Sure, Chris Caraviello is a gallery owner, but he says he is "constantly" sad to see pieces head out the door to their new homes. He selects each piece he hangs, and always has mixed emotions about whether to keep it or sell it, he said.
"Some things, you'll never find again," he said, smiling.
An art aficionado who has lived in Andover for 10 years, Caraviello opened the Van Ward Gallery on Main Street this week. He has owned and operated an art gallery by the same name in Ogunquit, Maine, since 1993.
Caraviello's home, which he shares with his wife, Dianne, a kindergarten teacher at Bancroft Elementary School, and son Dan, 15, is filled with art, he says — pieces he couldn't part with over the years.
This July, he signed the lease for the 500 square-foot space at 96 Main St, in between Sweet Mimi's Chocolates and the Ultimate Perk coffee shop. He gutted the space, which was formerly the Academy Barber Shop, and had a soft opening Sept. 23. He has a grand opening planned for Oct. 4, he said.
The shop joins downtown galleries Alpers Fine Art, at the corner of Main Street and Post Office Avenue, and Lorica Artworks at 90 Main St.
Caraviello's gallery space has oriental rugs thrown over wood floors, with gallery lighting that highlights the varied, colorful works on the walls. Small pieces of sculpture sit on floors and tabletops.
Caraviello will split his time between the Andover and Ogunquit Van Ward galleries, with the help of a couple of employees. The Ogunquit gallery is seasonal, open during the summers only, he said.
It was a natural move to open a gallery in Andover, he said, close to home.
"It's a community that can support fine art," said Caraviello. "It will be a nice quality of life to walk to work ... keeping my life simpler."
At the Van Ward Gallery, the name uses his son's middle name, Caraviello shows pieces in a wide variety of styles — anything that catches his eye, he said. He shows mostly paintings, but sculpture "as I can find it.
"I'm looking for something where the artist has his own voice; styles that appeal to a cross section of people; anything that's done well. I realize my own personal taste isn't everyone's taste," said Caraviello.
To start, he has set up his Andover gallery with pieces by artists he's worked with before from all over New England. He never goes through dealers or agents, and meets each artist before selling their work, he said.
Inventory at the Andover gallery will rotate every six weeks, he said, and eventually he'd like to do themed shows, highlighting works by one or two artists.
"For different reasons, I like different artists. I like abstract expressionism, with minimalistic, intuitive things, but also pieces from the Italian Renaissance, like Michelangelo or German Expressionism, where the raw emotion is coming through," he said.
"When I look at art (for the gallery), I don't want people to say, 'Oh, they think exactly how I think,' but rather, 'Oh, they think differently than me.' I want them to challenge themselves."
Pieces at the Van Ward Gallery range from $100 to thousands, said Caraviello, depending on the artist, style and size of the work.
Caraviello majored in art history at Tufts University, and worked at a gallery owned by a married couple before opening his own.
He grew up in an athletic family — his father was a football coach — but Caraviello always loved art, and took painting lessons as a child. He kept art "on the back burner" as he played football as a youngster.
When he got to college, he chose art history after considering a major in architecture, he said.
"I went straight into liberal arts and that was the end (of being an architect). I loved it, the creativity, more than design and structure," said Caraviello.
He still "dabbles" in art because he enjoys it. Occasionally, he'll sell one of his paintings in his gallery, but not too often, because there are other artists out there who depend on selling pieces to earn a living, he said.
His favorite thing about owning an art gallery?
"Finding the art. Collecting for myself, and finding new artists," said Caraviello. "Meeting people that have like interests. You end up having a relationship with the collector."
