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Converted from paper version of the Broad Ripple Gazette (v07n15)
And In The OTHER Cultural Districts... - In the Wholesale District - Casey Jo Ailes
posted: Jul. 23, 2010

And In The Cultural Districts header

In the Wholesale District
Despite the chaotic atmosphere of our downtown city this last weekend (17th/18th) I ventured down to 245 McCrea Street to the home of the ARTBOX's newest location, to take a closer look at the galleries current exhibition. The ARTBOX has been located at the Stutz building since 2008 and is an extension of the studio of Myers Design Inc., which was created to display artisan furniture and contemporary art. The newest sister location that opened Memorial day weekend is located in the Wholesale District of downtown Indianapolis. This New York Style Gallery is tucked neatly into the first floor of the Janus Lofts building and has already made a positive impression on its new neighbors. As I was waiting on the gallery manager to open up the door, a couple of gentleman walking by encouraged me to enter the space and commented on how wonderful it was and that it was a great gallery. This is already a good start for a district that has fallen short of a bit of cultural lately.
Much like Broad Ripple's own Limited Editions Gallery, the ARTBOX runs as a full-service gallery, offering some of the most noted Masters and contemporary artists from an international selection, to showcasing a few of the local talent Indianapolis has to offer. It's hard to say that a gallery is taken seriously in the eyes of an art collector unless it has the ability to step up to the next level. Which happily is what I found when I walked through the doors at this newest downtown gallery. When you walk in there are notable artists from around the world, but what a wonderful surprise when one can find local talent settled in nicely in between what many of us art enthusiasts would consider great, successful art work.
With few galleries serving the Indianapolis on this level of Art Collecting the ARTBOX has certainly taken a leap from their former location that has been known for attracting the typical First Friday goers interested in the social side of the art world. After taking in a few cheese cubes and sipping on a glass of wine, seldom does the art sell, but in this new location the art is hung in a style to move. Housing several local artists along with the international breed, the current collection comes to view not only by the hands of the ARTBOX but brought to us by several partners of the gallery along with a few other avenues, such as working with art brokers to bring such work into play like Henry Moore's prints that will catch your eye. Moore, an English artist was most celebrated for his sculptures, but like many of the artists that you will gaze at in this gallery, he was multi-talented.

Inside the ARTBOX located at 245 McCrea Street.
Inside the ARTBOX located at 245 McCrea Street.
image courtesy of Casey Jo Ailes
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The ARTBOX has upscaled themselves with their new location and higher priced selections that are available with out the snob factor one can encounter with many galleries that are at this higher price level. The gallery is open to everyone but is geared toward the collectors, tourists and local designers. Gallery Manager Meegan Fournier is a gracious host who welcomes all forms of art enthusiasts into the gallery to browse the small selection of contemporary artwork on display. The ARTBOX's downtown current exhibit features works by Sam Francis, Henry Moore, James Rosenquist, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Nicola Simbari, Robert Motherwell, Michael Kessler, Dale Nally, Xevi Vilaro, Margit J. Fureder, Jason Myers, Walter Knabe, Jean-Jacques Porret, L'Oriano Galloni, Phil O'Malley, Max Stolkin, Dane Sauer and Tom Brewitz.
Exhibiting artists like Nicola Simbari, who is referred to as "Italy's most important living painter", really brings a four-star level to this young gallery. Simbari's work has commanded international recognition and with his vivid use of color and the love for the palette knife I hope to see more of his work grace the walls of the ARTBOX. Along with Simbari's impressive pallette I noticed a few familiar local names. Walter Knabe, being one of them to mention in this show, was commissioned to create the art for the this year's program for the Indianapolis 500. This work of art is now in the permanent collection at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's Museum, but Knabe created a series of limited edition screen prints that are on sale through the ARTBOX. A portion of the proceeds for its sale will benefit the Indianapolis Julian Center. As always I am a fan of giving back to the community and love seeing Knabe giving back to Indianapolis through the sales of this body of work. Oh, did I mention that oddly enough Knabe is the first Hoosier to land this gig of creating the official art for the Indy 500? As a local artist myself, I would like to think it would not have taken the Indianapolis Speedway this long to have chosen local talent to depict our version of the race.
While I wandered through the gallery space, Fournier was kind enough to give me the tour of the artists they had on exhibition. While I was familiar with many of the artists' works, like Dane Sauer who attended Herron School of Art at the same time as myself, you can see many sculptures on display by several artists. Another local artist, Phil O'Malley needs to be mentioned as he has been showing around town for decades. While I have not been a fan of his work, that doesn't mean it's not something to check out. Along with some beautiful abstracts by Michael Kessler, intriguing figurative by Jason Myers and, of course, the beautiful mixed media sculptures by L'Oriano Galloni, are a must see in person. Galloni's figures are created out of the smoothest woods that emerge through pure marble, making for a sight very pleasing to the eye. With a wide range of prices of these pieces, ranging from the hundreds in to the thousands (more than most of us are willing to spend on a house), the gallery is a new favorite.
For more info or gallery hours call 317.955.2450 or visit www.artboxindy.com
Something I will be checking out on the next First Friday is a re-use art show put together by Keep Indianapolis Beautiful. KIB will have a part in the August 6th First Friday Gallery Tour downtown with their show opening "RE-DOME" Art Contest. KIB asked schools, artists, and nonprofit organizations to re-use the former RCA ("HOOSIER") Dome roof material in an effort to build community and display art around the city. This event is open to the public from 6-9pm located at KIB's home 1029 East Fletcher Avenue.
One last mention is that on Friday ,July 23rd, from 5-9pm, Silver in the City will be celebrating 10 years in business here in Indianapolis. SITC is located in the Mass Ave District at 434 Mass Ave. They will celebrate with live music, Sun King Beer (Indy's own local brew), and the launch of SITC's new T-shirt line.



Casey Jo Ailes holds a Bachelor in Fine Arts from Herron School of Art and teaches at the Indianapolis Art Center. She is an award winning artist and focuses on photography and painting. Casey has been published nation wide and shows her work locally. Contact her at casey@BroadRippleGazette.com




casey@broadripplegazette.com
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