Art connoisseurs won’t find solo artist exhibitions at Pellas Gallery in Coolidge Corner. It’s a space intended to showcase and eventually sell works by a multitude of prolific artists from across the globe.
Owners F Alfredo Pellas IV and Isabel Arguello opened their first gallery on Newbury Street in November of 2019. After deciding to expand, the couple debuted their second location at 14 Green Street in Brookline on January 22.
The two have deep Brookline connections. Pellas, a Boston University alumnus, lived here when he first started dating Arguello, who went to Northeastern University.
“We spent a ton of time in Coolidge Corner, and it’s like going back to where we met,” said Pellas.
Pellas’ love of art started with his father. He collected work by prominent artists, and would take Pellas on trips to source new works. His father collected works by Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, and David Hockney, among other famous artists.
“ His best friends were always painters or gallerists, so that really was a formative thing in my childhood,” said Pellas of his father. “I went on to study finance and art history at Boston College, and I created my own course there where I studied the art market from the 1800s ‘til present and the fluctuations.”
Pellas worked in finance for a few years and had unlimited vacation time. He began shadowing Elizabeth von Habsburg, the co-founder and co-executive chairman of Winston Artory Group.
Alfredo Pellas and Isabel Arguello pose in their new Brookline gallery. Photo by Michael Blanchard
“ Isa and I would travel all around the world with her, learning where she was investing, what she was acquiring for clients, what she was acquiring for our family,” he said. “After two or three years of doing that, I started my own art investment fund, and that started to do really well.”
Pellas quit his finance job and worked with Arguello to open their first gallery.
Arguello also studied contemporary art at Northeastern. She said one of the best parts of Pellas Gallery is the art community that has embraced their art shows.
“ We do events every month and a half or so, and we have this amazing, amazing community that always shows up. Even if they don’t buy art, they always show up,” said Arguello.
The new gallery is located on the ground floor of Alaïa, a luxury residential building. Arguello said when they saw the space open up, they were excited about the chance to return to Coolidge Corner.
“ Coolidge Corner has a community that is so tight knit,” said Arguello. “It’s a very special place where there’s a lot happening. The bookstore is right around the corner, so everyone goes there to study, to socialize, then you have all of these different things and what was missing was an art gallery.”
Praise Shadows Art Gallery used to occupy the space at 313A Harvard Street. However, its final exhibition closed on Dec. 20 last year. The gallery will reopen in a new space in downtown Boston this spring.
Pellas Gallery on Newbury Street is a space to highlight emerging to mid-career artists in group and solo exhibitions. Its Brookline location will look a little different.
“In the Coolidge Corner spot, we’re showing a lot of very well known, established artists, some blue chip, some just extremely well known to the public,” said Pellas.
The gallery is currently showing work by many artists, including Frank Stella, the late abstract artist from Malden, and New York-based contemporary artist Daniel Arsham.
“ I thought it was a beautiful homage for us to bring a Frank Stella into his state and have him showcased. That’s a special piece for this new opening,” said Arguello. “I think he would be very happy to see his work in a local gallery.”
Pellas and Arguello are also exhibiting work by Ajarb Bernard Ategwa, who paints contemporary scenes of self-expression in Cameroon. They will show his work in the next solo exhibition at their Newbury Street gallery.
Arguello said the Brookline gallery will also function as a boutique advisory firm.
“ So we help if a client’s looking for a Basquiat or Warhol, we help connect them with the seller,” said Pellas. “ We have a really big network of private brokers and clients.”
Pellas Gallery in Brookline is currently open by appointment only, but Arguello said they plan to open up more visiting hours during the summer.
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