10 Years of 'Sex:' Real-life counterparts -- the art gallery owner(s)

Okay, so Charlotte wasn't really an art gallery owner, but she was a chic, smart gallery director before her life as a socialite who filled her days with impressive, oh-so-good volunteer pursuits. The three women who run Tria, an art gallery in Chelsea, NYC, are all co-owners. They met while taking gallery management courses at New York University, and each arrived there from very different careers: Carol Suchman ran a PR and marketing firm, Paige Bart was an attorney...hmm... and Latifa Metheny was a photographer, and model. "In our second year of classes, we were having lunch in Williamsburg and commented to one another that we, like Charlotte in 'Sex and the City,' could probably run a gallery, and do a great job of it," Suchman says.

Tria opened two years ago, and the three women represent approximately 20 artists who specialize in contemporary painting and mixed media. Suchman took some time from her day to let us in on similarities and differences in their lives and Charlotte's art gallery days:

"We have all been single women in Manhattan, so can definitely relate to Charlotte. However at this point we are all married with children, so some days of the week our lives do differ from hers (PTA, soccer, etc.). On gallery days we do get to glam up, and at our opening receptions we put on our Jimmy Choos and hobnob with artists, celebs, and people you would otherwise see in the social pages (people with whom we would not interact in our everyday lives).

'Sex and the City' got some -- but not all -- of their world right:

"The glamorous aspects were correctly depicted -- it is a very 'cool' artsy scene with beautiful people. However, the show did not show the un-glamorous side of the business, where many a nail is broken. We hammer nails, pay bills, haggle with the landlord, and deal with all the mundane aspects of running a business.

And, yes, friendship is at the heart of it all, every day:

"The most amazing aspect of all of this for us is the close friendship that has developed between the three of us. We have become close friends who dine & shop together in our free time. Actually, just last week we closed the gallery for an hour (on a slow, rainy day) to run over to a Catherine Malandrino sample sale (don't tell our clients!). This is where a female-run business differs from a male-run business. Our friendship is the basis of the partnership, and we rely on it every day. We all have very different personalities, yet somehow the combination and chemistry works amazingly well. We work hard, confide in each other, lean on each other, and support one another.

When we're wining and dining our clients and just being fabulous, we feel very much like Charlotte and the girls. But then of course we go home to make tuna casserole."


For more SATC real-life counterparts:
10 Years of 'Sex:' Real-life counterparts -- the PR/marketing consultant
10 Years of 'Sex:' Real-life counterparts -- the attorney
10 Years of 'Sex:' Real-life counterparts -- the love + sex columnist (blogger)