Meet Katie Tsouros, The Irish Curator Behind ArtFetch

Lizzie Gore Grimes meets Katie Tsouros, former gallery owner, co-founder
of ArtFetch and online art curator.

What inspired you to set up ArtFetch?

I was running my own gallery in Dublin, KTcontemporary, which I set up in order to promote emerging artists. After two years, I decided to develop the concept and move it online, so launched ArtFetch, with my mother, Patricia Tsouros in 2013. The concept behind ArtFetch was to source and select work from promising up-and-coming artists from around the world and make their work easily accessible to a wider audience.

Beneath the Fir Tree Canopy by Cecilia Danell

What happens now that ArtFetch has been bought by Rise Art?

To take the business to the next level, in 2016, we met with Rise Art, a UK-based online art gallery, offering a similar service but on a much larger scale. As well as the click-to-buy e-commerce angle, Rise Art also offers a unique ‘try-before-you-buy’ art rental service, so you can try works in your home before committing to purchase. I’m excited that, together, we’re breaking down the barriers of the traditional art world and connecting professional artists with buyers and collectors worldwide.

Opium Monoculture 1 by Sophie Iremonger

Which emerging artists are you excited by at the moment?

Some of my favourites, who have come with me from Artfetch to Rise Art, include Cecilia Danell, pictured above, a Swedish-born, Galway-based artist, whose work adds a touch of the surreal to contemporary landscapes. Sophie Iremonger’s paintings are extraordinary, incorporating collage, drawing and mixed media. While, dancer-turned artist, Aisling Drennan, allows her balletic background to inform the movement in her painting to mesmerising effect.