Press

Artist couple creates recognition and space for artists in the breadth of a redoubling arts district

By Melina Paris

Alejandra Schneider et Jorge Menduina de la Menduina Schneider [Men-doo-wi-na – Shni-der] Art Gallery, ou MS Art Gallery, ont un amour commun pour les beaux-arts.

Alejandra is an accomplished artist, curator, and teacher, and her husband, Jorge, is a writer and artist Alejandra Schneider and Jorge Menduina of the Menduina Schneider [Men-doo-wi-na – Shni-der] Art Gallery, or MS Art Gallery, have a shared love of fine art. In 2016, the couple opened their gallery on 7th Street in downtown San Pedro. Before opening the gallery, they were involved in the art world through secondary markets and auctions The couple said they always knew there was an art world in San Pedro. They came to town via Long Beach in 2015, a year before the gallery opened.

As they toured the different studios, they also witnessed the creation of an art scene as artists they knew from Los Angeles at the time began to move here, like Nancy Crawford and James Harter, who are their neighbors, and others.

Jorge noted that San Pedro offered both galleries and studios in the downtown arts district and that really appealed to them. It was different, closer geographically here and located in one area, unlike what they were finding in the larger Long Beach arts district.

Shortly after they started looking, their space on 7th Street became available Menduina Schneider Gallery is the only gallery in the building; the others are live-work studios.

The gallery is housed in the former San Pedro News Pilot building and even has the grooves in the floor from the old printing press. The building – now owned by Robin Hinchcliff, who used to own the former Angel’s Ink gallery in the same location – has been transformed into a creative community with a total of 10 living and working artist studios and a gallery.

The tenants come from Switzerland, France, Japan, Colombia, Canada and the United States. They call it a mini-United Nations. The Menduina Schneider Gallery specializes in Latin American art.

Hailing from Buenos Aires, Argentina’s bustling capital, the couple knows many established artists, some of them recognized masters, who frequently exhibit their work outside of Argentina. That’s largely how they select the works, through artists they know.

Another great advantage is that Alejandra is very good at using social media. When the pandemic hit, they had to reinvent themselves, Jorge said. They contacted almost every social network they knew, artists’ web pages and all the different social media platforms. It was through these efforts that the idea for the Menduina Schneider Awards was born

They spread the word through their networks for artists to submit their works. The award was open to all international artists in the following fields: sculpture, painting, mixed media, drawing and digital art. Artists from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Bolivia, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, France, Germany, Honduras, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Spain, Taiwan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Uruguay and the United States participated in the competition. The winner would be represented for one year by the gallery.

Many artists submitted their work. The gallery shared videos of the work online during the summer of 2021 due to the pandemic, but next year the winner will be physically represented in the gallery.

They found that people were waiting for someone to build a bridge and reach out because everyone was isolated. It really paid off, Jorge said, because they had a lot of people inquiring about the gallery.

Menduina Schneider hosted an opening day of her online show, via Instagram, on Zoom with the winning artist that was shared around the world.

Jorge and Alejandra took the time to explain each painting and give their interpretation of the artists’ work. It was a four-hour live session as they presented nearly 70 paintings. Alejandra said the artists told them they had never had an experience like this in any gallery in the world, online. They were very happy to have their work selected.

This year’s winner is Piro Pascal from France for Les 7 Sacrements / The Seven Sacraments [drawing on Velin d’Arches] “It was very interesting for the artists to speak to a gallery in the United States, to show their paintings and to network. It was an incredible contact for both parties,” Alejandra said. Jorge agreed, saying that they learned a lot and that it was a rich and enriching experience.

He suggested that the reason they have been able to attract artists is because they have both masters and emerging artists who can exhibit side by side, which elevates everyone and provides recognition. “It’s good for everyone,” Jorge said. “I’m a writer, I know rejection very well. Alejandra is an artist and knows how hard it is to be recognized. It’s also a way for us to give back, and through art itself, it’s not the price that matters, but the value of something that matters.

Their call for artists is always on. They just finished their 6th Painting Salon with 47 different artists from 23 different countries. Again, the winner will have an exhibition and will be represented by the gallery for a year.

It is something that means something to the artist, more than a certificate, said Jorge, who does not really help him. The exhibitions jury was composed of four important people in the art world: the president and CEO of the Latin American Art Museum, Dr. Lourdes I. Ramos-Riva (Puerto Rico), Christian Mac Entyre, artist (Argentina), Nector Mejia, artist (Colombia) and Yoel Diaz Galvez, artist (Cuba).

The winner is decided by a simple majority. This year’s Menduina Schneider Prize winner is Piro Pascal of France for “Les 7 Sacrements”/ “The Seven Sacraments.” The first winner was French, the second winner was Spanish, the third winners were shared between Brazil and Colombia.

Menduina Schneider is not making the selection because it would constitute a conflict of interest. Looking back on this volatile year, Jorge also noted that what happened in San Pedro during the pandemic is that virtually no galleries closed.

He said there was a lot of support from the Waterfront Arts District and that the city of Los Angeles had a lot of grants, which many cities across the country didn’t have. “The state of California has been generous with our gallery and I think that should be highlighted,” he said. “There’s been a lot of help, talking to people in other countries and other states, that people didn’t have.”

“[San Pedro] is a very diverse place and there are really nice people here. Everyone is willing to lend a hand to help,” Jorge said.

MS Art Gallery is proud to support the following institutions.

To visit the link and support them also SILA
The Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles:

SILA – The Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles: http://si-la.org/

MOLAA – Museum of Latin American Art: https://www.molaa.org/