Story by LYNETTE BRASFIELD
Photos by Mary Hurlbut
The woman in the painting gazes out of the train window. The light falls faintly on her arm; her expression is inscrutable. Is she arriving somewhere with hope in her eyes? Or leaving a place in sadness? Both interpretations of this work of art by famous El Salvadorian artist Rafael Varela, known as one of the master realists of Latin American art, feel deeply personal to Carla Tesak Arzente, on whose wall at home the painting hangs.
Carla, owner of saltfineart & raw salt gallery, at 346 N. Coast Hwy, is an immigrant, born of Hungarian parents who lived most of their adult lives in El Salvador. She knows the melancholy that comes with leaving home and family and friends; but she also knows the joy of arrival in a place that warms the wandering soul and feels instinctively the right place to settle. In Carla’s case, as for so many of us, that place is Laguna Beach, which also provides the perfect setting for her passionate love of art.
“My earliest memories are of my father taking anyone who crossed our doorstep on a tour around our house. Each of the hundreds of paintings had a story. When he was dying and lost his ability to speak, when people were visiting for my wedding, he would point to each one knowing I could tell the story in his place,” she says. “Varela’s Girl on a Train was my favorite as a young girl.”
The painting spent a brief period of time “lying next to the bathroom scale in his home, awaiting a place to hang,” she says, “because he had such a huge collection and had run out of space on his walls. I begged him to send it to me, but at first he was reluctant. Like me, he wanted to keep all the art pieces he bought.”
Her late father’s influence on Carla’s life has been profound, though except for Varela’s work, Carla says that her taste differs from his in most regards. But she shares his pleasure in stimulating conversation through art. And that’s exactly what happens when passersby wander into the gallery: conversations.
saltfineart features an intriguing selection of pieces by famous Latin American artists as well as emerging local artists “We love to educate people. We live off our windows,” she says. “Where we are located now is perfect; we have Sue Greenwood, JoAnn Artman and Kelsey Michael as neighbors, to mention just them for a start. They’re terrific, and there’s a kind of cross pollination that goes on, an energy that happens from our collective presence here on this block.
“Of course the Art Museum is close by too. I wish I’d known how vital location is when I first started the gallery back in 2009,” she adds. “That was a tough time for us. But of course there was also the recession then. Still we managed to survive even though I knew nothing about business, I’d barely seen a balance sheet.”
For many years Carla worked as a copywriter for Young & Rubicam, one of the top advertising firms in the world, rising to the executive level as a creative director and working on national campaigns ranging from Wrigley’s to Chevron.
So Carla has always been an ideas person, with plenty of passion and heart and generosity in the mix, all qualities that served her well despite her former lack of business acumen. These traits of hers are evident as I chat to Carla, whose excitable flow of words reminds me of a popcorn machine in full popping mode. Her charm is irresistible.
“When we moved here, I thought I might work in a gallery. Then I thought, why not open†a gallery?” she explains.
So she did. The pristine white walls of saltfineart provide a backdrop to a mix of conceptual, pop and a little representative art, some works created by famous artists – famous in many parts of the world, that is, yet little known in the States, particularly in California – and some by locals just beginning their careers.
All are welcome in Carla’s gallery, from first-time art buyers to collectors: here Carla chats with gallery director Suzanne Walsh and me, hiking shoes no problem “Maybe three out of 35 artists came with collectors in tow,” she says. “We actually like first-time art buyers. Some of them stay for hours talking about the work on the walls. Over time some of our artists gather collectors. There’s almost a chemical reaction that occurs, which is great, one thing leads to another and suddenly we’re helping fill an entire house with art.
“From the artists’ point of view, we want to provide space for Latin American but also emerging artists, and we love to educate people about background and style and the symbolism in some of the more abstract pieces, seen in the context of history and culture – why a kitten in a painting might be telling us something about violence, for example,” she adds. “Mostly what we hope for is an emotional response.”
The “we” in question includes her elegant gallery director, Suzanne Walsh: “It’s a tale of two girls,” Carla notes. “Suzanne is indispensable. I love what is weird, and passionate, and interesting. She understands, she has the same passion, but knows we have to pay the rent too. There has to be a balance in the art business to stay alive.” The two met when Carla’s dog “busted” into Peter Blake’s gallery, where Suzanne was working at the time.
“We had lunch and bonded over my salami and butter sandwich,” Carla explains. “Suzanne’s parents are from Poland. We talked about this funny thing Americans do, putting mayonnaise on their sandwiches instead of buttering the sides of the bread. Then of course we talked so much about art.”
saltfineart gets its name from Carla’s belief that, like salt, art adds zest to life and crosses all boundaries.
“As a gallery owner, I know I have to keep things fresh and interesting,” she says. “Here in Laguna, there is such a wide swath of support for all kinds of art, so we can all follow our passion. That’s what makes this town so great, along with the energy and goodwill I feel.”
And Carla is giving back to the community, working with Ryman Arts, the Laguna College of Art and Design, the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach and the Laguna Art Museum, to mention just a few nonprofits – and of course, she plays a significant role through her gallery in expanding our horizons internationally, one artwork at a time. saltfineart is clearly not just the flavor of the month. The gallery, and Carla Tesak Arzente, and her husband George and children Georgie, Charlotte and Henry – her “magnum opus” as she describes her family unit – are thankfully here to stay.