Photograph by Hannah Schindewolf
A little over a year ago, Robert Kent Tuchman wondered if moving his Marietta-based RobertKent Galleries from 85 Church Street to 145 Church Street was the right decision. True, it wasn’t far—just a dozen-odd doors down the street—but number 85 had been a good fit for six years. Then he saw his own initials, RKT, carved into the pavement behind the building at the proposed spot, and fate seemed sealed. “It looked like it had been there for decades,” he says.
Tuchman began operations in 2010 as a seller of wholesale art. In the beginning, he would drive a truck full of paintings across the Southeast to meet with interior designers, who accounted for 90 percent of his business. In state after state—“from Texas to Tennessee”—Tuchman encountered artists who were intrigued by his journey. “I met a retired architect at a sushi bar who had become an artist, and I decided to show his art,” he says. “It’s been a lot of social interaction and networking.” His friendly nature attracted enough artists that by 2012, he was able to open the first iteration of RobertKent Galleries. He married his wife, Holly, the same year.
The Tuchmans’ first location, at the corner of South Marietta Parkway and Atlanta Street, was small and difficult for customers to find, so in 2017, they moved the gallery to roomier quarters at 85 Church. Holly soon began working for the gallery full time, and RobertKent Galleries picked up the pace, exhibiting between three and four artists each month. One recent exhibition included the artists Rita Vilma, Lorraine Kimsey, Kanayo Ede, and Paz. Philanthropic events are also frequent, with funds benefiting organizations such as The Humane Society of Cobb County and The Earl and Rachel Smith Strand Theatre.
The new, larger gallery is populated by a variety of paintings, sculpture, and mixed media, representing artists “from Woodstock to Prague,” says Tuchman. “We focus on living artists: artists who make a living by creating their work.”
It’s been a fruitful first year at 145 Church Street, but the Tuchmans find themselves looking toward retirement. They plan to leave the gallery in the capable hands of their staff, though Holly is doubtful her husband will step back from the business he loves. “He might work until his grave—but I would like to retire and sit under an umbrella at the beach,” she says. “And you can print that!”
This article appears in our October 2024 issue.
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