Upstate Art + Culture, We ARE Upstate NY

We Are Upstate NY With Anne Sanger of Pinkwater Gallery at Kingston Social

By inside + out | July 18, 2024

Anne Sanger from Pinkwater Gallery believes that art should be accessible to everyone, and we completely agree! Her passion is to assist people in starting or expanding a beautiful art collection that they will cherish for a lifetime. This year has been an eventful one for Anne, as she recently launched an exciting new venture with her business partners, Helena Palazzi and Samara Daly. This new business is now home to Pinkwater Gallery. Situated at 237 Fair Street in Uptown Kingston, Kingston Social is a cafe, marketplace, and art gallery with a European vibe. It’s a delightful community gathering place where people come together for conversation, snacks, drinks, workshops, special events, and, of course, to appreciate amazing art.

Pinkwater Gallery is taking part in UPSTATE ART WEEKEND with a captivating exhibition: a retrospective of pieces by the late abstract painter Karen Barth. Barth’s work captures a sense of otherworldliness and fluidity, drawing inspiration from nature and landscapes while being elevated by the fusion of paint and technology.

INSIDE+OUT recently sat down with Anne to discuss the successful launch of Kingston Social and her journey from fashion illustrator and designer to a full-time artist, curator, and gallerist.

INSIDE+OUT: Congratulations on your new business and gorgeous space in Kingston. How do you feel since you opened your doors to the public?

Anne Sanger: Thank you! I am thrilled that Pinkwater Gallery has found a new home with Kingston Social, the new café + mercantile + gallery that I opened with my two business partners, Helena Palazzi and Samara Daly, back in May. We have had such a wonderful reception here in Uptown, and we already have an amazing group of regulars from the neighborhood as well as visitors from all over the world. Area office workers and international tourists alike are coming in to enjoy our authentic Italian espresso drinks and treats along with the modern “general store” offerings in our mercantile (ranging from candles and clocks to great gifts for kids and housewarming, plus a wide variety of cookbooks and art and design books). Personally, the most gratifying thing for me is seeing the reaction to the fine art we are showing in this spectacular space.

Was creativity something you were surrounded with growing up?

I actually grew up in a pretty conventional midwestern household with a businessman dad and a stay-at-home mom (more on my mom in a second). Still, from an early age, I was obsessed with drawing fashion. I taught myself to draw by sketching historical costumes, designs for my dolls, and so on. I took all the art classes available and even drove myself from the ‘burbs to the Cincinnati Art Museum downtown to take life drawing classes as a teenager. But ultimately, I credit my mother – who is now an artist in her own right – with my artistic talent. She continued her lifelong preoccupation with sewing, knitting, and quilting while raising a family. In her middle age, she embarked on a self-directed study (largely via the internet) of art and art-making, which led her to the vibrant studio practice she has today. At the age of 83, she is making new artwork that incorporates abstract painting with textile media and techniques. She is one of the best-selling artists at the gallery!

Tell us about your career in the Arts. What was your journey?

I graduated from the University of Cincinnati’s prestigious School of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) with a degree in fashion design. Then, made my way directly to London, where I worked for Liza Bruce (a swimwear designer), before returning to the garment center, where I had done numerous internships in New York City during college. I worked as a fashion designer in the industry for about five years but found the work deeply uncreative. So, I decided to pivot and became a product designer and implementation manager for a specific type of software fashion designers use to create and produce garments. I became a specialist in Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software and found it to be a much more creative job in many ways. As the development of this software was still nascent, I was able to directly influence its design by working with the engineers who developed it. However, I continued my art practice (fashion illustration and abstract painting) on the side.

In 2019, I decided to pivot once again by renting a space on North Front Street in Uptown Kingston and opening the Pinkwater Gallery. In 2021, I realized my dream of becoming a full-time artist, curator, and gallerist.

Tell us about your partners in Kingston Social, which houses the gallery, a cafe, and more. It’s currently the talk of the town! How did you come up with the concept?

I was lucky enough to meet Helena Palazzi the first day I opened the Pinkwater Gallery in 2019. She is a talented and successful fashion and beauty photographer with the same itch that I had to migrate her skills and passion for fine art. Since then, she has become known for her exquisite encaustic photography and mixed media paintings. I’ve been showing her work at Pinkwater Gallery since 2020. We also became close friends during that time, and when I decided I had had enough of renting, she and I cooked up the idea to buy a building. However, it wasn’t until Samara Daly–a good friend with crucial experience in the real estate and government sectors–came on board that the idea started to take shape and come closer to reality. Ultimately, we decided on buying a very special building on Fair Street (which happens to reside directly across from the Ulster County DMV!), leasing out the office and studio space on the upper two floors, and developing the ground floor space as a retail business (for years, it had been an insurance office). We leaned into Helena’s upbringing in Sweden and Italy and created a beautiful, welcoming space that feels like Scandinavia while offering an authentic Italian café menu. Samara heads up the mercantile and does an amazing job finding “just the thing” for different occasions by room in the house (i.e., The Kitchen, The Playroom, etc.). One of her brilliant ideas was to add a coloring table for kids in the back area. This spot makes families feel welcome since their children are truly invited in and included. The success of these two aspects of the business, in turn, allows me to be super-creative with the gallery and will offer us the opportunity to take a leap with shows that will take Pinkwater Gallery in exciting new directions.

