Good Neighbor Podcast: Pittsburgh
Bringing together local businesses and neighbors of Pittsburgh. Good Neighbor Podcast hosted by Leila Carter helps residents discover and connect with your local business owners in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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Good Neighbor Podcast: Pittsburgh
E87: Framing the Future: 25 Years of Matchmaking Artists with Art Lovers at BoxHeart Gallery
What makes Nicole Capozzi and Joshua Hogan with BoxHeart Gallery good neighbors?
Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of an art gallery? In our latest episode, we dive deep with Nicole Capozzi and Joshua Hogan, the dynamic duo behind BoxHeart Gallery, who've spent nearly 25 years creating a vibrant art ecosystem in Pittsburgh's Bloomfield neighborhood.
Nicole and Joshua shatter the myth that art galleries are exclusively for the wealthy or elite. As Nicole puts it while laughing, "I'm here mopping the floors and selling the art simultaneously." Their philosophy is refreshingly straightforward: art should be accessible to everyone and integrated into everyday life. They've crafted BoxHeart into what they call a "living, breathing gallery" where contemporary works by living artists take center stage—no mass-produced posters, only original creations by artists actively shaping our culture.
What makes BoxHeart truly special is their holistic approach to supporting the art community. Beyond exhibiting work, they offer custom framing and installation services, supporting both artists and collectors "from the studio walls into their homes." The gallery serves as both a creative incubator and a gathering place where commerce and culture intersect. Their current exhibition featuring The Pittsburgh Group—17 women artists who've supported each other since the 1970s—exemplifies their commitment to showcasing diverse artistic expressions.
Perhaps most remarkable is how Nicole and Joshua have intertwined their personal and professional lives. In 2018, they moved into their current building where they literally live above the gallery, with Joshua's painting studio occupying the third floor. "It's amazing to be able to live in the space," Joshua shares. "If I can't sleep, I just walk down the hall and could turn the lights on and start painting again." As they prepare to celebrate their 25th anniversary with a special exhibition titled "These Walls Talk" featuring over 100 artists, they invite everyone to experience the unique energy of BoxHeart Gallery—where art isn't just displayed but truly lives and breathes.
Ready to discover original art that you'll "live with and love forever"? Visit boxheartgallery.com to explore their upcoming exhibitions and perhaps find your perfect artistic match.
To learn more about BoxHeart Gallery go to:
https://boxheartgallery.com/
BoxHeart Gallery
412-687-8858
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Lila Carter.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of an art gallery? One might be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbors Nicole Capozzi and Joshua Hogan with Box Heart Gallery. How are you both doing?
Speaker 3:Great.
Speaker 2:Very good. How about yourself? Very well, thanks, so much Thanks for being here. We're excited to learn all about you and your business, so please tell us more about your company, whoever wants to jump in.
Speaker 4:Okie dokie. Well, I guess I would say that, boxhart, we are an art gallery, but we're not just a place where art hangs on the walls. We like to think of ourselves as very much a living, breathing art gallery. For almost just about 25 years now, we've worked alongside our own local and regional artists, as well as national and international artists so artists from all over the world to exhibit and sell their artwork, and the main goal has always been to give them the means to build sustainable careers in the arts. I like to think of us as art matchmakers. At the heart of what we do is sell art. We like to connect people with artwork that they'll live with and love forever.
Speaker 4:Everything in our gallery is very contemporary. It is being made right now by artists who are alive, working in their studios, experimenting and shaping culture in real time. So, for example, the exhibition that we have up currently is the Pittsburgh Group. The Pittsburgh Group is 17 women, obviously all from Pittsburgh. They began meeting in the late 70s to just support each other in their careers and talk about their art, but they're really, I like to say there's 17 women with one vision and countless expressions, because they all come from these different places but ended up together in Pittsburgh. They're obviously all artists, but they work in very different medias and styles and it's just quite wonderful. So if you came to this exhibition now, you would see very traditional pastels by Deborah Platt, you would see fiber artwork by Jane Augren or Williams Brewer, or colored pencil, vibrant drawings by Susan Werner. It's just a very.
