We are excited to bring you another edition of our Beyond the Ticket series, where we shine a light on the remarkable people working behind the scenes. Each installment celebrates the experts who approach every interaction with a blend of professionalism, empathy, and deep industry knowledge.
This time, we’re excited to highlight Drew Thomas, Resolution Consultant, whose path to ArtSystems spans studio practice, blue-chip gallery experience, and a deep commitment to helping clients thrive. Drew earned his BFA from Ohio Wesleyan University, then sharpened his gallery and administrative skills at Pace/MacGill Gallery. From there, he joined Howard Greenberg Gallery, where he gained hands‑on experience working with one of the world’s leading photography galleries.
Today, Drew brings that same thoughtful, detail‑driven approach to supporting our users—and we’re thrilled for you to get to know him.
Rachel Chaldu
Thank you for joining me today, Drew! I’d like to start our conversation by asking you to give us insight into your experience before ArtSystems.
Drew Thomas
I have always been interested in the arts. Growing up, my mom would take me to museums often, and gift me things like a paintbrush set or nicer colored pencils. At first, I would be like “what am I going to do with this?” But then, the tools would come in handy for something and I’d end up using them. I became engaged through this steady encouragement.
I earned a BFA from Ohio Wesleyan University with a studio concentration in Photography. After college, I interned at Pace/MacGill Gallery, and as my internship was coming to an end, Peter MacGill recommended me to Howard Greenberg Gallery.
I stayed with Howard (Howard Greenberg Gallery) for quite a while and working at HGG was akin to getting a PhD in photo art history. I got to handle artworks by all the great photographers of the 20th century. Howard has a great passion for advancing the works of artists he represents, and the many artists and clients who came through the gallery created a great energy. It was a lot of work and also a lot of fun.
I did a couple other part-time projects in the art world, but other than that I pretty much went straight from Howard Greenberg Gallery into working for ArtSystems in 2015.
Rachel Chaldu
At Howard Greenberg Gallery you started off in an art handling role. Can you walk us through how you grew there and what other roles you had?
Drew Thomas
Well, it’s probably no secret that a lot of people in the arts are not the most technically inclined. So, when a gallery finds someone on staff who has technical aptitude they’re like “oh, you can do this?” My natural skill set led me to start working with the Artsystems database software and HGG put it to great use managing the large inventory at the gallery.
There were probably around 100,000 photographs in clamshell boxes on site. When I started, the gallery was at 120 Wooster Street in a SoHo loft building with very high ceilings, and to get some of these boxes you needed to climb a 10-foot ladder. Balancing the box and searching for a single print could be a hectic process.
Later, when we moved the gallery to East 57th Street we depended on ArtSystems to make sure we were highly organized while moving our art objects from one space to another. A single box could have more than 100 photographs in it, so the ArtSystems barcode integration was critical for this project.
Drew at HGG preparing for the move to 57th Street
Rachel Chaldu
That is an incredible amount of work that has to go perfectly right.
Drew Thomas
Definitely, and we were firing on all cylinders. One of my first big projects was implementing the barcode system through ArtSystems. I started working with some of the same people that I work with now, such as Rosanne Sasso (Manager, Customer Service) and Bill Taylor (Product Manager). I’ve known them for 25 years in various capacities, both as an end user and as a coworker.
Rachel Chaldu
So, you left the gallery to work at ArtSystems. Was Rosanne the one who stole you away?
Drew Thomas
Nope! About six months after I left HGG, I got a phone call from Bill, and he asked me if I would be interested in a job at ArtSystems. He said they needed someone technical, and Bill knew I understood ArtSystems very well.
Rachel Chaldu
I feel like you must have spent a lot of time talking to Bill prior to you being scooped up by ArtSystems for him to know how technical you are.
Drew Thomas
Well, Howard Greenberg Gallery is a prolific ArtSystems client. Both then and now the team depends on ArtSystems and has formed an incredible working relationship with our support team.
I worked with Bill often, and he would come physically to the gallery in those days. A camaraderie developed between us.
Rachel Chaldu
What does your day-to-day at ArtSystems look like?
Drew Thomas
For the majority of my career at ArtSystems I have been part of the Support Team. Recently, I moved into focusing on server administration and development. I still help with end user support, but my main focus now is on software engineering.
Rachel Chaldu
What is rewarding and what is challenging about your role?
Drew Thomas
We all wear many hats and while context switching can be difficult, it is also a fun challenge. One moment I am working with a client who comes to us from an art world perspective and then I move to a development meeting with my colleagues who are speaking in very technical terms.
Rachel Chaldu
You know, honestly, that kind of day-to-day is parallel to the gallery worker. You wear many hats working at galleries, and you pivot all the time.
Drew Thomas
Working here is rewarding because I’m a detail-oriented person, so I enjoy creating efficiency with detail-oriented tasks. That’s kind of an obtuse way of saying that I enjoy writing “config files.” There is a sense of satisfaction when I find “it worked! I wrote this little poem to the computer, and it loved it!”
