Denver art dealer Earnest Bonner has reopened his Mosadi’s Collections gallery after a nearly four-year hiatus. But this time, the dealer of African-American art has expanded the offerings to include Chinese screens, Indian sculptures and other pieces.
It’s a move partly driven by what Bonner and others say is slim demand for African and African-American art in the Denver market. Bonner is marketing what he calls a “global art gallery” at a new location in Tamarac Square on Hampden Avenue in Denver.
Meanwhile, another local group plans to open a gallery this year to provide local black artists with a venue to display and sell their works.
Both galleries will need to market aggressively to succeed, experts said.
“Art is a luxury, and with the economy the way it is, people are spending their money on necessities,” said Ron Springer, owner of Akente Express, which sells African artifacts, limited-edition prints and original pieces in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood.
The most successful gallery owners have found specific niches and market aggressively, said Bobbi Walker, president of the Denver Art Dealers Association and owner of Walker Fine Art in Denver.
Bonner, a former bond trader who has spent the past few years working as a private art dealer and consultant, said the majority of his clients come from outside Denver.
“The African-American marketplace is not strong enough or big enough here,” Bonner said.
Denver has about 62,400 African-American residents, or 11.3 percent of the city’s population, according to the 2000 census.
Bonner said the majority of collectors he works with are white and live in Cherry Hills Village, a few miles from his new location in Tamarac Square mall.
To reopen Mosadi’s, Bonner, 52, has taken over a 14,000-square-foot former Gap store. Bonner obtained a free three-month lease there after the mall’s management selected his business plan in a contest. He will enter into a one-year “trial lease” once the three months are up.
Bonner has worked in the art business since 1984.
In 1998, he brokered the sale of the historic Barnett-Aden Collection to Black Entertainment Television founder Robert Johnson, who sold BET to Viacom and owns the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats. Reports of the sale estimated the value of the collection at more than $2.5 million.
In 2001, Bonner shut down his previous gallery, also named Mosadi’s, in Denver’s Park Hill neighborhood. He attributed the failure of the business to personal issues, primarily a divorce from his wife, Barbara, who had been his business partner.
Bonner has spent the past several days hosting grand-opening events at the new Mosadi’s. The name, Bonner said, is Swahili for “wife” or “fine thing.”
He has also established the nonprofit Saiku Museum of African American Arts, which will coordinate exhibits in the public spaces of the mall. Bonner plans to host twice-monthly jazz shows and other special events to bring people into his gallery.
Prices at Mosadi’s start at $450 for a print by artist Ernie Barnes. Additionally, Bonner said, the gallery will broker the sale of jewels valued at millions of dollars, though those items will not be on display in the gallery.
Local sculptor Li Hardison said she is enthusiastic that the Denver area will have a new venue for African-American artists.
A member of the Denver-based Sankofa Art Collective, Hardison sells her bronze sculptures for between $1,250 and $9,000. The Sankofa collective, whose core membership includes about a dozen artists, was established to address what Hardison describes as a “marketing vacuum” for African-American artists in Denver.
Members of the black artists group are working to open their own venue, which would serve as an office, studios and gallery space. The group is leasing a 2,000-square- foot space at 3030 Downing St. and plans to open in November or December.
“Denver is an evolved city. There’s no reason there should be only one gallery that specializes in black art,” Hardison said. “We need more than that.”
Staff writer Kristi Arellano can be reached at 303-820-1902 or karellano@denverpost.com.
