Press

THURSDAY, AUGUST 31ST 2023 | 6-9 PM

Exhibition Dates: 
August 17th thru September 17th, 2023

Meet the Artist Alexi Torres Opening Receptions:
August 17th | 6 to 8 PM
August 18th | 6 to 8 PM

Internationally praised for bridging the distance between street and contemporary art. A prodigy in his own right and held in high regard by collectors with works that can be seen across the globe. His is an artist you may want to keep your eye on. We managed to catch up with him shortly after his Art Miami solo exhibition with Contessa Gallery.

COSTA RICAN’S MONUMENTAL SCULPTURAL WORKS TRANSFORM DOWNTOWN MIAMI PARK INTO OUTDOOR MUSEUM

JIMENEZ DEREDIA EXHIBITION, MIAMI, FL

The city of Miami will host the exhibition of 14 monumental sculptures titled “Jiménez Deredia in Miami, A Bridge of Light” from October 12, 2022 through March 31, 2023 at Maurice A. Ferré Park. Contessa Gallery is thrilled to be a part of this incredible opportunity for private and public collectors, art consultants, and museums to acquire Deredia's sculptures in the US and worldwide.

Please contact Steve Hartman, (216) 956-2825 for additional information.

Tucked at the end of the ever-so-European feeling Via Encantada off of Worth Ave in Palm Beach is the captivating Contessa Art Gallery. The gallery is the mastermind of Steven C. Hartman, who also serves as President of the Fine Art Dealers Association of America. The presidency is an endorsement of the acumen of this outstanding dealer and art world luminary.

The coin, stamp, and baseball card collections of Steve Hartman's childhood led to his eventual obsession with wine and art - the latter of which has transformed the one time Wall Streeter into the internationally renowned curator and owner of Contessa Gallery. Founded in 1999, Contessa Gallery has locations in Palm Beach and Cleveland, with a strong clientele extending beyond both regions, reaching many parts of the globe.

To consider Contessa as simply another gallery would be a great understatement and disservice. Not only is Contessa amassing a stable of the world's greatest contemporary artists while receiving regular praise at shows and fairs, but the gallery proudly owns an inventory of works from a variety of artists, unbound to period or genre. Works from Rembrandt, Picasso, Andy Warhol, Robert Indiana, Chuck Close, Louise Nevelson, Aristide Maillol, Auguste Rodin, and Mr. Brainwash illustrate the range of artwork at their disposal.

Fine art collecting started out as an interest and then an avocation for the then-teenage Steve Hartman.

“I just always enjoyed art. It was something that always fascinated me and then evaluating and collecting art evolved into a passion,” recalls Hartman, owner and founder of Contessa Gallery at Legacy Village in Lyndhurst.

Now the Orange High School, University of Michigan and Wexner Leadership Development Program alum and former vice president of UBS/PaineWebber has parlayed his 19-year vocation as a dealer of fine art works and acquisition counselor to collectors, museums and institutions into a position of leadership in his field.

Q. Where are you based and how long has the gallery been dealing in fine prints?
 
SH: We are headquartered in Cleveland, OH with a winter satellite location in Palm Beach, FL. Through a very extensive inventory coupled with a strong commitment to service and connoisseurship, Contessa Gallery has developed a notable local, national, and international following with an outstanding reputation for integrity and excellence for almost two decades.
 
Q. How did you start in the art business?
 
SH: I was an investment adviser and Vice President for a major Wall Street firm and became passionate about collecting art at an early age. I always figured that I would open a gallery when I retired and in 1999, I opened Contessa Gallery to fulfill my passion of becoming a fine art dealer. I was very fortunate that my avocation became my vocation.

Mississippi-born Jack Spencer is a self-taught photographer known for his stark but breathtaking images of rural life in the American South and West, as well as Mexico. His photos are generally dark, sometimes almost haunted looking, as each scene or portrait is made to look old, as if a patina has developed on its surface. This is not by accident; in the darkroom, Spencer often manipulates his images by painting or adding mixed media glazes on top of the photograph. The end result looks something like a hazy dream. Spencer’s aesthetic could be likened to the magical realist writers Jorge Luis Borges and Gabriel García Márquez, whose writing inspires his images.