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Promoting and supporting Asbury Park’s cultural and economic development is the passion of this artist/businessman, who sees business and art through a wide-angle perspective

by Laura D.C. Kolnoski • photo by Doug Polle

Many factors are fueling the engine driving the resurgence of Asbury Park. Giants from real estate, music, dining, and the arts have all contributed to the city’s return to prominence. One key player, however, became involved long before most conceptualized a rebirth. In fact, Patrick Schiavino pretty much started the city’s new era. The landlord, developer, realtor, artist, musician, promoter, and art629 Gallery owner has been on the Asbury forefront since 1984.

A suggestion by an unlikely muse was the catalyst. “In 1997 I was invited by John McEnroe, who owned a gallery on SoHo’s Greene Street, to participate in a show with Sting and Trudy Styler to support the Rain Forest Foundation,” Schiavino recalled. “He convinced me to take my art career more seriously, saying no real gallery would invest in an artist who wasn’t producing constantly.”

The businessman in Schiavino understood. In 1999, he bought the downtown building on Cookman Avenue that still houses his gallery and studio and became a full-time artist. Fate stepped in again when he was interviewed for a New York Times story about the city, which ran with a large photo featuring Schiavino on a rooftop overlooking boardedup buildings. His phone started ringing. A critical spark had ignited Asbury’s downtown redevelopment.

“Callers weren’t inquiring about my artwork, but about downtown investment opportunities!” Schiavino said with a smile. “I was the only guy here who knew anything about what was going on, so I was the only guy to go to.” The subsequent “avalanche of business,” as he described it, diverted him from his art career to a different kind of creative period. His real estate transactions helped change the face of the beleaguered city at a critical juncture.

“I always had a strong conviction that this town would be an amazing place to live and work again,” Schiavino said. “I felt tremendous energy here. It was exciting and interesting, and it spoke to me. I had to be here, so when I had the opportunity, I seized it. Now the downtown is booming.”

The Montclair University Industrial Arts and Design major combined his creativity and love of music with practical solutions early on. Working with an interior designer in SoHo led to immersion in the “gritty hipness” of the bohemian scene there, where Schiavino absorbed the local art, club, and jazz fusion scenes during his mid-20s. Near his Montclair home, owners of a local coffee shop commissioned him to design and build a jazz club. He did the work, but in lieu of payment became an operating partner, and the popular Jazz Loft at Katie Gray’s opened in 1979. Through booking talent and promoting the venue, he learned the music business, leading to the creation of “Patrick’s Fusion 80,” a concert promotion and booking agency. Schiavino also became talent buyer for Sayreville’s legendary Club Bene’, one of New Jersey’s most successful music venues, presenting 120 to 150 headline shows a year for 20 years.

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His painting career likewise began in the 80s, when a bout of flu confined him to his childhood home where he discovered an old paint-by-numbers kit in his closet. On a canvas procured by his mother, he created his first painting, which was eventually featured in a prestigious art show at Schering Plough corporate headquarters in Madison. The self-taught painter continues to be influenced by world events, the environment, and related issues.

“Eventually one thing leads to another,” Schiavino said. “I have matured as a painter. You must be open to your path and not afraid to walk through those open doors.” Between 1980 and 2000, Schiavino had three careers going—booking shows, creating art, and buying houses. The “ebb and flow of real estate” allowed him to re-focus on his art. Simultaneously, the music business was becoming increasingly difficult for smaller venues and promotors. Larger venues and corporate concert promotion were among the factors that hastened his exit.

Asbury Underground Meets the Light of Day
In 2013, a paint company seeking to stage a promotional event approached Schiavino, who recognized a new opportunity to draw visitors to Asbury. He agreed to promote the event, expanding it into a modest arts festival. Asbury Underground was launched as an art and music crawl through city hot spots. The first featured ten musicians in ten galleries with muralists and artists creating art live all day. More than 1,000 people attended.

“On the heels of that, we were approached by The Light of Day Foundation to become the downtown leg of their annual event along the boardwalk,” Schiavino said. In January 2014, Asbury Underground curated all the music for Light of Day, hosting 30 performers in 17 venues and drawing an estimated 2,000 people. The most recent event drew better than 4,000 visitors and raised over $20,000 for the Parkinson’s charity. “We rely heavily on social media, hence the name ‘Underground,’” Schiavino said. “We have a full interactive web site, two booking agents, a social media expert, and will be launching our free Asbury Underground app, which we will use to promote pop-up shows throughout town featuring well-known performers. It is truly underground because the only way to find out about them is through our app.” Utilizing complex logistics to move crowds around town, such events have brought increased awareness to local retail establishments. Schiavino provided added support via his recent gallery show entitled “The Locals,” which showcased 14 artists while boosting their holiday sales. Other businesses offer related discounts and specials to enhance the festive atmosphere.

Art629Gallery
Before opening his gallery in 2009, Schiavino allowed the space to be used for various events and classes, rarely charging in exchange for creating downtown activity. Since, he has mounted numerous shows at art629 Gallery featuring such artists as Steve Forbert, Ron Wood, and rock photographer Mark Weiss, along with international artists.

“The mission of the gallery is to provide a platform for the arts with a focus on contemporary and new ideas,” Schiavino said. “The most important aspect is to keep the creative spirit alive and well in this city.” The owner’s latest endeavor is creating art for the new corporate headquarters of the Asbury Park Press in Neptune.

Two of Schiavino’s paintings were selected by the U.S. government for display at the American Embassy in Luxembourg. He was invited by the Center of Emerging Arts in Miami to have five of his works tour the United States, and mounted a threemonth solo exhibition at the State House in Trenton. He was also recipient of a Dodge Foundation Grant to participate in the Artist in Residency Program at the prestigious Vermont School. “As artists, we have an ability to observe our world from a different angle, a different perspective. I feel a debt and duty towards the world. My offering of gratitude is the work I do, striving towards the truth, It is not a choice; it is what I am.”

Patrick Schiavino
art629 Gallery / 629 Cookman Ave., Asbury Park / 732.988.5111 / art629.com