Jason Foumberg

Partners in business and in marriage, Ryan Schulz, 30, and Jodi Navta, 32, opened an art gallery in rural Wisconsin several years ago with the foresight that they would eventually bring it to Chicago. Now celebrating its one-year anniversary in Chicago, NavtaSchulz Gallery, located beneath the green line El tracks on West Lake Street, is gaining a reputation as a reliable tastemaker due to its directors' dedication to talented artists. In a recent interview, Schulz demonstrated his desire to engage audiences and art in Chicago's West Loop neighborhood and abroad.

How did you decide to make the West Loop your gallery's home?

Our personalities fit in the West Loop [rather than River North] and we really liked the idea of a destination-based gallery. We like the idea that if you're coming here, you're coming here for a specific reason. We don't get the accidental shopper. It also gives us time to do what we need to do in here without getting bogged down with tons of visitors, as weird as that sounds. I would love for hundreds of thousands of people to see our shows but I'd be happy with 500-600 per show, which is about what it has been. It gives me time to work on my web presence and advertising and art fairs and studio visits. Additionally, the train is real loud here, it's roaring outside, it's Chicago chic.

How do you define the mission of NavtaSchulz Gallery?

I feel that my job is about a certain amount of education as it is about commerce. I don't mind spending a lot of time with people even if I know they aren't going to buy anything. I like the fact that we get a lot of students in here that ask questions and respond positively to art. It's so much fun to put up a show that I feel passionate about. I take my shows personally; I get emotionally involved with my artists and their shows. For me, the walk-in traffic is bonus and it can be fun to talk with people who are passionate about art.

NavtaSchulz Gallery is located at 1039 West Lake Street. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, Noon-6pm, or by appointment.

(2007-02-27)

Also by Jason Foumberg

Tip of the Week
As you enter Max King Cap's "video opera" installation, a booming voice from a darkened corner spouts an abstruse narrative full of symbols and cryptograms
(2007-02-20)

Portrait of the Artist
Like any good (or great) Minimalist work of art, Fred Sandback's sculptures emit an air of ease; they're easy on the eyes, quite possibly easily made, and once you "get it," easily enjoyed
(2007-01-30)

Tip of the Week
Brooklyn-based Luke Stettner comes out on top of this three-person exhibition at duchess gallery. Through four discrete works, Stettner charts a conceptually cohesive narrative of the inaccessibility of communication and the ghost chance of hope's renewal
(2007-01-30)

Portrait of the Artist
Deb Sokolow, a 32-year-old artist from California who lives and works in Chicago, combines text and image in storyboards that unfold left to right through space
(2006-12-19)

Tip of the Week
(2006-12-19)

Portrait of an Artist
(2006-12-12)

Tip of the Week
(2006-11-07)

Tip of the Week
(2006-10-10)

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