WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Over the years we've learned a lot about the importance of names, perceptions relating to them and how things can evolve over time in relationship to them.  When we first selected the name "Plus Gallery" we quickly noticed that there was a Japanese version of our namesake, though it doesn't seem to be much of an issue over the years, we still retain the "top" ranking when it comes to online searches and haven't noticed too much weirdness via our google alerts.

But nobody has it tougher than artists.  Notable Denver artist John McEnroe, whose career we supported for many years previously on his path upward, is probably the most extreme example.  We were constantly plagued by random inquiries into his artwork, or requests for autographs, by people assuming it was the tennis player/art dealer/collector who still maintains a huge profile in the tennis world.  Though it doesn't effect our cycle of communications, our current featured artists Xi Zhang comes up quite often in the volleyball circuit, apparently a Xi Zhang is quite the brilliant athlete in that sphere, and there is also a phenomenal young Chinese illustrator that goes by the same name as well.  Even our leading artists Jenny Morgan has multiple levels of crossover in the world, with several artists having the same name (though nowhere near the notoriety) and there's even a newly released "Jenny Morgan Bitter" which clocks in at 3.5% abv and probably quite enticing to a few drinkers in the UK.

Most recently we've noticed the more diabolical side of name clashes, as Plus Gallery's own Frank T. Martinez has had several recent inquiries as to whether he has switched galleries in Denver.  We've long known that he always uses the T. in his name because of the popularity of that combination amongst the Hispanic population in the world.  But with Space Gallery having recently moved into a new space, it seems their previous space is now occupied and run by a Frank Martinez who also happens to be a painter. It seems that our Frank T. is still ranking the highest on google searches, and we're pretty sure his artwork and reputation command the most respect, but it definitely made us want to reflect on what goes on with names and how important that can be for an artist or anyone's perception of their career.