Momentum Gallery

What Momentum Gallery does

Momentum Gallery is a contemporary art gallery headquartered at 52 Broadway Street in downtown Asheville, North Carolina, operating 15,000 square feet of two-level, ADA-accessible exhibition space across paintings, sculpture, original prints, and studio furniture. Founded in 2017 by Jordan Ahlers — a curator with 30+ years of experience who previously ran one of the region's largest craft galleries for 18 years — the business is family-owned with his wife Shifra Ahlers and represents approximately 40 emerging and mid-career artists, several of whom have been working with the director for nearly 20 years.

The gallery generates revenue through three streams: one-time sales of original artworks in-gallery and online; fee-based Design Collaborative services (curation, advisory, site-specific commissions, installation, art handling, storage, transportation, cataloging, conservation, and appraisals) for designers, architects, art consultants, and corporate/hospitality clients; and managed art handling and collection management services. Sales occur across four channels — the physical gallery, a proprietary e-commerce store powered by Artlogic and Stripe supporting 14 currencies, the Artsy online marketplace, and direct/trade sales through the Design Collaborative division — augmented by private showings, virtual tours, virtual previews, and curbside pickup.

The technology stack is entirely third-party and operational rather than proprietary: Artlogic for gallery management, content, and e-commerce; Stripe for payments; Artsy for global marketplace reach; and Zoom for virtual artist talks. The gallery's go-to-market is sales-led and event-driven, anchored by a recurring exhibition calendar refreshed approximately every two months, opening receptions, artist talks, and Zoom programs. Strategic positioning is reinforced by museum placements (Smithsonian, Met, MFA Boston, Crystal Bridges, Ringling, multiple US Embassies) and a 2021 strategic partnership with Chihuly Studio that anchors the studio-glass category.

Name

Momentum Gallery

Legal name

Momentum Gallery

Website

https://momentumgallery.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Momentum Gallery is a family-owned contemporary art gallery in Asheville, NC, representing approximately 40 emerging and mid-career artists across a 15,000-square-foot flagship, an online store, the Artsy marketplace, and a trade-focused Design Collaborative services division.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Contemporary Art Gallery

NAICS

Art Dealers (459920)

akta.pro primary industry

Art Galleries & Exhibition Spaces (Commercial & Nonprofit) (THAJADAH)

Keywords

• Contemporary art gallery
• Fine art sales
• Art advisory services
• Studio furniture
• Artist representation

Headquarters

HQ city

Asheville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Art Sales: Primary revenue from the sale of original artworks including paintings, sculpture, prints, and studio furniture. Sales occur in-gallery, online through the website store, and via the Artsy marketplace. Prices vary per work and are largely quote-based for significant pieces.
2. Design Collaborative / Art Advisory Services: Fee-based curatorial and advisory services for private collectors, designers, architects, and corporate/hospitality clients. Services include site-specific commissions, collection planning, placement guidance, installation, art handling, storage, transportation, cataloging, conservation, appraisals, and collection management.
3. Art Handling & Installation Services: The gallery provides secure art handling, installation, storage, transportation, cataloging, conservation, and collection management services, leveraging an experienced team and network of vetted professionals, for which it charges service fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Momentum Gallery operates a 15,000-square-foot contemporary art gallery at 52 Broadway Street in downtown Asheville, NC, representing approximately 40 emerging and mid-career artists across painting, sculpture, glass, metal, wood, clay, textile, prints, and studio furniture. It sells original artworks to individual collectors in-gallery and via its own e-commerce store and Artsy marketplace, and provides professional curatorial advisory, art handling, installation, storage, transportation, conservation, appraisal, and collection management services through its Design Collaborative division serving interior designers, architects, corporate and hospitality clients.

