DeCarlo is drawn mainly to color work and likes narratives—particularly those that have people as the subject. She looks at the underlying scenario, things that she’s been thinking about, worrying about or just interested in. Sometimes she will see an artist’s work that haunts her. She keeps up with that individual, following what they’re doing, until she finally approaches them for a show.

As part of her dual job, DeCarlo also enjoys interacting with clients, learning what they want by understanding how they see the world. While she likes finding art that fulfills their vision, DeCarlo also exposes them to new and challenging work, and offers this advice to nascent collectors: “Be conscious of what you like—talk about it, think about it, take notes and learn what you like about it. You have to develop a vocabulary. A lot of people are afraid of what they like because they’re not sure if it’s good and they’re afraid whether someone else likes it. Only you need to love it. Act on your studied instinct and do remember that acquisitions make new work possible.” She adds, “It should be empowering for collectors; they are a big piece of the cultural consumer pyramid. It’s a big responsibility.”

DeCarlo feels a sense of responsibility to the larger art community. She explains, “I’m trying to cultivate the next generation of artists as well as cultural consumers. Keeping a gallery open to the public is very important to a sustainable and healthy cultural community. Ultimately, it’s my job to sell and increase the value of artists’ work, but this outreach is an investment in the future.” She cautions, “ Art fairs have become the new norm for the collecting public, but galleries are an important part of the local community’s cultural infrastructure. We vet, make sense of and help decode the current work. We provide the viewer a place to see the work, mark it in time and place, and create a history through exhibitions.”

Download a pdf of the full story by Larry Lytle in Black & White Magazine, 2016.