Spotlight on Hamburgh Productions - news

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Hamburgh Productions was created to represent and market the whimsical, colorful work of Todd Warner, a top-selling sculptor of the company's subsidizer, Galleria di Sorrento in Las Vegas.

Originally a top-selling, self-published artist, Warner wanted to leave his longtime base in Florida for his family farm in Michigan to enjoy a more peaceful life. So he approached Galleria di Sorrento, and a new partnership was born. Deciding to publish, produce and market Warner's work in Buffalo, a core group from the gallery launched Hamburgh Productions in June 2002. "He was looking to us to take it to the next level and make it a true publishing program," said Todd Pullman, president.

In December of 2002, Hamburgh Productions launched an ad campaign to introduce Warner to the marketplace. They wanted to create an ad that would build up interest in a collection of animal pieces by slowly revealing them over four months. "It was a creative approach to the campaign. His pieces are creative, whimsical and humorous, so we wanted to introduce ourselves that way," said Pullman.

Pullman also said his company has been designed to best serve its clients--the galleries--based on years of experience at Galleria di Sorrento. "The galleries need to see the publishers are there for them, pushing the product for them. Ultimately that's who we are there for, the gallery. Their success is our success" said Pullman.

As for Warner, he is a true animal lover with more than 30 rescued exotic and endangered animals in his personal menagerie. This love of animals is exhibited in his work, notably several animal series. "One of the terms used to describe him is, `the master of sophisticated whimsy.' Basically, all of his pieces have a humorous twist to them," said Pullman.

Among the best examples: a giraffe reading a book entitled, She's Got Legs Up to Here or a cat reading, Of Mice and Men. "You can look at the pieces and smile at them not even knowing what the title is or what's behind it," he added.

Although he enjoys animals, Warner also enjoys satirizing, with pieces like a lawyer with a shark fin on his back entitled, "Trust Me." Along with the standing sculptures, Warner has also created bells, plates and a desktop series of smaller sculptures. Each thematic series of sculptures can retail anywhere from $95 to $1,000. The works are limited editions that vary in size between 10 to 250 with some open editions, as well. Warner has also created major installations along several New York State highway exits and more than 400 pieces scattered throughout the Orlando airport.

"People look at it as funny art, but he takes it very seriously in the way he sculpts and what he is trying to represent. He has a good sense of humor, and he's a jovial man in general, and I think that comes through in his artwork" Pullman said.

Because Warner is a well-established artist, there were many pieces to consider re-marketing when Hamburgh Productions was founded, so the company decided to focus on a few of his more successful pieces to for the initial release. It is that prior success the company is able to take to galleries as a guarantee Warner's work will sell. "We first wanted to rope in the collection and not give people 200 pieces to consider. We're basically taking what was already being marketed and putting our name and support behind that. But this is really the first step," said Pullman. Hamburgh Productions plans to sell through the established series and introduce new series in coming years, including a higher-end series.

Although the company is in its infancy, it can rely on the experience of its associates from Galleria di Sorrento. Alice West, general manager, and Jeff Kamka, gallery director, bring accounting and strategic experience, while David Ryder, associate director and sales representative, opens new accounts. With such a strong team, Hamburgh Production hopes to open up it services and facilities to other artists.

Pullman said, "In the most basic sense, we are here to provide quality artwork to galleries. It's really our goal to provide galleries with the support and service and marketing push they need to make Warner one of their top producing artists. His artwork is fun to look at, fun to talk about and fun to sell."

FACTS & FIGURES

* Hamburgh Productions is a subsidiary of Galleria di Sorrento in Las Vegas.

* Hamburgh Productions was launched in June 2002 to represent artist Todd Warner.

* For more information, visit www.toddwarnerstudio.com or call 866-212-4600.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Advanstar Communications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group