Embrace criticism but trust your instincts. While constructive feedback can help you grow as an artist, it’s important to trust your own intuition and vision. Don’t feel pressured to change your style or artistic choices based solely on others’ opinions, especially early on in your career.
As a part of our series about “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became An Artist” I had the pleasure of interviewing Adam Umbach.
Adam Umbach was born in Chicago, and currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. After being inspired from an early age by the modern masters collection at the Art Institute of Chicago, he received his BFA in painting from the University of Wisconsin.
Beginning his painting career with minimalist canvases based on the enigmatic names of color swatches, Umbach’s creative approach has expanded to experiments with abstraction, geometric painting, and expressionism. The evolution of Umbach’s painting is markedly influenced by his surroundings, from the maritime imagery and seaside colors from his time living in East Hampton, New York and Islesboro, Maine to the graphic style of New York City’s architecture and graffiti.
Umbach’s work pairs formalist explorations with photorealistic depictions of recognizable objects, including boats, toys such as rubber ducks and teddy bears, and pink flamingo lawn ornaments. A biographical painter, Umbach’s chosen subjects, which often repeat through differing bodies of work, belong to a personal and familial iconography. Though sourced from his life, Umbach’s paintings invite viewers to connect with this imagery by evoking their own experiences and memories.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I grew up in Chicago and was inspired from an early age by the modern masters’ collection at the Art Institute of Chicago downtown by Millennium Park. A child of divorce, I’d spend most of my time building Legos and drawing my favorite characters as it was a way for me to escape the hecticness of my home life providing me with a form of control and safe space.
As I got older, influenced by the loss of my father at seventeen, I chose to pursue art over my prior goal of Hospitality Management. I obtained a BFA in painting from the University of Wisconsin. After being denied admission to the Art Institute of Chicago’s graduate program, I worked at my family’s hardware store in Chicago before finding mentorship with Thomas O’Gorman, resulting in my first meaningful art sales.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
I touched on it a bit above, but after graduating from the University of Wisconsin, while I had a credible body of work, I was feeling very deflated after not being accepted into the Art Institute of Chicago’s graduate program. At the time, I was physically and emotionally stuck working at my family’s ACE hardware store in Chicago trying to figure out my next steps. As fate would have it, a near fatal accident and funeral encounter led me to find mentorship with Thomas O’Gorman, a well-connected Chicagoan and self-trained painter.
We met through former state senator David Sullivan. Tom generously used his connections to introduce me to influential people in Chicago and provided me with my first opportunities to showcase my work after I graduated. Tom has always been a champion of my work and my potential; he believed in me fully in a time in my life that I truly needed it and I am forever thankful.
Without gallery representation or the network that comes with an MFA, I felt I had to carve my own path to showing and selling my work. Therefore, Tom and I decided to create our own pop-up gallery where I was able to showcase my minimalist paintings that were a continuation of the series from my senior thesis. With Tom’s connections, we were able to partner with Chicago’s premiere restaurant group to begin showing our paintings together.
These shows ended up leading to my first meaningful sales after college along with corporate commissions.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
My career turning point didn’t quite happen the way I thought it would. I had the opportunity to present a solo show in Bridgehampton, kicking off Memorial Day weekend back in 2021 through a friend who lived in the area. I spent all my time, energy, and effort creating a body of work I was proud of and was disappointed when I found out the gallerist took down more than half of the show less than 24 hours after the opening as she didn’t feel as if she connected with some of the work.
Luckily my friend fought for me, arguing that it wasn’t fair to take down the show so quickly after I had worked so hard preparing and creating for it. To her credit, the gallerist decided that while the work may not be for her, it may be something a colleague may like, so she sent images of the work over to him. That colleague was Ron Cavalier, President of Cavalier Galleries. A few weeks later, I signed my contract with the gallery and have never looked back. My career changed for the better that day, and now my work is in all the gallery’s locations across Greenwich, CT, New York, NY, Nantucket, MA, and Palm Beach, FL.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
This summer, I have a solo show, Finding Home, with Carver Hill Gallery in their popup location in Rockland, ME for the month of July. It’s a large, playful space across from the Center for Maine Contemporary Art, and I can’t wait to fill it with my paintings. The work is always on display with Cavalier Galleries in their locations across Greenwich, CT, New York, NY, Nantucket, MA, and Palm Beach, FL.
Later this year, I’ll be showcasing my work at Art Miami through Cavalier Ebanks Galleries. More to come there!
Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?
I have met many interesting people throughout my lifetime, but one person who stands out is Janet Lehr, a gallerist I worked for in East Hampton. Janet was my first access to blue-chip artwork, known as works produced by the world’s most recognizable artists, whose pieces sell for high prices and at volume. Janet called herself one of five people selling photographs in the 70’s, and it was through her I was able to view the breathtaking photographs of Marilyn Monroe taken by Burt Stern.