Speaker 4:Our gallery is a very diverse mix of all sorts of artists all the time, and then we never have posters. Everything here is again alive and original. We also offer custom framing and art installation, so we're able to support basically both sides, like we could support our artists and our art lovers from the studio walls into their homes. I like to think like we're kind of like a gathering place but also an incubator, where culture and commerce can meet in a way that really respects our artists, and that we're different in a museum and that a museum is showing kind of like what already happened, whereas our galleries are very much showing what is happening right now are very much showing what is happening right now.
Speaker 2:Very cool that you get to be a part of actively telling the story of the arts scene in Pittsburgh as it's happening and get to share all of the stories of these artists. And so how did you get into this business, both of you? It's so unique.
Speaker 4:Well, we started technically in 1998, but we established our physical location here in the neighborhood of Bloomfield in 2001. This was a gallery before us. It was John Mowder's Bloomfield Artworks. But Josh is an artist, so he had exhibited with John Mowder at Bloomfield Artworks and at the time I was coordinating women's work exhibitions. So I had an exhibition of women all throughout the city of Pittsburgh here back in the late 90s as Bloomfield Artworks. And when he closed and the space was vacant, we thought what would be better than to start an art gallery?
Speaker 4:and at the time we really wanted to create the type of space that we didn't really feel existed then, which was one where the gallery could be very approachable but also still very serious about the art. We started very small. Sometimes, I think, we're still grassroots. We learned by doing. We're still learning by doing. We built it brick by brick. Learned by doing. We're still learning by doing. We built it brick by brick. We're still doing that. And then we literally moved into this building in 2018. So now it's our home and gallery, and that mix of personal investment and community connection is still what drives us today.
Speaker 2:Very cool. I actually grew up above my mother's stained glass studio, so I can't really. You said that Joshua is also an artist. What kind of medium do?
Speaker 3:you like.
Speaker 3:I'm an oil painter and it's kind of a mix of abstract and surreal landscape and I've been painting for many years now and I'm on the third floor is my studio.
Speaker 3:We live on the third floor, but I'm in the front half is my studio on the third floor. So it's just amazing to be able to live in the space where I could wake up or if I can't sleep, I just walk down the hall and could go back, turn the lights on and start painting again. Or each day and each morning I wake up and I'm in the studio again and it's it's a awesome. It's an awesome experience to be able to have your work so close and also just be in the space. That's support so many other artists and have artists coming in all the time, so there's like a constant interaction. A lot of times, as an artist, you can just be in your studio and if you're not around, you could feel like you're on an island and and so it's really nice to have some companionship or just other artists, to see what they're doing, inspire each other and talk to each other.
Speaker 2:So it's been for me definitely fuels creativity, and then, when you are feeling inspired, you can just jump right in.
Speaker 3:I love that yeah.
Speaker 2:So what are some myths, or maybe misconceptions, in your industry that you'd like to talk about today?
Speaker 4:Well, I think, probably like a myth right off the top is always just that, like galleries are elitist or only for, like, very wealthy people and collectors, that you kind of have to, like I don't know, be fancy or whatever to go into a gallery and like. That's definitely not true. Like, um, we were very you know, I'm here mopping the floors and selling the art simultaneously like, again, it's a very approachable gallery. We've always believed that art should just be a part of everyday life. It it has to be able to live in the environments that we live in, and they're not perfect, they can be a little messy sometimes.
Speaker 4:And our collectors we don't even necessarily even refer to people that buy art as art collectors, they're just people. I mean, they range from people that are buying their very first artwork to those have been with us for decades. But our whole mission is just to prove that art can be both professional and accessible. And then, probably the other thing I would say is that, like I mean, when we opened the gallery in 2001 here in Bloomfield, people said, oh, you'll never sell art in Pittsburgh. That is definitely a misconception. That is what we do for a living is sell art in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 4:So, and it's pretty cool that it is a misconception and that it can't be done and that artists I mean now in the city we have, all you know, professional art studios and just artists that are really um doing amazing things with their professional career. So it's it's been neat to like watch that um growth and transformation over the 24 years that we've been here I think as a artist too, like we're here to help artists make their artwork their profession too.
