By Matt Weafer
Messenger-Inquirer
From decorative furniture to metal wall hangings; from wooden ink pens to glass bead jewelry; from abstract oil paintings to studio portraits, Gallery 412 offers a wide array of local, unique art for prices suitable to every pocketbook.
18 months ago John Froehlich retired as director of Owensboro after nine years, and joined five other local artists to open Gallery 412.
According to Froehlich, “We are the first, to my knowledge, art gallery, not gift shop, in Owensboro.”
Gallery 412 is located at 412 W. Second St., the old Mischell Monument Building. The building is 125 years old and Gallery 412 is only the third inhabitant.
According to Froehlich, Gallery 412 features three types of artists, studio artists, the six founders who craft their work inside their studios in the building; exhibiting artists, artists who display their work on a portion of a wall in the gallery; and gift shop artists, the artists who make the smaller items in the gift shop, like jewelry, and stationary.
Froehlich works with pottery and ceramics–not just pots and vases, but artistic sculptures and wall hangings.
The other five founders specialize in several different areas. John Schartung paints non-representational art but also does framing. Mattie Jones’ craft is metal work, making jewelry, metal wall hangings and sculptures. Darin Evans also works with metal, but he deals more with large-scale pieces, like wrought iron decorative entrances, doorknockers, and fences, among other things. Paula Plummer works with stained glass. Al and Jenny Hancock of Hancock Photographic Designs are the other studio artists, however they are moving to a new studio in the near future. They specialize mostly in portrait photography, especially weddings.
Froehlich said, “I’ve come to realize that people think that this is a gallery like a museum, which is true; we have the original works of artists, but it’s also a gift shop.”
The prices of each one of a kind piece range from $1.50 to several thousand dollars, but the average price of a piece in the gallery is between $20 to $250.
Letting people know that Gallery 412 offers nice gifts for everyone, Froehlich said is a challenge. “We have something for everyone from Uncle Joe the deer hunter to Grandma Rose who likes oil paintings.”
Froehlich said the main reason for opening the gallery was to provide local artists with a place to display and sell their art.
“Seventy-five percent of the art is literally from local artists,” Froehlich said. “We’re not restricting it to that; that’s just the way it worked out.”
Another reason Froehlich and the others established Gallery 412 was to supply the artists with studios outside of their homes. “It’s difficult for an artist to find decent studio space,” Froehlich said. He said that studio space in your home is okay, but it is not as easy to work there.
Gallery 412 is one of the few local businesses that add a flavor slightly out of the ordinary to Owensboro. “It adds flare for the people,” Froehlich said. “It makes Owensboro a little more different, and helps revitalize downtown.”
Froehlich said that Gallery 412 is becoming a more prominent sight in downtown Owensboro. “We’re visually becoming a part of downtown with the remodeling of the streetscape,” Froehlich said.
The gallery will be celebrating its two-year anniversary on April 16 in a big outdoor event.
Gallery 412 also offers custom designed creations, tours, and classes. Classes are held for stained glass, pottery, watercolor, oils, pastels, and metal crafting. Anyone interested can attend classes; no previous experience in the area is necessary.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment