Mikell Stringham, a Utah native, is a young entrepreneur energetically pursuing an alternative business model with her gallery-without-walls, Mondo Fine Art.

Stringham received her B.A. in Business Marketing from the University of Utah. Passionate about art, she later moved to Italy, where she attended the Florence University of Art, studying photography, oil painting, interior design, and gallery management. Actively involved in the community, Stringham currently serves on the Utah Museum of Fine Art’s Young Benefactors Executive Committee, and in the fall of 2009, she started a not-for-profit project, the International heART Exchange, that unites humanitarian organizations in an effort to connect children, on a global level, through the universal language of art.

Her for-profit art project, Mondo Fine Art, represents local, national, and international contemporary artists. The gallery has no fixed brick-and-mortar location. Instead Stringham promotes her artists with an online presence at www.mondofineart.com — which has begun posting video interviews with its artists — as well as at special-event exhibitions hosted by local businesses and private homes. The most recent venture was “Modern Values,” a night hosted by Light Spot in Salt Lake City, featuring a panel discussion on modernism and an exhibition of works by local artists John Bell and Carlisle. The artwork remains on display and open to the public through May 22.

What is the most memorable exhibit you’ve seen recently?

 I was recently in New York for the Armory Show. I really liked their focus this year on contemporary artwork coming out of Berlin. But my favorite show of the week was Independent, set up in the old Dia Art Center space, where multiple international galleries and artists came together and curated a show in collaboration. It was more set up as an exhibition than a fair and featured really fresh and cutting edge contemporary works.

What is your favorite building in Utah?

The Salt Lake City Public Library – beautiful modern design with great use of space and light – I love spending time there.

If you could choose someone to paint or sculpt your portrait (living or dead) who would it be?

 This is just too difficult a question! I’ve been fortunate to sit for a few portrait artists, and what I love most about the experience is the opportunity to get to know the artist better through their creative process. There are too many artists that I admire (both living and dead) to narrow it down to one.

What are you reading? 

 “The $12 Million Dollar Stuffed Shark” by Don Thompson and “I Sold Andy Warhol. (too soon)” by Richard Polsky.