Riverdale’s Elisa Contemporary Art gallery closes as owner looks toward a new chapter

Elisa Contemporary Art, a gallery at 5622 Mosholu Ave., closed its doors Oct. 28 after 18 years, a choice owner Lisa Cooper said is neither bitter nor sweet, but somewhere in between.

Cooper, who represents 30 artists, will continue selling pieces online and from her home in Fairfield, Connecticut, where she has a by-appointment art salon. She grew up in Riverdale and moved to Connecticut a decade ago, commuting into the neighborhood once a week.

“Riverdale has been a wonderful place to have a gallery,” she said, however, she feels residents are likely to opt for a gallery in the city or in Westchester if they are looking to buy. Somewhere in their backyard might not seem as upscale or special, she said.

Cooper also had limited in-person hours, usually once a week for four or so hours, a shift that happened once she moved out of Riverdale. She scaled back over the years on doing art show openings due to fewer people showing up, and it not being worth the time and energy, she said. She partially attributed the loss of interest to the rise in social media, and more collectors turning to online buying.

In the last 18 years, she said she’s put on hundreds of art shows. Special moments to her are when she sees others enjoying art, and watching the success of her artists. In 2013, Elisa’s was selected for CurateNYC, an initiative that boosts local artists by organizing exhibitions citywide.

“For me, it’s always just finding the art that resonates with me,” Cooper said. “It has to be something that makes you feel something when you look at it.”

Cooper said she loves making others feel “comfortable” with art, which to her means “standing in front of a piece and having some emotional connection with it.”

Unlike some other storefronts in the area, Cooper wasn’t priced out of her gallery, and her business isn’t in danger of closure, she said. It’s simply time.

Cooper, who is in her 60s, is in search of more balance, she said, reinforced by her husband’s retirement and the couple’s travel plans. As someone who has always been immersed in their career, it’s going to be an adjustment, she said.

“It’s been my space,” she said. “It’s been a place that I could put up shows and promote and pitch to my artists. A little bit of that side of the business will be going away.”

Before opening the gallery, Cooper spent more than two decades in corporate advertising and marketing, her last role being at Mercedes-Benz. Cooper’s mother was a painter, and she grew up surrounded by art with an admiration for creativity and the impact it could have. She and her husband would regularly attend art fairs and events, and built up their personal collection with a tradition of buying a new piece every year on their wedding anniversary.

It was her husband who first suggested she become an art dealer, but based in Hawaii, where the two were vacationing at the time. She chose the Bronx instead and started taking on artists.

Denis Haxhija, board secretary of the volunteer-run Riverdale Main Streets Alliance, said the gallery was the only art space in the neighborhood where art was the sole purpose. Other galleries include Derfner Judaica Museum, which is a part of RiverSpring Living’s campus, and Gallery 505, which also serves as the headquarters for nonprofit Kingsbridge-Riverdale-Van Cortlandt Development Corporation.

Back when Haxhija used to teach art at Brilliant Minds Learning Center — which was next door to Elisa where Emiliano’s Market is now — he would take his elementary students to see new exhibitions, and Cooper would visit the learning center to review students’ work in a mock art show.

Aside from being a lovely business owner, Haxhija said, Cooper provided a unique space for art found on a main commercial corridor — a “nice little refuge,” he said. Galleries in outer boroughs are more sparse than in the city, he said.

Now that the endeavor is coming to an end, Cooper is still grappling with her emotions. She hopes her legacy remains as a gallerist that broadened perspectives, exposed others to new work and strengthened the healing power of art.

“It’s a strange feeling,” she said. “I’m not happy about it, and I’m not entirely sad about it. It’s just a feeling of flux.”