Art in Cleveland
Someone told me Cleveland was a good place for an artist to hide. Well, must be true because only recently have I discovered many that were being hermits, or just showing in galleries outside of Cleveland. I should have figured there were more than I thought initially; Cleveland is where American Greetings is based, many illustrators and painters work there getting their soul destroyed before heading home to work on their "real" projects. And we do have the Cleveland Institute of Art -- Dana Schutz did her undergrad work there, a fact they like to pimp.
Sure I have my issues with this city, but honestly, no more than I did with Laguna Beach, Los Angeles, Boston or Ann Arbor. The difference is that in Cleveland my wallet isn't being raped and my credit cards aren't racking up debt just trying to pay for car insurance. I also don't have to deal with people who are on a mission to be a "star" constantly or out to see how I might be useful to them. As I wrote before, Cleveland is trying more to cater to the young and creative class, so you can get a sweet loft or just a cheap apartment for little money. And if you want to step it up a bit, you can get a luxury condo for less than the price of a shack in the Bay Area. See, it isn't all American Splendor here, although that side of Cleveland is well and alive.
And yes, Cleveland does have galleries and a small art scene. I think the problem of why more hasn't been written about it is just the fact the galleries don't try hard enough to be known on a national level. Heck, some don't even have websites, or if they do, they are not updated or functional with proper meta tags etc. This can be said for many artists too. Here's a great read on that subject alone.
Where to start? The area of Tremont you'll find everything from underground contemporary stuff to the "does this match my couch?" and Thomas Kinkade-esque fare. It's also where many bars and restaurants are located. This is the "hip" area I guess, as I'd compare it a bit to the Silverlake neighborhood of L.A. except with nicer restaurants. But don't worry, you're just as likely to get your car stolen and torched here as you are in Echo Park if you are one of those people who like to "keep it real" in your urban experiences. I think my two favorite galleries in Tremont are Brandt Gallery and Asterisk Gallery. But there are many I haven't been to yet like Raw & Co.
There's also a new space that just opened in the Tower Press Building called the Wooltex Gallery. I don't have a shot of the inside, but it is really nice believe me. Another newer one in downtown that the space is really nice is William Busta's Gallery. He has no website it seems though, so I can't show it to you. The work of Timothy Callaghan was the opening show in the new space.
I like his stuff.Front Room Gallery is another that is doing some interesting things in both 2D and installation shows; the space is on the 3rd floor of a warehouse, but once inside it is quite nice with great lighting. Level Three is another new gallery that features painting as well as ceramics; another very cool space with fun parties. Zygote Press is where you wanna get you print fix on and has a loyal following it seems. Shaheen Fine Art has been a mainstay, they feature contemporary works as well as a few blue chip artists in their inventory. A newer gallery that just opened with a focus on Street Art, it is called Artchitecture Gallery
On to the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood, a neighborhood in "transition" so I'd avoid going there late at night. My husband refuses outright to set foot there, but I try to make the best of it as there are some nice shops and things sprouting up. The Cleveland Public Theater is the anchor of the area, and very fun theater and pretty too. There is the Parish Hall right next door, they have an art gallery as well as a tiny chapel where bands play. The inside is pretty sweet with chandeliers and icons everywhere. Though I'm now told it will cease having bands in October, I'm hoping whoever takes it over ( I think it might be Cleveland Public Theater) will do something fun with the two buildings.
M% Gallery just moved to this area too. I still mourn the closing of 1300 Gallery, but I know a new gallery has taken over in its place, Tregoning and Co. , it shows blue chip established artists and has a frame shop too.
And if crafts and DIY is your thing, there's plenty of that here too; we have a wonderful chapter of Stitch N Bitch, and in fact check out the newly opened www.StitchCleveland.com
Of course we have a Museum of Contemporary Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art, various non-profit spaces and the like. There's just too many for me to list and frankly some of them I'm not too crazy about anyways. So, I thought I'd leave you with a list of some Cleveland based artists to sift through:
www.timothycallaghan.com
www.amycaseypainting.com
Chris Ryniak
Melissa Forman
www.thomasfrontini.com
Bridget Ginley
Scott Radke
Jorge Lacera
Julie Langsam
Thu Tran
Joe Ayala
Susan Danko
Derek Hess
Boy you wouldn't believe how many others I wanted to list that don't have a website or even have a web presence at all. Eh, oh well. And, if you want to learn more about the food and drink aspects of my adopted city, check out this coming season of Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" on the Travel Channel. Look, here Anthony meets Harvey Pekar!
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