Party Arty...
by. Mike Bauer
Jayplay writer
About a year ago Jay Gordon and Jenny Long had the idea of starting an art gallery. They wanted to create an artistic outlet outside of the co-op house that they lived in. Gordon and Long wanted to start a gallery that was not only a place to display art, but a place that would allow artists to turn the fantasies in their heads into reality.
Gordon and Long's idea turned into the Grimshaw Gallery, 731 New Hampshire St. which will celebrate it's one-year anniversary Friday from 8 p.m to 10 p.m.
Gordon says the anniversary exhibition will be up for three weeks and will feature artwork from several of the rent-paying "tenants," as the gallery calls those who occupy the studio spaces. The exhibition will feature current tenants, some of the gallery's original tenants, and a few new tenants.
The artwork in the studios is definitely not something you'd find in a traditional art museum. Sculptures,made of material such as duct tape, wax and bones, are hanging in some of the dark studio spaces. One artist is working on an ink drawing with a naked woman on the left side of the piece and dotted patterns spread throughout the rest of it.
What also makes the Grimshaw Gallery interesting is how far from normal the place appears. Instead of a typical, well-lit showroom, the gallery has minimal lighting. The studio spaces are
photos: Kit Leffler
Kalidamon says everyone's work has improved since the gallery's opening.
Long says the gallery has been a learning experiment as artists go through ups and downs and as some leave for various reasons. The tenants of the gallery have strong hopes for the future, including dances and a February hip-hop show with an emcee.
—Mike Bauer can be reached at mbauer@kansan.com
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