Artist Goes Gallery Hopping
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“I didn’t think it was right to just steal Steve, because I knew Fitz didn’t want to lose him,” Klein says, adding that he wanted to help Fitz Gerald out because he admired his taste in art and the way he’d managed Space Gallery during the six years of its existence. According to Klein, while relatively young galleries such as Space serve a valuable purpose by helping emerging artists get noticed by collectors and others who can boost their careers, his own gallery cannot afford to traffic in the inexpensive work of emerging artists. Fitz Gerald says the loss of LaRose has affected his gallery’s momentum, but he understands why it happened. “I’m a one-man show and still pretty rough around the edges, while Klein is one of the city’s established dealers.”
Since making the switch, LaRose says he has noticed significant differences between the two galleries. “There’s a different audience here [at Klein]; the people who went to Space were younger Wicker Park types who created a scene,” he says, adding that Klein is well connected in the corporate art world, where Fitz Gerald isn’t. LaRose also says he’s noticed a distinct difference in attitude between the two dealers. “Fitz is young and still excited about art, while Paul is almost a little tired of it, and I find myself more seduced now by people like Paul.”
For Song of Singapore to last, it will have to overcome what few shows can these days: a groundswell of negative reviews. Both the Trib and the Sun-Times published highly critical reviews, as did this newspaper and New City. WBBM-AM drama critic Sherman Kaplan liked aspects of the show, as did Daily Southtown reviewer Betty Mohr. Working with these positive nuggets and lifting parts of other, more critical notices, Leahy and her marketing mavens managed to piece together quotes that gave the impression Song of Singapore was an acclaimed evening of theater. Though the Trib review made reference to “sizzling songs” in its generally negative review, only the word “sizzling” appears in ads. Leahy defends the tactic: “The word ‘sizzling’ was used.”
