Father-son duo brings artwork to local gallery

In 1970, David Coleman started his law firm in a Victorian-style building on Grant Street just south of Kirkwood Avenue. He worked there for almost 40 years.

In 2008, he wanted to start a business with his son Gabe.

They had no immediate plan about what kind of business it was to be.

“What is something we can do together?” David said.

Gabe studied fine arts as an undergraduate. He proposed they start an art gallery, but David did not like the idea.

But when he returned from a run one day, he found he had a new attitude for his son’s suggestion, David said.

He decided that he liked Gabe’s idea, and the two moved forward with it.

They started going to other art galleries and shows to generate ideas for what kind of art they wanted.

Later that year, they turned David’s law office into The Venue, Fine Arts & Gifts.
David and Gabe went to the 2008 Ann Arbor Art Fair in downtown Ann Arbor, Mich., to look for artists they wanted to feature.

At the fair, the two met some who still have work in the gallery today.

At first, the Colemans chose to sell art that met their personal tastes, such as colorful, realistic paintings with a mix of abstraction and impressionism, David said.
But they soon realized they needed to broaden their selection in order to sell more.

“We started focusing on the quality of work,” David said. “While I might not be a fan of a certain kind of work, I try to educate myself on what’s good in that
category.”

This determination and search for artistic know-how is what contributes to the Venue’s success now.

Today, the five rooms in their gallery display a variety of paintings, ceramics, jewelry and other forms of art that meet different tastes.

They sell the work of local artists and those from as far away as Portland, Ore.
They also sell work from well-known artists, such as Peter Max from New York City who has been popular for decades in the art world.

Junior Josh Clark is a fan of the James Tracy oil depictions of various scenes in Bloomington.

“They really capture the essence of the southern Indiana experience,” he said.
For their business style, the Colemans made the gallery a consignment.

This means that rather than conventional retail of buying products from suppliers before selling them, they take art into the Venue with no down payment and no
ownership.

Once it is sold, the Colemans and the artists get paid.

“When you sell a piece of art, everybody’s happy,” David said. “The artist is happy, you’re happy and the customer’s happy. And I know that this is true for most retail businesses, but it’s particularly true for the art business.”

Or, as Gabe said, “Art is a fun business.”