Uptown art: Growing artist collective sheds light on local creations at new downtown Fayetteville gallery
Posted on Friday, December 14, 2007
Luis Martinez had a blank canvas. A big blank canvas.
His masterpiece is now complete, all 9,500 square feet of it. There is paint involved -- and photographs, chairs, actual visual artists and more.
Martinez, through work with his company, the Twin Springs Group Inc., is in charge of local artists cooperative Art Expo NWA. Since it was founded in March, Art Expo NWA has grown to the point where it now occupies the entire second floor of the Legacy Building, located a block north of West Dickson Street in Fayetteville.
The gallery space opened Nov. 2, or about two weeks after The Barber Group, the owner of the building, informed Martinez that he could use the space until a permanent tenant is found. Together with the help of several volunteers, most notably Fayetteville-based painter and Art Expo member Doug Randall, Martinez had the arduous but enjoyable task of laying out the massive gallery.
"Art is something that is very personal, and so it's difficult to judge what you should have on the walls,"Martinez said.
But the new gallery also provides a wealth of opportunities.
"It's just such a nice, large space,"said Randall, whose landscape scenes are featured in the collection. "There just isn't anything around that has this kind of square footage."
Or sheer number of artists, it seems. Art Expo grew from the idea that there were not enough opportunities for Northwest Arkansas artists. It started as a monthly reception at Boi De Ouro in Fayetteville where artists mingled with art patrons while enjoying appetizers and drinks.
The early gatherings featured just two or three artists. As the event's popularity grew, however, it became clear the growing roster of artists would demand more space.
That came in the form of the Legacy Building, the recently constructed building situated in Fayetteville's entertainment district. Now containing the work of about a dozen artists, the open space also accommodates an artists' studio and a lounge area where coffee and tea are provided for those perusing the walls.
Art Expo's goal is to convince the art-buying public -- and the million some people who visit the area each year -- that quality artwork is made locally.
"We're trying to change the mindset that they have to go to the East Coast to get art,"Martinez said.
Martinez contends that the local artists featured at the gallery are of international caliber and can hang on the walls alongside any in the country. He hopes to prove it, too, as he is in the process of creating an exchange program. If successful, galleries in other parts of the country will swap works with those from Art Expo NWA, allowing both to showcase their artists in other parts of the country.
Although a large collection of local art already hangs in the gallery, Art Expo NWA is currently seeking more. Submission guidelines can be found at www.artexponwa.com.
As a cooperative environment, the artists involved contribute their time to ensuring the gallery operates. The gallery is open to the public five days per week, and it is the artists such as Randall who volunteer to staff the site.
"We're all committed to this working, so we've got to put in the time,"Randall said.
In the 30 years Randall has lived in Northwest Arkansas, he's never seen a gallery operate like Art Expo NWA. He's never had to staff a gallery before, but he believes in the concept because of Martinez's dedication to art and because of the gallery's open atmosphere, which gives him the opportunity to interact with patrons.
"You get to meet with folks, and maybe tell them what your inspirations are,"Randall said.
But the gallery will provide more than just meet-and-greet opportunities. Artists such as Nathan Beatty, Tom Edwards, Lisa Bauer and more will provide art instruction to patrons.
Weekly events are being planned as well. Wine tastings have already drawn crowds of people into the gallery, and events such as the High Roller's Holiday, which took place Dec. 8 and featured gaming events and shopping, will continue. The space will also host yoga classes and other events to simply try to put new eyes on the art.
"You can't really sell art unless people know about it,"Martinez said. "Sometimes, you have to go back to step one and create a love for art."
The space is only temporary, and Art Expo will need a new home if a retailer moves in its current space.
Martinez and company already have an idea where that will be. His hope is that the now-vacant Tyson's Mexican Original building at the intersection of Happy Hollow and Huntsville roads, which is now owned by the city of Fayetteville, can become an artist's complex that will provide gallery space, instruction and other arts opportunities.
The group's talks with the city are in the early phases, Martinez said. And though he might not know the details about Art Expo's future, its early successes help prove there is room for the group in Northwest Arkansas.
"No one really knows where this is heading. But the vision is to improve the artistic community,"he said.
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