What Ken Saunders Gallery does

Ken Saunders Gallery is a Chicago-based, privately held commercial art gallery specializing in contemporary studio glass sculpture, blown glass, cast glass, and neon works. Founded in 1996 and operating from a single showroom at 2041 West Carroll Avenue, the gallery represents an established roster of glass artists including Dante Marioni, Jon Kuhn, Richard Royal, Carmen Lozar, and Kanako Togawa, several of whose works are held in major museum collections including the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, MAD, Corning Museum of Glass, and Bergstrom Mahler Museum. The gallery maintains a programming cadence of approximately four to six exhibitions per year, including recurring series such as Local Neon (celebrating Chicago-based glass-bending artists, sixth iteration in 2025) and Original Voices (showcasing emerging glass talent), supplemented by retrospectives of represented artists.

The gallery's go-to-market is a traditional sales-led model conducted through direct interaction at its physical location, which is open only Thursday through Saturday from 11:00AM to 3:30PM, supplemented by participation in SOFA Chicago at Navy Pier to reach collectors beyond the Chicago metropolitan area. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; transactions occur through direct inquiry and consultation, with catalogues and price lists available on request. The gallery also publishes exhibition catalogues via Blurb as a documentation and audience-development tool. Marketing is limited to its Squarespace-hosted website, press coverage in local arts publications (Do312, Newcity Today), and earned media from exhibition coverage.

The business has no technology platform, no AI capabilities, no app, no disclosed revenue figures, and no external funding events. Ownership appears to remain with founder Ken Saunders, and the gallery operates with a small staff consistent with its single-location footprint. Its economic model is structurally constrained by limited operating hours, dependence on a niche art segment, and the absence of e-commerce or digital distribution, while its competitive position rests on three decades of curatorial reputation, exclusive artist relationships, and museum-level institutional credibility.

Name

Ken Saunders Gallery

Legal name

Ken Saunders Gallery

Website

https://kensaundersgallery.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ken Saunders Gallery is a privately held, single-location Chicago art gallery specializing in contemporary studio glass sculpture and neon works, representing internationally recognized artists and serving private collectors and museum institutions through curated exhibitions and art fair participation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fine Art Gallery

NAICS

Art Dealers (459920), Art Dealers (45992)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Contemporary glass art
• Art gallery exhibitions
• Studio glass sculpture
• Artist representation
• Neon glass art

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Art Sales: The gallery generates revenue through the sale of contemporary glass artwork to collectors, museums, and art enthusiasts. Artists are represented by the gallery and works are sold directly through the physical gallery space. The gallery also participates in art fairs where artwork is sold to a broader audience.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Ken Saunders Gallery is a Chicago-based art gallery specializing in contemporary studio glass sculpture. The gallery represents established and emerging glass artists, hosts curated exhibitions of blown, cast, and neon glass artworks, and sells these works to collectors, museums, and cultural institutions. The gallery also produces exhibition catalogues and participates in art fairs such as SOFA Chicago.

Product overview

Ken Saunders Gallery is a fine art gallery specializing in contemporary glass art, operating as a single-location gallery rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The gallery's core offerings include exhibitions of glass art (blown, cast, neon, and sculptural works), representation of glass artists, and periodic exhibition series such as the Local Neon series and Original Voices survey shows. The gallery does not offer digital products, software, or SaaS offerings—it is a traditional art gallery that showcases physical works primarily in the Chicago area.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Artist Representation Gallery represents and exhibits works by established and emerging glass artists including Dante Marioni, Jon Kuhn, Richard Royal, Carmen Lozar, Kate Clements, Sarah Vaughn, Kanako Togawa, Thomas Scoon, Rick Beck, and others. The service includes curatorial selection, exhibition mounting, and sales facilitation for these artists.
• Contemporary Glass Artwork Sales Direct sales of contemporary glass artworks including blown, cast, neon, and sculptural pieces from represented artists. Works are sold to individual collectors and museums/institutions through the physical gallery and art fairs.
• Exhibition Catalogues Published exhibition catalogues documenting major shows, made available to collectors, researchers, and art enthusiasts for purchase through Blurb.

Quantifiable outcome

• The gallery has mounted over 100 exhibitions spanning from 1996 to present, featuring established and emerging glass artists.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SOFA Chicago (Navy Pier)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2018Ken Saunders Gallery participates in SOFA Chicago (Sculpture Objects Functional Art and Design Fair) at Navy Pier. The gallery features works by represented artists including John Bannon, Rick Beck, Cassandria Blackmore, Jose Chardiet, Kate Clements, Jacob Fishman, Sidney Hutter, Kiley/Marioni, Jon Kuhn, Dante Marioni, Charonne Ruth, Thomas Scoon, Kanako Togawa, and Sarah Vaughn. This partnership provides the gallery with access to a broader collector base beyond its physical location.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Gagosian: Gagosian is a global mega-gallery that occasionally handles high-value contemporary glass and sculpture alongside its broader program, competing for ultra-high-net-worth collectors who may also purchase from Ken Saunders Gallery's represented artists.
• Pace Gallery: Pace Gallery is a major international contemporary art gallery with sculpture and cross-medium programming, representing an alternative venue for serious collectors in the same customer segment Ken Saunders Gallery targets.

Direct peers

• Traver Gallery: Traver Gallery (Seattle) represents contemporary glass and wood artists with a physical-gallery model, comparable curatorial focus on studio craft, and similar museum/institutional sales channels.
• Habatat Galleries: Habatat Galleries (Royal Oak, Michigan) is one of the largest US galleries dedicated to contemporary studio glass, directly comparable to Ken Saunders Gallery's specialty focus, museum collector base, and artist representation model.
• Duane Reed Gallery: Duane Reed Gallery (St. Louis) represents contemporary studio glass and craft artists, directly comparable in its narrow medium focus, artist representation approach, and gallery-showcase distribution model.
• Schantz Galleries: Schantz Galleries (Stockbridge, MA) is a contemporary glass-focused gallery representing internationally recognized glass artists, mirroring Ken Saunders Gallery's curatorial positioning, exhibition-driven model, and museum collector relationships.
• Wexler Gallery: Wexler Gallery (Philadelphia) focuses on contemporary glass and sculpture in a physical-gallery format, sharing Ken Saunders Gallery's artist-representation model, exhibition programming, and high-end collector target market.
• Heller Gallery: Heller Gallery in New York specializes in contemporary glass and sculpture, sharing Ken Saunders Gallery's core product category (studio glass), target collector base (museums and institutions), and physical-gallery sales model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ken-saunders-gallery

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Ken Saunders Gallery