You are involved in Upstate Art Weekend. Do you have anything special planned at the gallery? What do we need to know?

We are proud to be involved with Upstate Art Weekend for the second year in a row. We will be showing The Karen Barth Archive in honor of the late artist who was a part of the Tribeca art scene in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s. Her later works, in particular, are remarkable technical feats, as they involved making distinctively large pigment prints that are mounted on wood panels, a solution that allowed her to continue to paint, albeit at a much smaller scale than during her earlier career, as her health began to fail (she ultimately succumbed to her illness in 2015).

There is quite a robust art scene nowadays in Kingston, so we suggest tackling the immense area that Upstate Art Weekend has grown to cover by starting with an Italian breakfast (a cornetto and a cappuccino) at Kingston Social, checking out our main gallery and then popping upstairs for the open studio before heading out to the wider world of art to be found upstate.

You support the arts and artists, especially women artists. Is that still a focus in the new space?

Pinkwater Gallery is honored to have spotlighted numerous women artists over the past few years. I have been inspired by Katy Hessel’s podcast and book, The Great Women Artists.

In the current political climate, it is important to take a stand and remind people of what society stands to lose if women, transgender, and nonbinary people are sent backward by losing autonomy over their bodies.

That said, Pinkwater Gallery looks forward to working with various artists with different points of view in the years to come, and gender is not really a primary consideration.

You are also an artist in your own right? If so, what is your favorite medium? Any recurring themes in your work?

Although my first love was fashion illustration, I now consider myself primarily a painter of abstracts. My preferred medium at the moment is oil paint; however, I am also a big fan of inks, allowing me to achieve the fluid lines I perfected as an illustrator. My current series is actually somewhat of an amalgamation of the two: I have always been inspired by fashion from a color standpoint, and my current palette is derived from the final collection by Dries Van Noten before his recent retirement. I started this series with a set of sketches of that collection, and the 40” x 30” abstract paintings I am working on to show during Upstate Art Weekend were inspired by his color palette for his Autumn/Winter 2024 collection.

Tell us about the classes and special programming you offer.

Helena and I share the studio space on the third floor of the building at 237-239 Fair Street is large. It was a natural fit to conceive of holding art classes there since it came complete with an existing giant blackboard! We have been hosting introductory fashion and art classes specifically designed for different age groups, i.e., Kids, Tweens, Teens, and Adults. Kingston Social offers other types of special events like book signings and a monthly cookbook club starting in August. The best way to get a good idea of our upcoming events and classes is to go to www.kingstonsocialny.com/upcoming-events and to follow us on Instagram @kingstonsocialny for announcements.

Tell us what it’s like to run a business in Kingston, NY.

It’s so much fun! We have met such a lovely cross-section of people with the opening of Kingston Social, from new families with strollers and dogs to the locals who visit the DMV. We are getting a great crowd that comprises what Kingston is all about today. Plus, in just the last week, I have chatted with visitors from New York City, Boston, Washington DC, Boulder, CO – even Australia – who have found their way to us and just love the light and airy feeling and welcoming vibe they encounter when walking in. Kingston Social is truly our love letter to this incredible city.

What do you love about living + working in the Hudson Valley?

For me, living here means having artistic freedom. I am able to have a small business and work with customers there for a good part of the week, but I also have the time and space to work on my other endeavors, including curating new shows and pursuing my painting practice. I also love the rich friendships I have made in just a few short years in Uptown. The business community here is incredibly supportive of each other, and we all want all of us to succeed!

What impact does your business have on your community?

I like to think that Kingston Social is becoming an anchor in people’s daily lives. A favorite café can mean so much in terms of making someone’s day better. We truly strive to make everyone feel welcome, honored, and seen in this place. Plus, we are fortunate to be able to employ young people who are making their own creative way in the world, supporting their dreams with a barista job that they can have real pride in. We have the best baristas!

What local businesses do you rely on to be successful?

We are grateful to Inside+Out Upstate and Chronogram as two resources for promoting and marketing the business for a reasonable investment. We also partner with some great businesses in Uptown, including Sweet Maresa (who provide our gluten-free, vegan cookies) and Ester Wine & Spirits (from whom we get the wine for all our events and art openings). We have also been supported by great advice from many of our friends in the Uptown business community, including the owners of Hamilton Adams, Newt, Rough Draft, and Chleo, to name a few.

What is missing in the area that you wish we had?

I am not going to lie. I miss the level of Thai food I enjoyed in the city and dearly wish a great Thai restaurant would arrive in Uptown. I also wish we had a cinema-like Upstate Films here, within walking distance of Kingston Social. I would happily watch a movie every night if it were that convenient!

Where do you see taking the gallery and Kingston Social in the future?

I am excited about the upcoming shows we have planned for 2024, including a foray into realism with painter Kristin Osterberg in September and a collaboration with Woodstock-based photography agency Tinker Street on a fine art photography show later this year. The vista for us in 2025 and beyond is very bright, with lots of cool stuff coming down the pike, including some open-call group shows, so stay tuned!

Tell us something about yourself people would be surprised to know.

I love going on studio visits (okay, maybe that’s not so surprising) and working with artists. I love seeing how other artists arrange their studio spaces and the kinds of things that spark an idea. It is so inspiring!