Conventional wisdom in Eugene art circles says: No one buys art here.
What few collectors there are living in Eugene head out of town - to Portland, Seattle, San Francisco or Los Angeles - when they want to spend serious money on art, or so the story goes.
Well, the conventional wisdom has fallen ill in the past few months with a flurry of high-ticket sales at downtown Eugene galleries.
At Fenario Gallery, a buyer paid $45,000 for a painting by internationally-known Visionary artist, Robert Venosa, a painter with studios in Boulder, Colorado, and Cadaques, Spain.
"I think we're finally growing up," said Mary Unruh, executive director of DIVA. "We really brought some people in from out of the woodwork. There are people here who love art who have just assumed there was nothing in Eugene. And they are coming through our doors now and saying, 'Oh, this is impressive.'
Brent Rosskopf, owner of Fenario Gallery, echoed Unruh's sentiment. There are serious art buyers in Eugene, he said. The challenge is for local galleries to find and connect with them.
"I was kind of stuck in a rut for a long time thinking the money doesn't exist here to support the kind of work many of us are showing," he said. "I do think it lies in a much smaller demographic than any other place, but it's here. It just needs to be reached."
A private collector in Eugene bought the $45,000 Venosa painting, Rosskopf said."He has collected Venosa for quite a while and has bought many prints from me. The painting just resonated with him."
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