Sarah Eberle

In what capacity do you operate at [Rebekah Templeton Contemporary Art]? I'm the owner. I direct it. I curate it. I run it with my husband, Ben Will. I'm more the web designer. We both curate. We both play the director role. So you wear many hats? Oh my god, yes. Are the hats clearly defined? No, never. Does that present a challenge for you? It does to a certain extent. But I'm kind of used to it because I've been doing this sort of business for a long time. I've worked in a lot of art galleries so I've always played this multiple hat role. What's it like working with your husband? We know each other well. We both have very different ideas when it comes to art. He's very conceptual. I like work that's conceptual. But I have a strong need for technical skill. So I look for a more technical aesthetic appeal. Your sensibilities complement each other. Exactly. What is the vision for the gallery? We want to show new contemporary works that have not been shown in Philadelphia before. We want to represent the underrepresented artists--the people who don't have shows in the mainstream galleries in Philadelphia--and support work where the artist whose concepts, technique, and thought process are all kind of coming together, people who are motivated to produce a lot of work. We're not into the Sunday Artist. We want people who are constantly in the gallery working and producing work, and then can back it up with both technical skill and conceptual thought process. You're looking for a viable artist? Yes. I've been told you sell well. What's the secret to that? I wish I knew what the magical secret was because I would keep doing it. You sold a bunch of prints recently. What do you think you did that worked? I think it was because I was really passionate about the stuff I was selling. When I was at the Print Center, there was a huge variety of artists, with a huge variety of work on display. The work that really sold was the work I really liked, the work I felt was contemporary, edgy, really happening, and right now. That's what sold. I think probably my excitement is what sold it over the other stuff. In order to sell any piece of artwork, you have to be really excited about it. It has to be something you would hang in your own house, for whatever price it is. If it's a hundred dollars, if it's four thousand dollars, you have to be willing to spend that amount of money in order to get other people to be willing to spend that amount of money. Even if you don't drop four thousand dollars, as long as you felt, 'I would spend this, if I had it,' buyers get excited about it too. You believe in it. Yes. You have to really believe in what you're selling.