Various Small Fires
Various Small Fires is a privately held contemporary art gallery founded in 2010 in Los Angeles, with locations in West Hollywood, Dallas, and Seoul. It represents a roster of contemporary artists and sells works through exhibitions and top-tier international art fairs to collectors and museums globally.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersTustin, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Various Small Fires does
Various Small Fires (VSF) is a privately held contemporary art gallery founded in 2010 in Los Angeles by Esther Kim Varet. The gallery represents a curated roster of contemporary artists working across painting, sculpture, textiles, and mixed media — including Diedrick Brackens, Jessie Homer French, Alex Foxton, Che Lovelace, Joshua Nathanson, Lezley Saar, and others — and operates physical exhibition spaces in West Hollywood (headquarters), Dallas (opened 2022), and Seoul (opened 2022). A fourth California location was announced for 2025 alongside a publicly noted art fair hiatus.
VSF has no proprietary technology platform; its core service is gallery exhibitions and artist representation, delivered through physical gallery programming and participation in major international art fairs (Art Basel Miami Beach Galleries sector, Frieze Los Angeles/Seoul/London, Art Basel Hong Kong, Dallas Invitational, and Independent). The business model is transaction-based: the gallery earns commissions typically ranging from 40-50% on sales of contemporary artworks by represented artists, with pricing quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market is event-driven and relationship-based, reaching high-net-worth collectors and institutional buyers (LACMA, Hammer Museum, MOCA, Whitney, Manetti Shrem, Crocker Art Museum, Worcester Art Museum, and others have acquired VSF artists' works) through fairs, exhibitions, and private studio visits. Marketing relies on the gallery website (vsf.la), earned media coverage in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Artforum, ARTnews, Cultured Magazine, Wall Street Journal, and artnet, plus organic social media on Instagram.
Various Small Fires firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Various Small Fires
- Legal name
- Various Small Fires
- Website
- https://vsf.la
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Various Small Fires is a privately held contemporary art gallery founded in 2010 in Los Angeles, with locations in West Hollywood, Dallas, and Seoul. It represents a roster of contemporary artists and sells works through exhibitions and top-tier international art fairs to collectors and museums globally.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Various Small Fires is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tustin
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Various Small Fires business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Art Sales and Gallery Commissions: VSF generates revenue through the sale of contemporary artworks by represented artists. The gallery earns commissions on sales, typically ranging from 40-50% of sale prices. Sales occur through gallery exhibitions, art fair participations, and private transactions with collectors and institutions.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Artwork sales through gallery representation |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Various Small Fires product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Various Small Fires is a contemporary art gallery that represents a roster of artists working across painting, sculpture, textiles, and mixed media. It presents rotating exhibitions at its physical gallery locations in Los Angeles, Dallas, and Seoul, and participates in major international art fairs to showcase and sell works by its represented artists to collectors and institutions worldwide. The gallery earns commissions on artwork sales, with a traditional gallery representation model.
Product overview
Various Small Fires is an art gallery operating as a single unified offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The gallery represents contemporary artists and presents their works through exhibitions at its physical gallery locations and at international art fairs. The company does not offer separate product modules — its core service is gallery exhibitions and artist representation, with participation in art fairs as a complementary channel.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Gallery Exhibitions Rotating exhibitions of contemporary works by represented and featured artists at the gallery's physical locations in Los Angeles (West Hollywood), Dallas, and Seoul. Designed to showcase artists, drive sales to collectors, and provide institutional curators with access to the gallery's roster.
- Art Fair Presentations Curated presentations of represented artists' works at major international art fairs including Art Basel Miami Beach, Frieze Los Angeles, Frieze Seoul, Frieze London, Art Basel Hong Kong, Dallas Art Fair, Independent, and Dallas Invitational. Targets high-net-worth collectors and institutional buyers.
- Artist Representation Long-term representation of a curated roster of contemporary artists working across painting, sculpture, textiles, and mixed media. Includes exhibition opportunities, art fair participation, media coverage, and access to major collectors and institutions worldwide for the represented artists.
Companies that use Various Small Fires
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Various Small Fires technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Various Small Fires partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- Art Basel Miami BeachflagshipVSF debuted in the Galleries sector at Art Basel Miami Beach 2024, Booth B26. The presentation at the world's premier art fair emphasized abstraction as a worldwide artistic practice while challenging Eurocentric perspectives.
