31-year-old San Francisco native Andrew McClintock is one of the local art scene's movers and shakers. Since 2009, he's owned and curated Ever Gold Projects, an upscale-art gallery at 441 O'Farrell St., on the edge of the Tenderloin.
"I opened it with three friends, fresh out of the San Francisco Art Institute," McClintock told us. "We are all artists and we wanted Ever Gold to be an artist-run space."
"When we opened, I had no idea how to run a business," McClintock recalls. "I learned on the job." One by one, McClintock's partners dropped out. He now runs the gallery by himself, along with a staff of local artists, and has turned Ever Gold into one of the city's more high-end galleries.
"The space used to be a jewelry store, which made gold teeth from questionably sourced material," he added. "We kept the name, and people still come in looking for gold teeth."
Photo: Ever Gold Projects/Facebook
But soon, even those seeking art will have to look elsewhere. By the end of June, Ever Gold will move out of its space at 441 O'Farrell St. McClintock is relocating to Minnesota Street Project, the newly-opened art complex in the Dogpatch.
"We needed more space," he explained. "We'll have 1,400 square feet at Minnesota—now we can have much larger exhibitions. There are ten galleries at Minnesota."
The new gallery launched earlier this month, and 4,000 people attended the grand opening of the entire Minnesota complex, McClintock said.
Space isn't the only factor in McClintock's retreat from the Tenderloin, however. "The neighborhood has gotten worse," he said. "We now need security and have to lock the door at all times. Art collectors don't want to come to the TL," he said, gesturing toward homeless people, many in obvious dire straights due to addiction or mental health issues, who were congregating near Ever Gold's front door.
"People here need help," McClintock said. "But the city sweeps the underlying social issues under the rug. It's a broken system." He says he doesn't know what the solution is. "I was working with a couple of foundations, but after a while I didn't want to spend the energy. It doesn't change anything. I need to focus on my business and my artists."
McClintock also said that the SFMTA has removed neighborhood's parking spaces nearby. "The towing is aggressive," he added, noting that for many people, getting to the gallery can be an issue.
And yet McClintock retains some fondness for his soon-to-be shuttered location. "It's always bittersweet," he said. "But in order to grow, I need to be in a bigger place that's conducive to selling art."
McClintock will continue with his own work as an artist as he settles into his new home, and will also continue to publish San Francisco Arts Quarterly, a free magazine dedicated to the local arts scene. (He's now also publishing New York Arts Quarterly, which offers coverage of that city's art scene as well.)
But there are still a couple of opportunities to enjoy the last of Ever Gold's time in the Tenderloin. On April 2nd, the gallery will open its second-to-last exhibition on O'Farrell Street. Titled 24 Hour Psycho, it's a new photo exhibition from New York-based artist and photographer Petra Collins. The show will consist of ten large-scale images of women in states of sadness or emotional distress.
Petra Collins, So Sad Today Series, 2014-16
The gallery will hold a reception for the artist from 6-9pm April 6th. Collins will also appear for a lecture and Q&A session on April 8th at Yerba Buena Center For the Arts.
Finally, from May 7-June 4, the gallery will host the works of Paul Kos, a co-founder of the Conceptual Art Movement. "Paul is the last show, which means a lot," said McClintock. "He's a mentor." After that show, the gallery will wind down its operations and complete the move to its new Dogpatch home.