Another interesting person is Sir John Richardson, a British Art Historian and Picasso’s biographer. Back in 2012, my mentor Tom flew us to New York City for the day and we ended up at Sir John’s home. When sitting in his living room, I saw what I thought to be a Lucien Freud painting, and when I asked Sir John about it, he said yes and threw the painting at me! Following that surreal moment, we had lunch at the Union Square Café. What a day!
Where do you draw inspiration from? Can you share a story about that?
My inspiration comes from my collective nostalgia for childhood memories. Within my paintings, I juxtapose photorealistic representations of everyday objects with expressionistic mark-making. For instance, I’ll take an object as simple as a boat, rubber duck, or pink flamingo lawn ornament that belongs to a personal and familial iconography pair it with thickly rendered lines and forms — using my non-dominant hand — to create fostering a sense of play reminiscent of childhood drawing. While the subjects of my paintings are always personal to me, I do try to choose things that might also have meaning for others. This approach results in a formal tension that mirrors the balance between his playful, often humorous subjects and the weight of the memories they symbolize. There is a sense of loneliness pervading the depiction of a single teddy bear, toy, or boat, which is counterbalanced by the comfort and hope these objects bring.
For example, I’ve been working on a lot of paintings inspired by Legos. One painting in particular, Barbie World, connects to a feeling of nostalgia for my childhood. Painting these building blocks now as an adult provides the same satisfaction I had when building them as a kid. The Lego T-Rex is of particular interest because, depending on the perspective, the dinosaur could be smiling with joy or clenching its teeth in anxiety. The contrast between the enduring quality of plastic and the extinction of the dinosaur is significant. Created during the summer when the movie Barbie was a cultural phenomenon, the painting reflects a “boy” toy happily existing in a feminine world and celebrates the power of the female lens in culture.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
The more I grow and mature as an artist, I try to bring in other creative people I’ve met along the way to help provide them with opportunities they may be seeking. For example, Triston Huntley, a friend who I worked with at Starbucks in East Hampton now does the embroidery work for my hats. His creativity is unmatched. Betty Manyisha, an incredible photographer who I met when she was working at a coffee shop in my neighborhood handles the photography of my studio and events. She has an incredible eye. And Vince Reichenbach, a friend I went to art school with, does the graphic design work for my business when needed. I love his style.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
- Art can be therapeutic. Growing up in a dysregulated household, early on in my childhood I needed to find something that gave me some sense of control. I gravitated toward playing with Legos and drawing, which have both remained a constant in my life. When I’m painting, I am invisible to everything else around me. Painting allows me to express myself in ways I felt like I couldn’t as a child, helping me convey my emotions, thoughts, and experiences in a visual form. For me, painting serves as an emotional release, as most of my work is inspired by nostalgia and childhood memories. To that point, most paintings include some sort of object that is a nod to my childhood, whether it’s Lego-like building blocks, rubber ducks or boats, everything in my work has some sort of meaning.
- Embrace criticism but trust your instincts. While constructive feedback can help you grow as an artist, it’s important to trust your own intuition and vision. Don’t feel pressured to change your style or artistic choices based solely on others’ opinions, especially early on in your career. To this day, while I seek advice from my gallery representation on certain aspects of my work, I always try to stay true to myself and my creative vision. My thinking is, there is always a buyer for your art, no matter how niche. I’ve had paintings sell immediately and I’ve had paintings sell years after I’ve completed them. Keep believing in yourself and your vision, it’ll pay off.
- It’s important to plant seeds. An employer once told me that every hand that you shake is a dollar in your pocket. Throughout my career I’ve noticed the connections I make and people I meet, while there is often not an instant reward, you do see over time how things develop into opportunities. Take my 2021 solo show in Bridgehampton, for example. While the original gallerist didn’t connect with my work, she was able to introduce me to another gallerist who did. I’ve been represented by that gallery ever since.
- Adult life is about delayed gratification. While it can be easy to get trapped into measuring your success by the presence or absence of sales, it’s important to remember that sales will always vary. Some months you may sell nothing, other months you may sell 10 paintings. It’s important to zoom out to see the progress over time. Focusing too hard on the day to day is very up and down.
- Define success for yourself. Success in art isn’t just about fame or fortune. It means different things to different people. For me, it’s a combination of artistic growth, positive impact on viewers and financial stability. This industry has constant ups and downs, rejections and acceptances. It’s important to stay true to your values and goals amidst external pressures.
We have been blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she just might see this.
Beyoncé. She’s famously private and I would love to hear stories about how she got to where she is today. In my opinion, she’s a creative genius. I can’t stop listening to her new album, and her ability to write and perform music from so many different genres is unparalleled. I find her very inspiring.
What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?
I’m very active on Instagram, you can follow me @ a_umbach.
For anyone interested in learning more about my artwork, you can check out my latest paintings on my website https://www.aumbach.com/ as well as at my gallery representation https://www.cavaliergalleries.com/ and https://carverhillgallery.com/.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Adam Umbach: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Became An Artist was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.