I can't deny it, I'm in the "business" of Art. I make Art and I sell Art - but being an artist I prefer to have the Art carry over into the business (rather than the other way around) thus becoming "the Art of business." When I opened WARES FOR ART in January 1994 my intention was (and still is) to let the Art of the individual see 'the light of day' and in so doing give this individual perspective (which in reality represents a large group of individuals) the possibility to be passed on (sold) for a reasonable rate of exchange ("somewhere between worthless and priceless"). Artists do the work of expressing and, in a subjective way, they objectify the context in which every individual is immersed - namely, this planet at this time. Everyone else is too busy producing the other goods and services necessary for life (which is an art, too) so that they largely depend on Artists to take the necessary time, pain and ecstasy needed to produce the spiritual representations that keep the delicate balance and faith between the material and spiritual worlds. Art is a constant reminder of a human potential that is above and beyond the call of gravity. Each work is a small piece of the collective consciousness, a precious commodity that has evolved into one of the building blocks of life (along with Air, Fire and Water) and is necessary for the stasis of what is unique to 'human' life - the Ego, the concept of the Self in the middle of everything else - a particle of the Mystery. Art travels along a parallel path to Science, each attempting to find the basic building blocks of this Mystery and like Quantum Physics (our newest science), each particle (each piece of the collective consciousness, the work of Art) only exists when observed. This is the real reason to buy Art - not as an investment, not fashion, not because it goes with your couch - but to support those doing the work of the human spirit and to surround oneself with this key element - to observe it and thus make it real - and in return, the human spirit (and by extension, the planet) becomes richer (not in dollars, but in 'sense').

Phil Demise Smith