A San Francisco couple is bringing the work of emerging artists to their neighborhood by opening a brand new gallery in the Castro District.
The first show at the Schlomer Haus Gallery on Market St.
near Church St. featured the work of a half dozen artist in the LGBTQ+ community, including Ryan McMenamy of New York, gallery owner Steffan Schlarb said.
"What I was really drawn to was (McMenamy's) use of color blocking and that these are kind of quiet pieces" he told KCBS Radio.
After Schlarb and his husband Brandon Romer worked in, what he called, art-adjacent careers for years, they felt now was the time to pivot and open the new gallery.
"We liked the idea of creating a venue for queer voices, and being able to represent underrepresented people and their artistic visions," Schlarb explained.
The couple found social media - of all things - particularly useful in the curating process.
"Being able to look around on Instagram and see work that we liked and artist that had something interesting to say," Schlarb said.
The couple has lived in the Castro neighborhood for years, and Schlarb said it was important to them to open the gallery here in their neighborhood.
"There is actually a thriving gallery scene in San Francisco but they’re in pocket neighborhoods," he explained. "We felt this was one pocket that hadn’t been filled yet."
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