Pierre Art & Antiques on Petaluma Boulevard is closing this week after a decade in business.
Owned by Pierre Clauzon, the gallery was a magnet for art lovers and collectors and offered a treasure trove of paintings, antique furniture, ceramics and Native American jewelry.
But with many people visiting, yet few buying over the past four years, staying in business has proved challenging.
“Starting in 2008, sales were dropping so fast you wouldn’t believe it,” Clauzon said. “There is one point when reality climbs over everything else. And the reality was there was a lot more money going out than coming in.”
The store's last day will be this Friday.
A collector for many years, Pierre first opened up a stall at Vintage Bank Antiques in the ‘90s, then expanded into his own gallery in 2002. As his reputation as someone with a good eye spread, artists traveled to sell him their works and his collection grew.
So did his knowledge about art, although Clauzon admits art is as much about a feeling it evokes as the mastery of a brush stroke.
“Art is a very funny thing,” says Clauzon. “You can have art that is $200 and is great and a piece that is $200,000 and is absolute sh—. But whatever it is, is it’s got to turn me on.”
Clauzon is not giving up hope, though.
“I will relax for a few months and analyze the whole thing. And by next spring I hope to return,” he says.
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