Q&A with Monica Pastor
Name: Monica Pastor
Profession: Owner and gallerist at UnderScore Art in Whitefish
City of residence: Whitefish
Age: 44
Family: 12-year-old son, Teague
Q: You recently opened the doors to UnderScore Art in November. Tell me something unique about the gallery.
A: I have curated a group of fine jewelry artists from around the country who have a distinctive point of view, so it’s very design driven. It’s not just about what kind of diamonds they are, it’s about the design as well. When I’ve traveled, I have certain boutique jewelry stores that I go to when I visit those places, so I’m trying to bring those here. I’m hoping that this becomes a place that people come to find the leading, cutting edge of contemporary jewelry.
Q: How do you curate pieces for the gallery?
A: As I’ve been in the business over the years, I’ve learned to trust my personal response to [the art] because galleries are so much about a reflection of who you are. If you don’t believe in the art you’re selling, it’s harder to sell. I look for a certain level of refinement. While we do look at emerging artists, most of the artists I carry have a pretty strong academic art background. Most of them are trained artists.
Like with the jewelry, I want people to have a point of view. When I represent people, I represent their entire body of work. I don’t want to just see two good paintings, I want to see that it’s going to be a continued relationship.
Q: What is important to your gallery?
A: Galleries are completely about relationships. They’re about relationships with your artists …. where you can be honest with them about what they’re putting out, or let them kind of grow through a process where maybe it’s not your favorite phase they’re in, but often that leads to something really spectacular. And then it’s about a relationship with your clients; knowing your clients and knowing what they’re boundaries are about your input and what they like.
Q: Tell me about the art scene in Whitefish.
A: More traditional Western art is what dominates this art scene ... The contemporary world still struggles. As houses are getting more contemporary here, sort of the new mountain-modern thing, I do think that there will be more of a space locally for these works, but often we’ve shipped them away or had to kind of convince people to look at a contemporary piece in a more rustic or traditional house. They usually work really well. My old space [Jest Gallery] was brick and more traditional and that was on purpose, because it showed the work in a setting that contrasted with it and people could really see that there’s a magic to combining things in an unexpected way.
Q: Name a few artists who inspire you.
A: J.M.W. Turner, Mark Rothko, Michael Haykin, Jennifer Li