Speaker 3:So, like Evan, there's so often artists, people think art isn't something a hobby you do on the side, but we're also just creating this profession, this livelihood. You don't have to be in New York or be this famous artist. There's plenty of people who just will follow and love your work and want to support artists and you just love what you're doing, doing good work. So it's neat little outlets like our gallery and galleries across the country and that's it's all works hand in hand.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and I think people who maybe don't know the reputation in Pittsburgh is we are a very lively artsy. Yes, yes, yes.
Speaker 2:There's arts festival every year. We have, you know, fair in the park and melon park just happened. I was up there. There were tons of vendors for different types of art, so you can really find something for everyone, absolutely. As an artist looking to relocate, I highly suggest that you check out Pittsburgh. There's a community here for you. And so, as we get to the heart of every business through marketing, who are your target customers and how are you currently attracting them to the gallery?
Speaker 4:art lovers, students, interior designers, but I mean also just neighbors. Like we love being part of bloomfield community and just having, um, just our local neighbors that like to come in to see the different exhibits. It's like gives them a chance just for like a couple minutes to like, just be, like oh, what's the lady have up new? And like that's the whole point is being able to just be here. So people come in and like see the space, feel a space that feels alive with, like these things that are changing and growing around them.
Speaker 4:So we try to attract people by just staying consistent and intentional, curating our exhibitions to spark some conversation, but but showing artwork that we think is relevant, lasting, building trust with our clientele. You know, like with the artists and Instagram and all these social media things these days. Like you know, I try to tell customers that come in and they're interested in artists' work like you don't have to buy this right now. Like you can follow this artist, like you could go visit their studio and like see how they're actually making this, because, like art can be an investment sometimes. So, like take the time to really go and explore what's out there and find what you really love.
Speaker 4:Um, I think that type of thing really builds like connection and trust with customers, because it's not about it's. We're like exposing and if you find what you love here, that's awesome, but there's so much to go see and so many talented people. And then, of course, like people discover us online. I mean social media platforms like instagram or marketplace platforms like artsy and etsy but I think what keeps them engaged is the experience that they have whenever they come into box art because it's an art gallery. It's literally a living room and a bedroom. And a box art because it's an art gallery. It's literally a living room and a bedroom and a showroom upstairs. It's an art studio.
Speaker 3:So it's like all these mix mash of things that come together to show off the art it's always changing, so just the nature of having exhibitions, so people can come in again the next month, because it'll be different art it'll be totally different assignment that always kind of stays the same, even though, uh, nicole will rearrange it with each show, probably two, but it's if you were here once in a couple months.
Speaker 4:It's totally different things, so it's a good reason to stop back yeah, and bluefield, I tell people you know, if you walk by our windows and the windows are different, it means it's all switched up inside. So if you come back in again the next month you'll be like, oh, it's a totally new space well, have you guys ever maybe thought about doing your own podcast to reach your clients?
Speaker 2:I know there's so many different walks of life who are buying art. Maybe that's something that they have in common is listening to podcasts.
Speaker 4:Well, I mean, we definitely think about storytelling all the time. I kind of have to write a story, like with every post on Instagram, about the art, and I mean art itself is a podcast. It's how artists speak across mediums and generations system that can track vibrancy or the vibe of a small business on a larger scale. Cities are doing this to track things like attendance and neighborhood vitality but, our system is not abstract metrics.
Speaker 4:It's a way to take those larger things and boil them down for small businesses, so things like social media, residents, creative risk, foot traffic, maybe for an art gallery, something specific like if you sell an art, sell a piece of art where it travels to in the world. So, layered all together, these pulses can behave like a feedback loop and they respond to what we do and reflect it back. So in that sense, our gallery is kind of like becoming a podcast, but in data form.
