Long-lost Manet painting featured at this Spring Lake art gallery

SPRING LAKE - Growing up in the Essex County town of Glen Ridge, art had a huge impact on Caitlin Kelly-McKenna. And she’s sharing her knowledge of and passion for art with others through her recent launch of the Kelly-McKenna Gallery, a Spring Lake-based gallery that sells art, runs exhibitions, and offers a full suite of fine art advisory and appraisal services.

“Growing up, I was within walking distance of the Montclair Art Museum and it was hugely influential on me,” recalled Kelly-McKenna, 34, a Holmdel resident. “I took art classes there after school and it was my favorite thing in the world to do; in that respect, I always knew that art was going to be a big part of my life.”

Though she especially liked cartooning and animation, “I took classes in oil and acrylic paints, airbrushing, and other techniques at the Montclair Art Museum and have a good foundation in materials, which has helped inform my work today.”

After graduating from the University of Notre Dame’s Program of Liberal Studies, Kelly-McKenna went on to secure her master’s degree in art business in 2012 from England’s University of Manchester via a New York City-based program hosted by Sotheby’s. “I’m also a USPAP-certified appraiser for fine art and have a specialization in Post-War and Contemporary Art, which involves western art from the 20th century,” she said.

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Kelly-McKenna spent the next decade honing her skills in the art world, from managing an artist’s studio and working at a major auction house to serving as the fine art consultant for an international insurance company and then director of sales for an international gallery located in New York City.

But while the opportunity to forge relationships with fine art collectors, museums, galleries and corporationsproved invaluable, the pandemic forced her to reevaluate her goals.

“There’s been a seismic shift in demographics since the pandemic,” she explained, “and while I was commuting from Holmdel to New York City every day, I found that I was actually selling to a lot of art collectors at the Shore. I thought that there could be a real opportunity to open my own gallery locally, because many people moved here from Manhattan but still want that caliber of art.”

As someone who’d grown up summering at her family’s beach house in Spring Lake, “I’d been eyeing a great space in Spring Lake for years that I thought would be ideal for displaying art,” Kelly-McKenna said. “When I heard that the space had become available, I jumped on it and never looked back,” she said of launching her eponymous gallery in November 2022.

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'We want to make art fun'

Located in a setting that had previously housed everything from a farmer’s market and shoe store to a coastal boutique, “the bones of the place were great,” Kelly-McKenna said of the 1,100-square-foot space. “I especially like the floor-to-ceiling front and side windows, which we can use in all sorts of creative ways.”

Renovating the gallery with new wood floors, state-of-the-art lighting and an extended back wall to create two separate gallery spaces, including a dedicated salon for displaying photography, Kelly-McKenna had a clear vision for the look and feel of her gallery.

“I kept the décor in the space simple so as not to draw attention away from the artwork,” she explained. “I wanted a warm but blank slate in the galleries for showing the artwork, while our office area showcases artwork too but demonstrates what art can look like with furniture, which is very important.”

Her goal for the gallery was also well-defined.

“The fact is, people want to buy art but don‘t always know what they’re buying — prices are arbitrary and people feel hesitant to ask questions,” she said. “For that reason, art education is very important to us because it helps people feel confident about what they’re buying. We want to make art fun, not intimidating; it’s about interacting, inspiring conversation and exchanging ideas.”

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Among their offerings, “we sell artwork, represent the artists we work with, and also have access to artwork beyond what we show,” she said. “Our front gallery includes a museum-style exhibition, and later this month we’ll open our Spring Group Show, which will feature works by different artists, and debut our photography salon.”

“Because many of the best local artists are already represented by other galleries, I bring something different,” Kelly-McKenna continued. “I work with a lot of European artists, some of whom haven’t shown their work very much or at all in the U.S. market or even in New York City, but who are committed full-time to their professional growth in the art world. I look at the aesthetics of pieces and select artists with a fresh approach, strong concepts and broad appeal behind their work.”

As a result, she said, “our gallery features museum-quality art that’s still very accessible, with typical pieces selling for anywhere from the $5,000 to $8,000 range up to $30,000 and photography selling from $1,000 to $2,500.”

Supported by industry veteran and gallery senior advisor Megan Hay Guglielmo, a fellow USPAP-certified appraiser, “we offer tailored services as well, including appraisals for insurance purposes and customized art advisory services for clients who want to build their collections based on investment value and personal fit,” Kelly-McKenna said. “In addition, we can bring pieces to a person’s home and hang them and can also source pieces outside of our gallery or represent clients in a transaction with another gallery.”

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'You don’t have to have a million dollars'

Among trends in the art world, “Emerging Art is popular among collectors in their 30s to their 50s and we’ve seen a greater emphasis on mixed media work lately,” she said. “Huge, ‘monumental’ photographs were big at one point, but that’s swinging back and people now want more pieces they can live with. We’re also seeing more artists doing custom pieces for specific clients.”

As for challenges, Kelly-McKenna said that it can be difficult to battle public perceptions about fine art.

“The art world can be daunting for a lot of people, but you don’t have to have a million dollars to come into our gallery,” she said. “We appreciate the cost and have a range of museum-quality pieces at accessible prices, and this summer we’ll be featuring limited-edition art posters at even lower price points.”

The message appears to be getting through.

“We’re so impressed with our traffic here and it’s been really busy,” she said of visitors who have come from as close as Monmouth County and as far away as North Jersey, Philadelphia and New York City. “We’re showing oils on canvas, mixed media pieces, and other work that isn’t so ‘safe’ and all have been well-received.”

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Offering a monthly art book club and other educational outreach, she added, “we hope people won’t be intimidated and that our gallery can help foster a sense of community.”

As for unique displays, Kelly-McKenna Gallery is currently featuring “a very special museum-style exhibition of a rediscovered 130-year-old painting by famed impressionist Édouard Manet,” Kelly-McKenna said of the show, which runs through Feb. 20 and showcases the actual painting, how it got rediscovered, and how it was authenticated. “Our Spring Group Show will then run from Feb. 24 through May 5 and we’ll be featuring a series of solo artist shows throughout the summer.”

Ultimately, Kelly-McKenna is excited to share her knowledge of and love for art with the community.

“I love the opportunity to represent great art and curate unique shows of all genres and am so excited that people have responded so positively to the work we’re showing,” she said. “Art can be a powerful and transformative experience and taking the time to buy things you really love can help change your perspective and shift your mood. We offer artwork at accessible price points and hope people will let us help them select something that’s really special for them.”

Kelly-McKenna Gallery

Location: 1308 Third Ave., Suite 1A, Spring Lake

Phone: 732-359-3281

Owner: Caitlin Kelly-McKenna

Opened: November 2022

Website: kellymckennagallery.com

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Kelly-McKenna Gallery in Spring Lake NJ features lost Manet painting