ARTISANworks

Parking is extremely limited...

Visiting ARTISANworks is a curious experience.  It's not a museum, per se, since everything in the gallery is purportedly for sale.  But it's more than an art gallery, since there are some pieces that are museum quality (and price) and you cannot imagine anyone ever purchasing.  And then there are the strange and creepy things, like the stuffed giraffes or the stacked tins topped with doll heads, that could be nightmare-inducing.

When I first moved to Rochester, I bought a membership thinking it would be a cool place to take company.  My first guest was Theresa, from NYC, and we rushed through, stopping briefly to admire Mark Groaning's beautiful painted windows, Mike Kuyt's inventive wooden clocks, and Ross Rider's gigantic wood sculptures of ordinary items like pencil sharpeners and telephones, while trying to avoid the really disturbing stuff or thinking about the dust that must collect on the upper reaches of the galleries.

On another visit, with Mary Beth, from NYC, a wedding was in progress in the main showroom

(where the creepy headless biking bride used to hang), and we felt simultaneously uncomfortable and welcomed passing through to the other galleries.  

Mark Groaning window

We got to chat with Mark Groaning in his workshop (yes, various artists also have their own studios, which might or might not be open on any given day) about his works and inspiration.  I had previously bought one of his gorgeous painted windows, at a Clothesline Festival, and Mary Beth and I both bought several of his unusual metal ornaments.

Because ARTISANworks is crammed with art from floor to ceiling (and many ceilings are also covered with art), it is overwhelming to try to take it all in.  There are works by renowned artists, such as photographs by Robert Farber (back in the 1980s I bought a large print of a hip called The Curve, when I had no idea who Farber was), and paintings by Rochester artist Ramon Santiago, as well as by the as-yet undiscovered.  There's something for everyone, and then some...

Several months ago I had the opportunity to hear founder Louis Perticone speak at a Rochester Arts Council roundtable. He shared not just his vision of ARTISANworks and his desire to to roll out the concept to other cities (he mentioned Baltimore as a possibility, but his first choice was Detroit - this was before that city declared bankruptcy...), but also his ignored vision for a redeveloped Midtown Plaza, and his frustration with the politics of the city of Rochester.

My friend (and Concentus' conductor) Gwen and I visited recently to scope out the acoustics in the aptly named Vertigo Heights gallery, since the group has been asked to sing there at the upcoming wedding reception of one of our members.  While we were there, a wedding was being set up, and a couple were meeting with a wedding planner to discuss options for their future nuptials. It's an unconventional, but obviously popular, venue for such an event, and I'm looking forward to attending a function in that space!


To learn more about the gallery:
http://www.artisanworks.net/home.php