic on wood panel 48 x48, Courtesy of Slag Gallery and the artist.