108 Beacon Street
Somerville, MA 02143
Artattack108@yahoo.com
Phone: 617-441-3833
Fax: 617-800-2678
November 16th 2004
New Gallery Opens in Somerville
the contributors’ meeting at The Somerville News Nov. 5.
“I have eclectic taste of what I find is good art,” said
Heather Somershein, owner and curator of Art Attack at
108 Beacon St. “I wanted a space to reflect that. I’ve
got a little bit of everything so many people will be
pleased.”
themed Spooktacular, is a 450 square foot space packed with work done by a mix of
over 20 local and international artists, she said. Pieces include sculpture, oil paintings,
jewelry art and furniture design.
Somershein said she tours open studios and attends arts and crafts shows in
Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as Massachusetts. On those trips, she said she
has no specific criterion for picking the art she will sell.
“It’s an ‘I know it when I see it’ kind of a thing,” she said. “If I enjoy it, it ends up in the
gallery.”
In the future, she said she hopes to showcase more work from local talent. For now she
pulls from the resources she gained working her way to becoming the owner of a
gallery.
Before the launch of Art Attack, Somershein said she worked for three and a half years
at the Wentworth Gallery on Newbury Street in Boston and then at the Chestnut Hill
location in Newton, where she was a top salesperson.
Art Attack holds about $100,000 worth of inventory, Somershein said. Local artists work
on commission with a chance to renew their contract if their work sells. All other pieces
have been purchased.
Somershein said she has no set formula for pricing art. “I work with the artist so it’s
priced in a way that they don’t feel like their losing their talent, but not too expensive so
that nobody will be able to afford it.”
Many artists work many hours on a piece and when it’s sold they only end up making
$1.25 an hour, she said.
Somershein said she has always been interested in art. In elementary school in Lower
Merion, Pennsylvania she won awards for her art and in her sophomore year of high
school an art teacher suggested that she could potentially make a living as an artist.
She attended Penn State University where she earned a Bachelor’s of Art in Drawing
and Painting and minored in International Studies and Art History.
Although she’s just 26, Somershein has an impressive resume. She said she learned
the business by working in her family’s jewelry store. She said when she was in third or
fourth grade her parents would prop her up on phonebooks and she would outsell the
other employees. In addition, she said she has worked for the Associated Artists of
Pittsburgh and has spent the last two years traveling with 60’s art icon Peter Max.
A resident of Brookline, Somershein said she chose to open Art Attack in Somerville
because it is not over-saturated with galleries.
“The art community is budding into something special and I want to be a part of that,”
she said.
She said she also wants her gallery to be a part of the community, not just a store.
“The neighbors are incredibly friendly,” she said.
Not only does Somershein own the gallery, she said she also creates and sells her own
art.
In her own art, Somershein said she gains inspiration from her personal life. “If I’m
happy, sad, depressed-it surfaces in my pieces.” Somershein said she prefers oil
painting because it is more versatile than acrylic.
“Great colors come from mixing,” she said.
She said she will always display the work of other artists as well as her own.
“I love to do my own work, but I get joy in being able to assist other artists in making it,”
she said. “I don’t think I’m vain enough to just want to sell my own artwork.”
The gallery is open 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday, and by appointment
after 6 p.m.
Somershein said she often works seven days a week as the sole employee of Art Attack.
She also built and maintains the Web site, artattack108.com. “I want it to function
easily,” Somershein said. “Other artists’ sites are difficult to navigate.” The Art Attack
Web site not only contains photos of currently displayed pieces, but also past art.
“People can see a piece and then come back for that,” she said.
Shows scheduled for the coming months are posted as well, along with artist
biographies.
The next show will be graffiti artist Caleb Sonic, from Dec. 7 through Jan. 14.
Somershein said she hopes to one day expand her gallery business to include another
space to exhibit one artist at a time. She also hopes to showcase more local talent.
“There are amazing artists around here,” Somershein said.
November 16, 2004 in Kate Hill
