During his winter tour in Florida it became clear to Ringelstetter that not only would he have to sell bigger pieces of artwork, he would also have to deliver and mount them as well. This was an intimidating realization, but thankfully JD River helped Rindelstetter get the “hang of it”. After working with River on several installations of pieces from the River Fine Arts Gallery, Ringelstetter went on to create his own install kit when he returned to Wisconsin. Ringelstetter’s pieces are heavy, and while he’s been looking for ways to lighten them he has yet to find a way to do so without detracting from the overall aesthetics of the art, so he worked with Mike Peck to create some custom mounts.
Once he had all of his ducks in a row, he found himself chasing that first install, eager to display one of his pieces, but for a while he struggled to finalize a sale. He was playing a new game, now it wasn’t just about selling the art, but it was also about selling the install. At one point in late 2022, Ringelstetter thought he finally had it. The client’s house was over three hours away from Ringelstetter’s southern headquarters, and when he was about an hour out with the piece the client texted to let the artist know something came up and he’d be having his friend supervise the drop off but would no longer need the install done.
It wasn’t until about a month later that Ringelstetter got another chance. This time the client only lived about a mile away and Ringelstetter was wracked with nerves the entire time, but the install process went well. As he got more and more opportunities to hang his own art in the homes of his clientele, he was also given the opportunity to see the homes of high-end art collectors, and what exactly it is that they’re buying, making for an inspiring process. Finally nailing that first install took Ringelstetter an entire year but it caused him to expand his art, his business, and himself, opening new doors for his career in the future to come.
Darienne Keniece