Artist couple creates recognition and space for artists in the breadth of a redoubling arts district
Alejandra Schneider and Jorge Menduina of the Menduina Schneider [Men-doo-wi-na – Shni-der] Art Gallery, or MS Art Gallery, have a mutual love for fine art. Alejandra is an accomplished artist, curator and teacher, and her husband, Jorge, is a writer and artist. In 2016, the couple opened their gallery on 7th Street in downtown San Pedro.
Before opening the gallery, they were involved in the art world through secondary markets and auctions. The couple said they always knew there was an art world in San Pedro. They came to town by way of Long Beach in 2015, one year before opening the gallery. As they ventured out to visit the different studios they also witnessed the makings of an arts scene in that artists they knew from Los Angeles at that time started moving here, like Nancy Crawford and James Harter, who are their neighbors, and others.
Jorge noted that San Pedro offered both galleries and studios in the downtown arts district and that really appealed to them. It was different, more geographically close here, and located in one area, in contrast to what they found in the more spread out Long Beach arts district.
Soon after they started looking, their space on 7th Street became available. Menduina Schneider Gallery is the only gallery space in the building, the rest are live-work studios.
The gallery is housed in the once San Pedro News Pilot building and it even has the grooves in the floor from the old printing press. The building — now owned by Robin Hinchcliff, who owned the former Angel’s Ink Gallery in the same location — has been transformed into a creative community with a total of 10 live/work artist studios and a gallery. Tenants come from Switzerland, France, Japan, Columbia, Canada and the United States. They call it a mini United Nations.
The Menduina Schneider Gallery specializes in Latin American art. Coming from Buenos Aires, the bustling capital city of Argentina, the couple know many established artists, some well-known as masters, who show work frequently outside of Argentina. This is largely how they curate works, through artists they know. Another significant benefit is that Alejandra is very skilled in utilizing social media. When the pandemic hit, they had to reinvent themselves, Jorge said. They reached out to basically every social network they knew, artists’ web pages and all of the various social media platforms.
Through these efforts, an idea was born in the Menduina Schneider Awards. They put the word out through their networks for artists to submit their works. The award was open to all international artists in the following mediums: sculpting, painting, mixed media, drawing and digital art. Artists participated from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Bolivia, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, France, Germany, Honduras, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Spain, Taiwan, the Netherlands, the U.K., Uruguay and the United States. The winner would be represented for one year by the gallery.
Many artists sent in their work. The gallery shared videos of the works online during the summer of 2021 because of the pandemic, but next year the winner will be physically represented in the gallery. They discovered that people were waiting for somebody to build a bridge and reach out because everyone was isolated. That really paid off, Jorge said, because they’ve had many people that inquire about the gallery.
Menduina Schneider hosted an opening day for their salon online, via Instagram, on Zoom with the winning artist that was shared around the world. Jorge and Alejandra take time to explain every single painting and give their interpretation of the artists’ works. It was a four-hour live session because they showed almost 70 paintings. Alejandra said the artists told them they have never had an experience like that in any gallery in the world, online. They were very happy to have the attention towards their work.
This year’s winner was Piro Pascal of France for Les 7 Sacrements / The Seven Sacraments [drawing on Velin d’Arches]
“It [proved to be] very interesting for the artists to speak to a gallery in the US, to show their paintings and to network. It was an incredible contact for both parties,” Alejandra said.
Jorge concurred, saying they learned a lot and it was a rich and rewarding experience. He posited the reason they have been successful in getting artists is because they have both masters and emerging artists who can show alongside each other, which elevates everybody and provides recognition.
“It’s good for everybody,” Jorge said. “I’m a writer, I know rejection really well. Alejandra is an artist and knows how hard getting recognized is. It’s also a way for us to give back and because of the art itself, not how much something costs but the value of it.”
Their call for artists happens all the time. They just completed their 6th Salon of Paintings with 47 different artists from 23 different countries. Again, the winner will have a show and receive representation by the gallery for one year. It’s something that means something to the artist, more than a certificate, Jorge said, which doesn’t really help the artist.
The jury for the shows was made up of four important people in the art world; president and CEO of Museum of Latin American Art, Dr. Lourdes I. Ramos-Riva (Puerto Rico), Christian Mac Entyre, artist (Argentina), Nector Mejia artist (Colombia) and Yoel Diaz Galvez, artist (Cuba). The winner is decided by simple majority.
The first prize recipient was from France, the second prize winner was from Spain, the third place winners were shared between Brazil and Columbia. Menduina Schneider does not do the selection because it would be a conflict of interest.
Looking back over this volatile past year, plus, Jorge noted what happened in San Pedro during the pandemic was that hardly any galleries closed down. He said there was a lot of support from the Waterfront Arts District and the City of Los Angeles had many grants, which many cities across the country did not have.
“The state of California was gracious with our gallery and I think that should be highlighted,” he said. “There was a lot of help, talking to people in other countries and in other states, that people didn’t have.
“[San Pedro] is a very diverse place and there are really very nice people here. Everyone is ready to lend a hand to help,” Jorge said.
Details: www.msartgallery.com