Monday, March 29. Miles Conrad didn't have to go to his gallery that day - it's closed Mondays.
But the owner of Conrad Wilde Gallery stopped by to check on a few things.
He placed the key in the lock, turned the knob and opened the door to disaster.
A burglary. Devastating to anyone, but especially to a gallery owner who is entrusted with the works of artists.
Thirteen paintings had been pulled off the walls and carted away. A cool $24,000 worth of art - gone.
Another $3,000 in computer equipment was stolen, but it was the art that devastated him.
"I was physically ill all day Monday," Conrad said.
"I don't think I have ever had a worse day in my life."
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But art has long been his life. Giving up wasn't an option.
•••
It was a microscope, a gift from his parents, that inspired Conrad to become an artist.
Peeking through the lens, he became intrigued with the shapes and looks of the specimens. But rather than launching a career in the sciences, those shapes propelled his fascination with art.
"I was brought up in a very creative household," Conrad said.
"My parents encouraged both my inquisitiveness and my artistic side."
Those early views through the microscope are echoed in his work today.
"I think that my work, if you look at it, some of it looks like cellular life, sea life or microbial life," Conrad said about his encaustic - melted wax - works.
"Making art for me is a process of reflection, meditation and self-examination," he said.
While he still is an active artist, he opened the gallery about five years ago to show his works and works of other artists - he represents about 20 of them.
"Oasis," the show that was up when the burglary occurred, featured 25 works from five different artists. Each of those artists was also a victim of the theft.
•••
The gallery put out an electronic bulletin listing all of the missing art, and it installed security cameras.
On Wednesday of that same week, Conrad received an anonymous call from a man who said he found some work in a trash bin; three of the 13 stolen works were returned.
The burglary was bad; breaking the news to the artists was worse. "I feel that I have cultivated a positive relationship and image in the art community, and the news was both shocking and upsetting," he said.
The artists, while sharing the shock and dismay, were supportive. So was the community.
"I had people offering to host benefits, and several people offered to donate art," Conrad recalled.
In the end, he decided to solicit donations for the current exhibit, "Pick Up the Pieces." The works would be sold at a low price, and the show would benefit the artists whose works were stolen.
•••
Artist Mari Marks was in a state of shock when she heard her works had been taken from the gallery.
"I know that things can happen in galleries, but you wouldn't think it would happen to a gallery so careful and on top of everything," she said, speaking from her home in Berkeley, Calif.
The stolen painting - the middle portion of a triptych - was especially painful. She created that work the year after her daughter had died.
"I think any time an artist loses work, it's a piece of themselves," she said.
"It was very much connected with me and my life, and that work was connected to my daughter."
Taking a piece of a triptych - this piece was valued at $2,300 - seemed especially cruel.
"It's like taking off an arm. You could show the two pieces, but there is this feeling of incompleteness."
Nancy Natale's work was among those recovered.
"I'm kind of removed from it, since I'm so far away. It had a different impact on me," she said from her Easthampton, Mass., home.
The diptych that was stolen involved two open books that were missing words. Her elderly mother, who has memory loss, inspired the work.
This was her first time showing with Conrad Wilde, and she doesn't expect her involvement with the gallery to change. In fact, she has donated seven pieces of art for the current show to help those artists whose works have not been recovered.
"Sales have been so lousy, so I donated it for a good cause," Natale said. "I felt bad for people. I was lucky enough to get my work back."
•••
Though most of the paintings still are missing, Conrad hasn't given up hope for them.
And yes, he acknowledges, the theft has shaken his faith and made him question the wisdom of owning a gallery.
But the community and the artists were quick to voice their dismay at the theft and their support of Conrad.
"Once in a while, you hear about galleries who lose work or they don't pay the artist for years," Marks said.
"Some galleries do not treat people well, and this gallery treats artists very well, so people want to stand behind them and support them."
It's sentiments such as those that give Conrad the energy and heart to continue.
"People have encouraged me, coming forward saying how much the gallery means to them," Conrad said.
"That has helped me carry on."
If you go
"Pick Up the Pieces"
• What: A show and sale of donated artwork to raise money to pay artists whose works were stolen. Replacement costs were not covered by insurance.
• Where: Conrad Wilde Gallery, 439 N. Sixth Ave., No. 171.
• When: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays; Sundays by appointment. Show continues through May 29.
• Cost: Free.
• Information: 622-8997, www.conradwildegallery.com
• Online: A slide show of some of the stolen works from the gallery: azstarnet.com/gallery
"I think that my work, if you look at it, some of it looks like cellular life, sea life or microbial life."
Miles Conrad, Director and curator of Conrad Wilde Gallery
Yael Schusterman is a University of Arizona student who is apprenticing at the Star. Contact her at 573-4128 or at starapprentice@azstarnet.com
