Jeff and Jackie Evans officially opened Gallery 6202 (located at 6202 N. College Avenue) on December 14th. They are making their personal art collection available for sale to the general public for the first time. The gallery hosted an open house on February 8th.

They discussed their interest in art collecting. "It started on a cruise ship when we were visiting Grand Cayman. We went to an art auction on board and the collection included several prints by Itzchak Tarkay (1935-2012, Israeli). His color palate is vibrant. His depiction of women posing in ways that were strong, dignified, and maybe a bit defiant, was absolutely captivating. Tarkay had pulled us into his wonderful imaginary world where the colors are always bright and the women are always strong. We were hooked," said Jeff. Jeff and Jackie collected three Tarkay prints on that cruise even though they had never before encountered his work. Tarkay became a staple of the Evans collection.

After making the purchase, they learned a bit more about Tarkay. He was born in Subotica on the Yougoslav-Hungarian border. At the age of 9, Tarkay and his family were forcibly removed from their home and imprisoned by the Nazi's at the Mauthausen Concentration Camp. A year later, Allied soldiers freed them. His family immigrated to Israel in 1947. Tarkay attended the Bezel Academy of Art and Design and graduated from the Avini Institute of Art and Design.

Tarkay's work is heavily influenced by French impressionism and post-impressionism, particularly Matisse and Toulouse-Lautrec. His works were exhibited at the International Art Expo in 1986 and 1987, where he received recognition for his work in oil, acrylic and watercolor. Tarkay is considered to be one of the most influential artists of the early 21st Century.

The opening exhibit at Gallery 6202 includes one original Tarkay watercolor entitled Carriage Talk and one original oil on board entitled Waiting to Pour. Both are portraits of women. The gallery also has five Tarkay prints available including two of his landscapes.

The gallery's opening exhibit includes an original painting and serigraphs by artist Zamy Steynovitz (1951-2000, Israeli). Zamy was born in Legnica, Poland and his family immigrated to Israel in 1957. He studied at the Art School in Tel-Aviv and the Royal Academy of Arts in London. His paintings are said to express a universal humanistic idea in his creations: man's connection to his heritage and physical surroundings. Zamy was known in the circles of Norwegian Noble Institute as a result of his devotion to world peace. His paintings have been presented by official bodies to President Jimmy Carter, Pope John Paul II, Prime Minister Begin and the Dali Lama.

The original painting is entitled Dance to Music and includes a Zamy-stylized couple dancing in front of a cello and violin player. The Eiffel Tower is depicted in the background. Serigraphs on display include Purple Sky-Blue which depicts and angelic figure and a violinist flying through a purple sky. The angel appears to be blowing a trumpet. The figures are flying over a blue city that could be Jerusalem and flying with them is a bouquet of flowers. Other serigraphs include Morning Music and other works issued by his estate after his untimely death. The gallery's Zamy offerings include serigraphs created during his lifetime such as Lover's and Bouquet and Moonlight Dancing. There is no doubt that Zamy was heavily influenced by one of the great masters of the 20th Century, Marc Chagall." (1887-1985, French). "Chagall was a great master, but I like Zamy's palette over Chagall's. Zamy has a much brighter and a larger spectrum of colors," said Jeff.

The opening includes Slava Brodinsky's (b. 1955, Israeli) original Harvard Hills, a 2004 oil painting. It is displayed along with several of his prints. Brodinsky is a painter who captures light and he maintains a whimsical style in his landscapes which is quite appealing. He creates texture in his originals by mixing sand and plaster into his paints.

The collection includes a display of kinetic art. Artists featured include the two of the fathers of the kinetic art movement, Yaccov Agam (b. 1928, Israeli) and Victor Vasarely (1906-1997 French). Dominic Pangbourn's (b. 1952) All Good Things-Art in Motion, is a part of the display. "Once you start collecting, you want more. It's kind of like an addiction. We started our collection with prints, but later, we started collecting original oils, acrylics and mixed media." Jackie said. "You get some art and then you see more of it. It's really cool meeting the artists as well. You appreciate the even more," Jackie added. She is a primary care physician, whose medical office contains a large part of their art collection.

Their location provided the ideal canvas for their collection. "I've been practicing law here for 28 years, focusing in the areas of estate planning and probate. We bought the building back in 1993 and rented the additional space to other lawyers. And slowly, as our house began to overflow, we brought art to our respective offices," Jeff said.

Gallery 6202, whose tagline is "FINE ART & FUN STUFF," includes a seasonal room still decorated for Christmas. The offerings for purchase include Christmas tree ornaments (some Hallmark) and Santas from the 1980s and 1990s. "This is the 'fun stuff,'" said Jackie.

The collection also includes art glass by Hoosier artist, Ryan Gothrup, (b.1977) who was born in Hartford City, Indiana. He spent time at the Indiana Arts Center from 1998-2002 where he learned glass blowing. At the same time he attended Herron. "His work is quite colorful. We have his early work when he was starting to blow glass to his more current offerings," said Jackie. While in Indiana, Ryan's glass works were in giftshops at the Indiana State Museum and the Children's Museum. Ryan was commissioned by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels to blow glass objects to present to dignitaries in Japan. He was also commissioned by the Indiana Arts Council to create pendant lights for their offices. The gallery collection has other art glass including, Venetian glass flowers and some Murano glass.

The gallery's current offerings include works by historically significant Indiana artists. These include works by George Jo Mess (1898 - 1962) and his wife, Evelyn Mess - Daily, reportedly favorites of the gallery owners. "George's and Evelyn's work remind me of the greats of the Great Depression era artists of the 1930's such as Thomas Benton-Hart" (1889 - 1975). Hart's work is included in the collection at OldFields, which is part of Newfields (formerly the Indianapolis Museum of Art). The Mess family home and studio is within a few blocks from Gallery 6202, across the canal on Central Avenue. A sign bearing the words "Central Art Studio" still hangs in the front yard. Another historic Indiana artist in their collection include Eva May Yoder from Tipton who exhibited at the Hoosier Salon in the 1940's. Eva is credited with having the first painting by air-brush accepted by the jury at the Hoosier Salon.

"We expect to have a dedicated Hoosier Room for contemporary and historic Indiana artists. Even before we opened, local artists stopped at the gallery to ask about consigning their art to Gallery 6202, so I think we will be able to fill the Hoosier Room without too much difficulty," Jeff said. Initially Gallery 6202 will only charge a commission of 25 percent for works sold on consignment. "We have had several local artists stop to check it out and thank us for opening a gallery in Broad Ripple. I look at their portfolios. We're pretty diverse in our collection with bright colors and some artwork in black and white."

Gallery 6202 is open Thursday through Saturday 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. or by appointment when calling (317) 602-2185.

Their website, www.gallery6202.com, is currently under construction. However, these eclectic works are best seen in person with the Evans' providing some history on them at their Broad Ripple studio.