Product overview

Momentum Gallery is a contemporary art gallery offering a unified experience combining physical gallery exhibitions with online art sales and professional curatorial services. The core product is the gallery itself at 52 Broadway in Asheville, featuring curated exhibitions across 15,000 square feet. Supporting this are the Online Art Store for e-commerce sales and the Design Collaborative service for professional art curation and placement in various space types.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Momentum Gallery (Contemporary Art Gallery) A 15,000-square-foot two-level contemporary art gallery in downtown Asheville, NC, representing approximately 40 emerging and mid-career artists across painting, sculpture, glass, metal, wood, clay, textile, prints, and studio furniture. Curated exhibitions of museum-quality art are refreshed on a recurring schedule for collectors, tourists, and trade visitors.
• Design Collaborative A curatorial advisory and art-placement service partnering with interior designers, architects, art consultants, and collectors to select and place artwork in residential, hospitality, healthcare, corporate, and public spaces. Includes site-specific commissions, collection planning, placement guidance, installation, art handling, storage, transportation, cataloging, conservation, appraisals, and collection management.
• Online Art Store E-commerce platform enabling online purchases of gallery artwork including paintings, prints, sculptures, and studio furniture pieces. Supports 14 currencies and secure payment processing through Stripe; offers same-day curbside pickup for local buyers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Gallery artists' works have been acquired by major museums including the Smithsonian, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Ringling Museum, and Huntsville Museum of Art.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Chihuly StudiocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Momentum Gallery partnered with Chihuly Studio in 2021 to debut a substantial collection of Dale Chihuly glass sculptures and hand-embellished serigraph prints at its new 52 Broadway location. The partnership provides access to this renowned artist's work in the Southeast, leveraging Asheville's historical connection to studio glass through Harvey Littleton, Chihuly's mentor.
• ArtsycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMomentum Gallery maintains an active Artsy profile listing its artists' works for sale to Artsy's global collector audience, extending the gallery's reach beyond Asheville to national and international buyers.
• ArtlogiccoreTechnology or IntegrationThe gallery's website and online store are built and powered by Artlogic's platform, which provides gallery management, content delivery, and e-commerce infrastructure. Artlogic is credited in the site footer.
• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationStripe powers the gallery's online store payment processing, supporting multiple currencies (USD, GBP, AUD, CHF, KRW, CNY, DKK, CAD, NOK, RUB, INR, JPY, EUR, ZAR).
• Phil Sanders / Downtown Asheville StudiominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMaster printer Phil Sanders, who has a studio in downtown Asheville, collaborated with the gallery on the 'Works on Paper' exhibition, working with artists in the show to create featured works. He also curated the 'Picture That' printmaking exhibition.
• Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJohn L. Cleaveland Jr.'s exhibition 'The Nature of the Man: Landscapes from the Childhood of Jimmy Carter' was originally installed at the Carter Presidential Library in celebration of Jimmy Carter's Centennial Birthday (displayed through May 2025), before being reimagined at Momentum Gallery in Asheville.
• Racine Art Museum (WI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRon Isaacs' 'Collection Focus' exhibition at the Racine Art Museum debuted a new-to-RAM archive of works spanning 1968–2020, including early acrylic paintings, drawings, art jewelry, and over 20 painted wood constructions—the most comprehensive archive of his work at any institution.
• Art in Embassies (U.S. Department of State)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple Momentum Gallery artists' works have been placed in US Embassies abroad through the State Department's Art in Embassies program: Michael Barringer's paintings in Hyderabad, India; Crystal Gregory's textiles and Heather Hietala's ceramics in Dhaka, Bangladesh; and Amy Gross' works in Papua New Guinea.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Sienna Patti Contemporary: A contemporary craft and fine art gallery in Lenox, MA focused on studio furniture, glass, ceramics, metal, and painting. Comparable because it serves a similar collector and designer audience for museum-quality contemporary craft from mid-career artists.
• Gallery NAGA: A Boston contemporary art gallery representing emerging and mid-career artists with a focus on craft-based media. Comparable in its curatorial emphasis on material-based contemporary work and service to interior designers and collectors.
• Decorazon Gallery: A contemporary craft gallery in Dallas representing emerging and mid-career artists in jewelry, ceramics, glass, and metalwork. Comparable in its focus on material-based contemporary craft for collectors, designers, and museum placements.
• Habatat Galleries: A leading US contemporary glass gallery with locations in Michigan and Florida. Comparable because studio glass is a major category for both galleries, including Chihuly and other established/late-career glass artists, serving collectors and institutional clients.
• Blue Spiral 1: A contemporary art gallery in downtown Asheville representing studio craft, fine art, and sculpture across multiple media. It is the most direct local peer given its Asheville location, comparable scale, and similar focus on contemporary craft and fine art for collectors and designers.
• David Lusk Gallery: A contemporary art gallery with locations in Memphis and Nashville representing emerging and mid-career artists working in painting, sculpture, and craft media. Comparable in regional positioning, artist profile, and service to designers and collectors.
• Duane Reed Gallery: A St. Louis-based contemporary craft gallery specializing in studio furniture, glass, ceramics, and sculpture. Directly comparable in its emphasis on material-based contemporary craft and emerging/mid-career artists for collectors and interior designers.

Others

• Artsy: The online art marketplace on which Momentum Gallery lists and sells work. Comparable as a distribution channel partner rather than a competitor, but relevant as the primary online marketplace serving similar collectors and galleries.

Regional players

• Penland Gallery: The gallery of the Penland School of Craft in Bakersville, NC, selling work by studio artists and alumni. Regionally adjacent given the shared Western NC craft ecosystem, though it operates as a nonprofit school-affiliated gallery rather than a commercial art business.

Broad incumbents

• Asheville Art Museum: The regional art museum in Asheville that has acquired works from Momentum Gallery's artists. Operates in the same local arts ecosystem with overlapping curatorial interests in contemporary craft and regional artists, though as a nonprofit museum rather than a commercial gallery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MomentumAvl
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCK5fJF1IgHthdd8Hucz982A
• Facebookfacebook.com/MomentumGalleryAsheville
• Instagraminstagram.com/momentumgallery
• Pinterestpinterest.com/momentumgallery0209
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/momentumgallery

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Momentum Gallery