Meet Matt Voight of Omena

Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Voight.

Hi Matt, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My wife (gallery co-owner) and I grew up in Leelanau County where our gallery is located. We have always loved art and many of our dear friends are artists in the area. The building where our gallery is located was also a gallery for 50 years before we took over the space. The previous gallery (Tamarack) was founded by David and Sally Viskochil in the 70s. I’m a furniture maker by trade and had my furniture in Tamarack for many years. She let artists at the gallery know that she would be closing Tamarack, and my wife and I approached Sally about taking the space over and keeping it a gallery. We’re honored to keep the historic old building which was built in the 1880s a gallery. It was originally built as the town general store and has a ton of character.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It’s been a fun process so far, the building being a gallery for the previous 50 years before we started has helped with there being interest in the space, and a history behind it. It was easy to fill the gallery with artists because there are so many talented people within an hour or two of the gallery, many of these artists were already our friends whose work that we loved. The area is so seasonal that keeping people coming into the gallery outside of the summer months is difficult, we reduce our hours quite a bit starting in October. We would love to figure out ways to keep more activity around the place in the off season.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My wife and I have been self-employed for most of our adult lives, so setting up and operating the business wasn’t too out of the ordinary for us. My wife still works full time as a realtor in the area helping with curation and event planning, while I’m more focused on the operations and day-to-day management of clientele and everything else that goes into running what is effectively a retail business. I’m a third generation carpenter who love to make things. I mostly make furniture, but haven’t had a lot of time since starting the gallery to make things. As things slow down in the winter I hope to find more time to make things.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
We mostly focus on fine art painting in a wide variety of prices and sizes, but we also feature smaller goods by local wood workers and potters.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.v-v-v-v.com
• Instagram: vgallerymi