Discovering San Diego Creatives at Sparks Gallery

Initially, after majoring in business, art, and German in college, Sparks chose an international business-oriented career in marketing that included a lot of foreign travel. After eight years, she realized this line of work was not fulfilling. 

One day, while sitting down with her mom over coffee, her mom asked, “If you could do anything, what would you do?” Spontaneously, Sonya replied, “I want to open an art gallery.” Though, she had doubts about her ability to pull it off. Her mom challenged her, asking, “Why not?” 

Sparks learned from her years in business that she needed to understand the market for art in San Diego, and that would require research. “I talked to my professors and did audience surveys. The feedback I got was that there were not enough places to show the art of the artists who live here.” 

Backed by her data, Sparks earned the support of her family, who are involved in real estate. They collectively decided to buy a building, rather than rent space. This gave her gallery venture the kind of gravitas and feeling of permanence that few newer gallerists can claim.

The search for the right space in the right location took a few years, but in 2013, they found the perfect building. The historic Sterling Hardware Building in the Gaslamp Quarter District, located just a few blocks from the San Diego Convention Center, became available.

It took two years to bring the 4,500 sq ft space up to code, and in 2015, Sparks Gallery welcomed their first artists and buyers. Keeping her focus on Southern California artists, with an emphasis on her core group of San Diego-based creatives, these parameters have given Sparks Gallery a clear identity in a marketplace where differentiating your offerings from your competitors can make the difference between success or failure. 

Sparks exhibits impressionist and surrealist work by emerging and mid-career contemporary artists with an emphasis on fine craftsmanship. She is aware of her limits, “I know my bandwidth and I try not to overextend myself… I do not do art fairs. They don’t work for me… but we do a lot of collaborative events. We partner with the Oceanside Museum of Art. 

We love working with them. Their approach fits our curation style.” Like Sparks Gallery, the museum states they “bring people together to explore the art and stories of Southern California artists.”

This gallerist's use of research as a tool did not end with the opening of the gallery. To help people identify their motivation and needs for purchasing art, Sparks offers a Collectors Quiz on the gallery website. People can self-identify as “buyers” or “collectors”. “We focus on buyers, rather than collectors. Our clients are looking for art they can live with. Sort of like jewelry for their home.”

Having a large, attractive venue near the convention center provided the ideal opportunity to offer the space for corporate and group events. “Nearly half our business is renting the space for corporate events, holiday parties, conferences, etc. Our clients love that there is art on the walls. Our exposed red brick walls, high ceilings, and vintage wood floors make for a great atmosphere, and we like to bring in our artists to participate in the events. Sometimes, it leads to the artists being commissioned for custom work.” 

Along with potential links to commercial clients, Sparks offers her roster of in-house artists’ annual solo exhibitions in her smaller upstairs gallery space. She does prefer to have geographic exclusivity agreements with her artists that are confined just to San Diego, which seems fair. They are free to show their work with other galleries outside the city. 

Sparks is all about authenticity and accessibility to art. Her website states, “We stand against art being inaccessible, exclusionary, and confusing to purchase, and against “art” that is made in a factory. We believe in the transformative power of art to inspire, provoke thought, and enrich lives.” It appears San Diego agrees.