Sardines co-founder builds experimental gallery in Hampton

When artistic director Valentina Akerman and her husband, artist Joe Bradley, opened a gallery from a weathered Amagansett lease last summer, it wasn’t a five-year plan, nor an investor Sec. It started out as a meticulous improvisation experiment that was joined by impulse, instinct and a small group of artist friends.

Akerman Fashion Earlier this year. (Last fall, the gallery did pack up and head to Paris, in line with Paris artwork Paris. It also currently organizes a group performance in the summer space of the Le Cansortium Museum in Becondi, France.

Now, in its second season, the self-funded summer project space has become impossible to develop into a Hampton success story. The summer 2025 show includes a film series, Jewelry and Artist Residence, dinner with chefs Mina Stone and Elijah Tarlow, and four exhibitions that pair the painter with the sculptor.

The lineup began in late May with the performances of painter Julian Kent and ceramicist Isabel Rower. A self-portrait display by Dutch painter Joline Kwakkenbos, followed by a luminous sculptural furniture by Stefan White, followed by late June. Still in: Tenki Hiramatsu’s fantastic, Zen’s canvas while talking to Nate Lowman’s light sculpture on July 18; and the final show on August 9, pairing Ida Ekblad with Erin and Sam Falls’ ceramics, Brazilian designer Pali Cornelsen’s ceramics, and minimalist furniture.

For farmhouses in the 1700s, Akerman (both architect and philosopher) pop-up pop-up style, Bradley also lived. The line between exhibitions between design and art is absolutely blurred. As Ackerman said ArtnewsThe goal is not only to show work; it is to build the space a person wants to leave behind.

Artnews The talk with Akerman about setting up an experimental gallery in Hamptons made the artist say yes, this kind of performance can only happen if the coffee table is part of the installation.

Artnews: When you first started sardines, did you have a hard time convincing people to join?

Ackerman: I think if I have a life talent, it is that I am a very touching person and a good communicator. I’ve always got people involved – people I know and people I just met. I think they believe my interest in them. Even artists I don’t know personally, like Janice Nowinski, I’m exposed to the cold because I saw her work and loved it. Like Hadi Falapishi, I was shocked by his ceramics, sculptures and paintings. I just said, “I really don’t know what this is, but let me show some of these paintings.” People said yes.

Joe (your husband) is listed as co-founder. How did you two split the original vision?

He didn’t really expect it to become it. He thought we were just calling a few people we like to do a small thing. But when he saw what I thought of, he was like, “Oh… OK.” [laughs] I said, “Are you Know I? ”

Some of your early shows include blurring the line between art and design – coated with furniture, ceramics, things that don’t necessarily fit in the white cube model. Is this always the point?

Yes, totally. I am not from a background in art history, I studied philosophy and architecture, and I am South America. If you are South American age in the 90s, you are talking about modernism. In South America, the boundary between objects and art is indeed blurred. It is related to the environment and is about the space for the continuation of aesthetic life. Everything works. I’ve always been fascinated by the objects artists have made for their family. They are so unregulated and full of the spirit of an artist. This is what I want to show.

Did I experience this spiritual experience in the live painting performance of Sophie von Hellerman last year?

Yes! I’ve known Sophie for a long time. I have been to her home, seen murals, painted furniture. A few years ago, I joked, “If I had a gallery, I wanted to make a painting of yours on the furniture.” The time came, and she and her family came, and she lived with us for six weeks while she was painting the show. No one knows. This is a secret. I want to keep things professional, but yes, that cat is out of the bag now. [laughs]

So, you live upstairs, downstairs of the gallery, and sometimes visit the artist?

Yes. It’s a little unusual, but that’s the point. Sophie stayed. Hardy stayed. People come and sit and stay. We drink tea. It’s warm and people linger. This is not a sterile space. This is where you want to go.

There is also a strategic perspective for this position, right?

really. I’ve been in contact with Amagansett for years – Joe and I went with one of our first weekends, where we owned a house for over a decade. So I know who is here. Of course, artists, collectors, curators, consultants. I will meet people at parties, people I know. I thought: If I open a gallery here, in the summer, I will get everyone. Compared to the same space I opened on the Lower East Side on a random Tuesday.

And the house itself? How did you find it?

My friend Jane Wenner (just one of the most inspiring women I know) disappointed me. “With this house, it’s a very underdeveloped market, they’ll only rent it to you for a few years,” she said. It’s perfect. Not commercial, but feasible. We lived upstairs and we showed up downstairs. We rented it in May and by late June, we were already open. That became Gallery 13. Sardines are bigger umbrellas.

You mentioned that sardines were originally temporary. Does it live in Amagensate?

We’re here this summer, but I don’t know next. From the beginning, the idea was that it would move – pop pop in different places, do website-specific projects. That’s why it’s called a sardine. You can carry it with you. It was supposed to be lightweight, portable and playful.

Is it difficult to manage in business?

certainly. This is not a cheap project. But I’m trying to prove that there are other ways to do this. We can be generous and collaborative and still run a business. For example, when I showed it to Julian Kent, I collaborated with his gallery, Kerry Schuss, to organize the show. Kerry is protective – Julian is young and talented – but I said, “Let’s do it together.” It makes him feel more comfortable and the show happens. It’s about respecting and making room.

Last question – Are there other names, or are they always sardines?

I didn’t tell anyone, but naming the gallery is like naming our children. We didn’t really try the name – we just waited, and then suddenly, undeniable. Sardines are like that. Feels perfect. We were on the beach, so that’s it. But I also want something that feels small, plain and fun. There are also some things you can pack and carry around with you. Joe and I painted the logo one night on the kitchen table. People love it. It comes from a very close place.