With her primary gallery at 49 Geary St., Christina Maybaum is determined to help revitalize the area surrounding Union Square. “For the past few years, I’ve been looking at many vacant spaces in the downtown area,” she says. “This is a missed opportunity. They should be showcasing beautiful art. We need to liven up the downtown. What better way to activate spaces than with art and culture?”
She began looking for a place to expand, and in late January, Maybaum opened a second gallery in the storied Barney’s building on the corner of Stockton and O’Farrell. “The space at Barney’s was quite intimidating for me when I toured it, and so initially I decided not to take it on, but it only took me about a week of sitting with it to change my mind.”
The new gallery will be Maybaum’s venue for hosting events and large-group shows, with the basement level highlighting emerging artists and the ground floor level showcasing established artists like Birgit Brandis, Melanie Daniel, Gregory Hayes and John Miranda.
This month at the Stockton space, there is a large-scale sculpture show, as well as a second-floor solo exhibition of new work by Karina Bania. Maybaum hopes that San Franciscans “are excited about the artists we are showcasing. I encourage people to invest in your local businesses. If you want to see a thriving downtown, you do have to spend money at retail businesses here.”
