Wed 6/17 @ 5-8PM
Fri 6/19 @ 5-8PM
Finally! Art lovers have been able to see work posted online by local galleries, but haven’t been able to see it in person. And when works are three-dimensional or textures are as important as just the image, you lose a lot.
Luckily, galleries are starting to reopen, and they are generally businesses you can go to safely, as the only time they’re packed is at opening (and sometimes closing) receptions. And those aren’t being scheduled in the same way they were before the pandemic.
Instead, galleries such as HEDGE Gallery at 78th Street Studios, are opening shows with staggered receptions, capping the number of visitors allowed in at once and requiring them to register for time slots. That’s what HEDGE will be doing when it opens its new show, Cleveland artist Matthew Gallagher’s Research and Development, running through Friday August 7. It’ll hold a preview reception Wednesday June 17 and an opening Friday June 19. Only 17 people will be let in at once, and you should register at HEDGE’s website. You’ll also need to wear a mask.
And while the social aspect of the art opening is removed, the show is definitely worth going to the trouble to see. Gallagher’s new body of work is inspired by the beauty of nature, which could be called escapist at this time — or essential. The 2D and 3D pieces are rooted in his responses to plant and animal life. He uses paint, ink, iron, bronze and encaustic wax, in various combinations, to create mixed media paintings and sculptures, based on his scientific experiments.
“The most beautiful, complex, and magical things I have ever seen were not created by humans, but by the interconnectedness of energy, matter, and the inherent organization of our universe — nature,” says Gallagher. “It is my mission to mix self-expression with the influence of natural forms. My processes provide another perspective on the astonishing beauty of the forces that surround us and are too often taken for granted.”
If you can’t make the opening date the gallery’s summer hours are Wednesday-Friday, 11am-6pm and weekends by appointment.