But I also thrive in unplanned and unexpected situations. When an impromptu Support phone call comes in reporting that “X is not working,” it’s exciting because I get to roll up my sleeves on the fly and figure out the problem. Some people don’t have that temperament, but I do.
Rachel Chaldu
This is interesting, because so far, all of the customer support staff I have interviewed say they LOVE the chaos and problems brought to the Support Team. You all really get giddy about it!
Drew Thomas
Yeah. I take it very seriously, and I’m also just as interested in their computer’s behavior.
Rachel Chaldu
Well, I think that is a good thing. I think that’s the kind of person you want in those roles. You want them to be excited for the challenge and to find the right solution to the problem.
Let’s go into one of the next questions. I wanted to ask you to talk about a recent project that you were particularly proud of, or you really enjoyed.
Drew Thomas
The art world lives and dies by their data. If you don’t have confidence in the data, it erodes confidence in all kinds of other things. When I can help somebody understand their data and feel confident, it’s very satisfying.
Now I work more with our servers to maintain a stable environment for our end users. Instead of focusing on resolutions for fires already burning, I take pride in prevention. It feels great to keep things running smoothly for our clients.
Rachel Chaldu
We talked about what sets us apart as a company and team, but would you like to elaborate on anything before we move on?
Drew Thomas
Just to say I’m proud of the hands-on approach that we provide. We have a propensity for creative solutions here within our small team, and I think it’s great. We’re creative people, we work with creative people, and we have creative solutions.
Rachel Chaldu
And, what is your favorite part about working with our clients?
Drew Thomas
The people that we work with are very passionate and enthusiastic. I find that I have always thrived by surrounding myself with ambitious people who are devoted to what they are doing.
Sometimes I get to see art that is not in the public eye. The work may be somebody’s bathroom Picasso, and nobody gets to see the bathroom Picasso, unless you go to a party at their house. I love that about working with our clients because I thought when I left the gallery world seeing these types of works was going to end for me.
Rachel Chaldu
Yes, we get to see the back room of some amazing collections.
Drew Thomas
I will add too that what we’re doing here, working with the art objects and their legacy is important work. Think about it, where do we store our culture as a society? If you want to put your money somewhere safe, you put it in a bank. To make your food last longer, you put it in the refrigerator. If you want to store your culture, you put it into art, and that’s important. It’s important to store that effectively. It’s important to curate it effectively, and it’s important to document it effectively. And it’s important to me to help with that pursuit.
Rachel Chaldu
We’re going to move to the personal questions now. Can you share any fun stories from your career prior to ArtSystems?
Drew Thomas
I really enjoyed working with Howard Greenberg. He’s a character and I was always struck by his passion.
One time a woman came into HGG with a Steichen photograph in an old, busted, frame. She had found it at a flea market, and had paid very little, but she had identified it correctly. She brought it into Howard, and was interested in finding out what she could get for it. The first thing to do is get it out of the frame and see the condition. It turns out that when removed from the frame, not only was there one, but mounted onto the back was a second Steichen photograph!
When I brought that back to his office and showed him what was there, he was incredibly excited. That kind of passion you don’t get everywhere. And I just loved working with him for that reason.
Drew installing the inaugural Bruce Davidson show at 57th Street
Rachel Chaldu
That energy is infectious. I’d like to ask about your hobbies outside of work. How do you spend your time?
Drew Thomas
Most of my time outside of work is spent with my family. My son and daughter are both heavily involved in sports and so my wife and I are chauffeurs every weekend. My daughter plays Soccer and lacrosse and my son is a swimmer.
The swim meets are long, so I volunteer to pass the time. My favorite job to do is to be the emcee the for the home meets. I get to stay right in the action, and keep the tempo by announcing “event one, heat two.”
Additionally, I’m a collector of things, particularly stamps. There’s something about bringing order out of chaos. They are these little scraps of paper, and I enjoy finding their spot, and I like knowing what a particular stamp is and where it’s from.
The summary is, I like football, stamp collecting, my family, art, and working hard. That is what I do with myself. It sounds hilariously wholesome when I say it that way.
Molly, Drew’s loyal coworker, taking a well-earned break after a long day of supervising (Drew, of course).
Rachel Chaldu
OK, one last question and it’s my favorite. What is your perfect Sunday?
Drew Thomas
Definitely would be spending time with the family but NOT at a sporting event situation.
My perfect Sunday is spending time with my wife and kids. We could be doing anything, even just getting to make breakfast with the family and not having to rush off to be somewhere would be amazing.
Rachel Chaldu
I’ll keep in mind not to over schedule weekends as my son grows up. Great parenting advice! Well, Drew, thank you. This was a great interview.
Drew Thomas
Appreciate it. This was a lot of fun!
Drew, thank you for taking the time to speak with us. It was a pleasure to explore the remarkable art and unforgettable characters that shaped your early career, to learn about the discreet joy you feel when a client hands you a truly thorny support challenge, and to catch a charming glimpse of your wholesome hobbies, stamp collecting included. We appreciate your insight, your candor, and your delightfully unexpected range.
If you are interested in learning more about how the ArtSystems team can help improve your operations, contact us today to speak with an expert.
