Summertime Scheduling

Aaron Koehn, 2001,
Berlin Underground, oil on canvas
48 x 36 in.

It always happens. Things slow a little as Summer deepens and I start to catch up on little details and then I start to think about the gallery schedule for the next year. I'm always scheduling ahead, but things change and while I have a general idea of all the artists, I don't always have a good idea of how their exhibitions will fit as a season. But then, one day, almost all at once, I do. So I stretch, look toward the horizon and start making phone calls.

Many gallery artists have major exhibitions at the gallery about 2 to 2.5 years apart, so I am always, in a way, thinking that far ahead.

Don Harvey will have a show April 27 to May 26; Dexter Davis, September 7 to October 6; and Hildur Ásgeirsdóttir Jónsson, November 16 to December 29. And that is where it starts

By the middle of July I will have it figured through July 2013. Mostly.

Aaron Koehn opening in June

Aaron Koehn
Garage Bay, 2010
oil on canvas, 23 x 25 in

On June 3 the gallery will be opening the first one-person show of this especially talented young painter. It is an exciting event for me. Most often, I find myself working with artists somewhat later in their careers - sometime after they have achieved a measure of recognition and after they have reached a measure of commitment to a style or direction. But Koehn - still in his mid 20s - is at an age where studio visits a few months apart always reveal new directions and discoveries.

The exhibition that will open in June is quite different from the exhibition that I thought I was scheduling a year ago. It's a nice surprise.

Schedule for 2011

January 7 to February 6

Dexter Davis. Collage with drawings, monoprints, and woodcuts.

Dexter Davis, Blackheads, 20010, collage.

Feb 11 to Mar 26

Darice Polo. Drawings and Paintings. Reflective personally, responding to family images of identity and ambition.

Mar 18 to April 30

Andrea Joki. Paintings on Paper and Canvas. Some with content that responds to place and some with content in layers, partially removed.

Apr 29 to June 1

Mark Howard. Paintings. Like cut-outs, but not. The human figure, almost as musical notation.

June 3 to July 30

Aaron Koehn. Paintings and Drawings. Roomscapes and Landscapes. This is the artists 1st solo show.

September 9 to October 8
Amy Sinbondit. Sculpture. Extruded ceramic forms.

October 14 to November 12

Kate Budd. Sculpture. Intimate figures, in wax.

November 18 to December 31

Brinsley Tyrrell. Ohio Lands Forever. Glass enamel on steel. Landscapes, near the artist's home.

Starting All Over Again

Paul O'Keeffe's exhibition dazzles in the intensity of its light, with fluorescent paints and sheets of light-gathering acrylic.


It's been a week now, since the opening of the new galleries, with a holiday to add additional perspective. I entered into the expansion with a lot of guesses - most of them good, I think. But I have begun enough art projects over the years to have little confidence in initial expectations, knowing that there is learning that happens, changing perspective and imperatives. I feel like I am starting all over again.

In part, the gallery has always been a laboratory for me to work out ideas, to explore the possibilities of art and audience in our city. This continues. What seems most exciting is that I will have the opportunity to have several exhibitions on view at the same time, but not necessarily of the same length of time, overlaying each other, creating a narrative that is more reflective of the on-going narrative of ideas in Cleveland's community of visual artists.

The gallery will have seven or eight openings a year - the Friday after Labor Day; the Friday in October 5 weeks later; the Friday before Thanksgiving; sometimes the first Friday in the new year; and then shows opening in early February, mid March, late April, and early June. At each opening, at least one show will open, but most often two, and occasionally three.

One of the shows at each opening will be of an artist who I will represent on an on-going basis. Generally, this show will have a catalog and will be scheduled 1.5 to 2.5 years in advance. Most other shows will usually be specific to a body of work or a tight concept and will usually be scheduled 3 to 9 months in advance. And then I will have shows that open without openings and might be scheduled as little in advance as a month, a week, or a day.

I'm always interested in knowing what you'd like to see.

Thursday before the Opening

Timothy Callaghan, Nighthawk, 2010; gouache on black paper, 11.5 x 11 in.

Timothy told me that he did not want his Nightshift paintings to look like "black holes" on the wall. I tried minimal lighting and it worked amazingly. With dark shadows between each painting, the pigment glows on the canvas.

On the other side of the wall (in the new gallery space) the first section of floor has been stained and varnished, which makes it feel like everything is finally moving toward completion. I am still imagining the new gallery - how the spaces will relate to each other; how multiple exhibitions will feel as they slide over and under each other; whether installation, video and performance will fit; and how people will learn about and interact with the exhibitions.

I have lots of ideas - as usual, some good and some bad - and I happily anticipate the time when the gallery can give them voice.

Wednesday Before the Opening

As usual, the gallery is a little bit of a mess between shows.

Installed 4 ceramic pieces by Kristen Cliffel in the entry gallery, including the banner "Tell Me that You Love Me" (which hangs on the wall behind my desk, above where I am usually sitting and working).

The construction and fix-up for gallery expansion is proceeding according to schedule, which is a little bit surprising. By the end of the day the floors will be sanded, with staining on Thursday and Friday, then varnishing on Monday and Tuesday of next week.

Timothy Callaghan's show is partially up. We installed the seven paintings on canvas yesterday. They are nocturnal views of Cleveland neighborhoods, places that the artist passes through each day. I am trying to decide how to light them. Not too much, I think.