After more than a dozen years, J. Willott Gallery is thriving as one of the desert’s premier contemporary art spaces. Owned and operated by Josh Otten and Josh Paquette, who met as preschoolers on a playground in Maine, the gallery on fashionable El Paseo in Palm Desert is as stunning as the artwork on display.
“Our taste has matured along with our presentation,” Josh Otten says. “Our gallery has transformed from a 2,800-square-foot space with low ceilings to our current venue with more than 5.000 square feet and 22-foot ceilings.”
Otten attributes their success to the gallery’s reputation as a no-nonsense operation that focuses solely on the needs of their clients. “We are transparent and trustworthy,” he says. “We don’t spend a lot of time trying to woo clients with fancy vocabulary or lessons in art history. We listen to their needs and find them what they want.”
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This, he says, allows them to make appropriate suggestions when they find unique items.
And there’s no shortage of either distinctive art or clients for dealers as determined as Otten and Paquette. “We represent some of the most sought-after contemporary artists of our era,” Otten says. “There is a concentration of art collectors who use the desert as their home away from home.”
He predicts that the company will keep on growing in the coming years. “Big things are to come for J. Willott.”