Judy Weiner enjoys a soft seat and a view of the room at Aalto Gallery, where artists rent space and have the opportunity to display their work. Ashland Daily Tidings/AMY ALONZO
Rent-a-gallery: an artsy alternative
By Vickie Aldous
Ashland Daily Tidings
Faced with steep odds in winning representation by a gallery, many local artists resort to showing their works in gift shops, coffee houses and cafés.
But John Davis, co-owner of the premiere Davis & Cline Gallery in Ashland, is offering a unique new venue for artists on A Street, home to several galleries.
Artists - individually or as part of a group - can rent John and Carol Davis' Aalto Gallery, an airy space with hardwood floors and high-quality lighting set inside the historic Veterans of Foreign Wars building at 552 A St. The couple completed a major remodel of the 1908 building and opened it as a gallery in September.
"The number of places available to artists is very small," said John Davis, who reviews about 50 artists' submissions each year, but usually accepts only one new artist for representation at Davis & Cline. "There is a huge number of artists with no venue. Typically, they have to exhibit in a café or coffee house. It's so much more important to get the work isolated."
He said viewers can focus on art in a gallery setting, where the artist's vision and development can be seen clearly.
Artists pay a $400 fee for a one-week show in the Aalto Gallery, or $600 for a week that falls on the first Friday of the month when Ashland galleries host a popular evening art-walk. They can show for one week to a month.
In comparison, many galleries charge a 50 percent commission on art sales.
Although artists pay to have their work shown, Davis said the new venue is not a "vanity gallery."
"It's got to be good quality and interesting work. I interview the artist," he said.
Davis said he originally intended to create a space in the VFW building where someone could live and work. But his desire to have another gallery on A Street - and help create a critical mass of art venues - prompted him to consider offering the space as a cooperative gallery. Eventually he settled on the idea of offering a unique venue where artists could rent space for shows.
Ashland artist Gabriel Lipper, one of the first artists to show in the Aalto Gallery, said the gallery benefits the art community and provides a high-quality venue.
"I was really attracted to the simplicity of the space. It could be a show with a singular focus," he said. "A lot of galleries get muddled with cards and crafts. It's hard to appreciate the art works."
Lipper, who has shown previously at galleries and coffee shops, said he withdrew from the gallery scene to work on paintings for himself, and to do commercial murals and paintings for book covers.
He said his show at the Aalto was an opportunity to present his work to the public at a reasonable cost.
"It worked out very well. I was able to cover my expenses and I made a lot of contacts that will be valuable," he said. "I was able to share my work with the community. That intrigued me the most. It was an opportunity to give a clear presentation to featured work, rather than get lost in the shuffle.
"It was wonderful to have wall space to hang your works professionally and give each piece some room."
Davis said he hopes the new venue will become a useful resource for artists.
"We built the ballpark," he said. "Let's see if they come."
Judy Weiner enjoys a soft seat and a view of the room at Aalto Gallery, where artists rent space and have the opportunity to display their work. Ashland Daily Tidings/AMY ALONZO