Speaker 3:I love listening to podcasts but I would I never wanted to do one because it's. I give you a lot of credit because it takes a lot of time and I'd be kind of intimidated just with putting your face out there and and putting the interaction with all the people and having it recorded. I think that takes a lot of courage too and time. I'm sure there's a lot of doing, even after the interviews and all that.
Speaker 2:Well, I think you both have a lot of great information to share with your clients, and I love that you share that. You're collecting all those data points. That's so cool to me. So what do you all do for fun?
Speaker 4:Well, I mean, the gallery is, I think I mean anybody that has a small business, doesn't?
Speaker 4:I don't think it matters, it's an art gallery or anything.
Speaker 4:You know, it's such a huge part of your life that outside work often is still very much involves like what you do for work.
Speaker 4:So, like you know, it's such a huge part of your life that outside work often is still very much involves like what you do for work.
Speaker 4:So, like you know, we obviously spend time going to artist studios, going to other people's exhibitions Josh has exhibitions and our work in other places and states in the United States means, like we're currently getting ready to usher in our 25th year with our upcoming exhibition, these walls talk, which will kind of gather the voices and artwork of artists who have really been instrumental in shaping our history over the years. Um, it's a celebration of, um, just you know, having box art, being fortunate to have box art for all this time, but also a hint towards kind of, like you know, this might be the final chapter, like we don't have 25 more years left, you know, but this way we could go and actually go do something fun sometimes I've always wanted to go do like we're kind of living in art residency for 25 years now because there's people coming here, some of the event artists stay here, and so now I always kind of say it would be nice to go experience a residency for real somewhere else.
Speaker 3:We're kind of open for the future.
Speaker 2:Very cool. Well, congratulations on 25 years. That's amazing, yeah. And so, nicole and Joshua, please tell our listeners one thing that you want them to remember about Box Art Gallery.
Speaker 4:I would say that box art is where you can buy art. If you never thought you could, you could buy art there's. We don't have posters or mass produced decor. It's original art paintings, sculpture, jewelry again created by artists who are alive and really making things and shaping our culture right now. So I think it's you know we've really built something that is lasting because it's rooted in real relationships with our artists and our art lovers and the people that stop in, our neighbors, our friends, our family, and that people can trust us to connect them with art that they'll just really love. That's what we're about.
Speaker 3:No, you'd say persistence. I mean we're definitely been persistent to stay here and it's a balance of realism and persistence where you see what you have and what you're doing and it's not just a dream. I think if we build it they'll come, like you know it's going to take time and like get along with each other and enjoy it, but it's all. Keep making it better as you go, but you can't have it perfect from the beginning.
Speaker 2:And what a lovely thing that you both get to share that, too, in your relationship. Yes, yes. I love that. So how can our listeners learn more about box art gallery? I know that you said you were on social media a little bit, but can you share some of your handles and such?
Speaker 4:Oh, yeah, absolutely. Um, uh, you can visit us online on our website, boxartgallerycom. We literally have on our exhibitions page what's coming up through all of next year so you could be in the loop for the whole year in advance. You could always stop into our space. We're always free and open to the public. On Instagram we're at box art gallery. On Facebook I think it's box art gallery. On Tik TOK it's at box heart. So we're definitely on all the social channels. Youtube piano is heartbox Productions, where I post kind of like walk through, like a quick thing, of every exhibition so you can see all the space changes. And then I say, if you're local, I recommend at least coming on November 15th, from five to seven. That's our 25-year kickoff celebration Over 100 artists, the whole building open and a great way to really experience the gallery and, like I said, always free and open to the public so you could always stop in and check it out.
Speaker 2:Over 100 artists, that's awesome.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it'll be a lot of artists.
Speaker 2:Yes, I'm sure that's going to be such a notable event for the community. I'm really excited for you guys.
Speaker 4:Yes, thank you so much.
Speaker 2:Cole and Joshua, thank you so much for your time today. I really appreciate you guys being here and being guests on the show. We wish you and the gallery the best moving forward.
Speaker 4:Thank you, same to you, thank you Thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the good neighbor podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNP Pittsburghcom. That's GNP Pittsburghcom, or call 412-561-9956.