- Frieze SeoulcoreVSF presented works by Alex Foxton, A'Driane Nieves, Che Lovelace, Sara Anstis, Yu Kobayashi, and Glen Wilson, highlighting the gallery's commitment to inclusive contemporary art.
- Dallas InvitationalminorVSF presented works by Sophia Anthony, Will Gabaldón, Che Lovelace, Joshua Nathanson, and Jessica Palermo at Dallas Invitational 2024.
- Art Basel Hong KongcoreVSF's booth unified ten artists presenting new works across painting, textiles, paper, metal, and silicone at Art Basel Hong Kong 2024.
- Frieze Los AngelescoreVSF participated at Frieze Los Angeles 2024 with works by Brandon Ballengée, Jessie Homer French, The Harrison Studio, John Miller, and Sean Raspet, addressing climate themes.
- Frieze LondonminorVSF presented works by Alex Foxton, A'Driane Nieves, and Mark Yang at Frieze London 2023.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Various Small Fires competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Pace Gallery: Major global contemporary art gallery with locations in New York, London, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, Geneva, and Los Angeles. Comparable as a multi-city contemporary gallery representing blue-chip and emerging artists across international art fairs.
- Hauser & Wirth: International contemporary and modern art gallery with locations across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. Comparable as a multi-location contemporary gallery with a diversified artist roster and major art fair presence.
- Marian Goodman Gallery: Contemporary art gallery with locations in New York, Paris, and London. Comparable as an established contemporary gallery with international footprint participating in major art fairs and representing institutional artists.
- David Zwirner: Top-tier contemporary art gallery with locations in New York, London, Paris, and Hong Kong. Comparable as a globally recognized contemporary gallery participating in major art fairs and representing artists acquired by leading institutions.
- Blum & Poe: Los Angeles-based contemporary art gallery with additional locations in New York, Tokyo, and Paris. Comparable as a contemporary gallery headquartered in LA with international expansion and major art fair participation.
- Tanya Bonakdar Gallery: Contemporary art gallery with locations in New York and Los Angeles. Comparable as a contemporary gallery with West Coast presence representing artists across multiple mediums for institutional and private collectors.
- Perrotin: Contemporary art gallery with locations in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, and Los Angeles. Comparable as a multi-city contemporary gallery participating in international art fairs including Frieze and Art Basel.
- Lehmann Maupin: Contemporary art gallery with locations in New York, Seoul, London, and Hong Kong. Comparable as a contemporary gallery with international presence including Seoul, participating in major art fairs globally.
- James Cohan Gallery: Contemporary art gallery with locations in New York and Shanghai. Comparable as a mid-size contemporary gallery with international expansion representing artists acquired by major institutions.
Broad incumbents
- Gagosian: The world's largest contemporary art gallery with 18+ global locations. Comparable as a global mega-gallery representing high-profile contemporary artists with institutional acquisitions, though at much greater scale than VSF.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Various Small Fires social profiles
Digital presenceVarious Small Fires financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Various Small Fires leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Various Small Fires funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Various Small Fires M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Various Small Fires
What does Various Small Fires do?
Various Small Fires is a contemporary art gallery that represents a roster of artists working across painting, sculpture, textiles, and mixed media. It presents rotating exhibitions at its physical gallery locations in Los Angeles, Dallas, and Seoul, and participates in major international art fairs to showcase and sell works by its represented artists to collectors and institutions worldwide. The gallery earns commissions on artwork sales, with a traditional gallery representation model.
Is Various Small Fires a public or private company?
Various Small Fires is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Various Small Fires founded?
Various Small Fires was founded in 2010. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Various Small Fires based?
Various Small Fires is headquartered in Tustin, United States, in the North America region.
How does Various Small Fires make money?
One revenue line is on record: art Sales and Gallery Commissions.
Who are Various Small Fires's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Pace Gallery, Hauser & Wirth, Marian Goodman Gallery, David Zwirner, Blum & Poe, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, Perrotin, Lehmann Maupin and James Cohan Gallery. Gagosian is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Various Small Fires have an API?
No public API is recorded for Various Small Fires.