First show at new gallery is photo exhibit 'Temples of Democracy'
Posted: Friday, March 14, 2008 7:00 pm
Earlier this month, a new gallery that will be devoted largely to photography opened in the Haymarket.
Located in the Sawmill Building at 440 N. Eighth St., Workspace Gallery has taken a hallway and turned it into a very effective space for showing photographs.
With well-lit images lining each wall and enough room to stand back from the photos as well as get up close, the visually striking space is well suited to gallery use.
The gallery came into being when the building’s owners were looking for art to hang in the space.
“I think we approached them with a thought they never thought about, which is a photo- only gallery,” said Larry Gawel, who is curating the gallery with Dana Fritz.
The idea went over well enough that WRK LLC, the building’s owners, and the Porter Foundation agreed to support what is essentially a nonprofit organization for a year.
“I think it’s going to go beyond that,” said Gawel, a photographer and photography instructor at Omaha’s Metropolitan Community College. Fritz is an an associate professor of art at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is also a photographer.
Gawel and Fritz see the new gallery as a complement to the other art offerings in the city.
“We’re only showing stuff that wouldn’t otherwise be shown in Lincoln,” Gawel said. “It is a great opportunity. We thought ‘what the hell, our plates are full, so let’s get a bigger plate.’”
Because it is a nonprofit in what is basically a public space, Workspace Gallery isn’t being seen as a sales/commercial gallery. Instead, Gawel said, he and Fritz hope to bring high quality photography to the city, with five or six shows a year.
The first exhibition in the space is a perfect illustration of the gallery’s philosophy.
“Temples of Democracy” is a show of silver-print photographs of state capitol interiors by Keith F. Davis, curator of photography at Kansas City’s Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and chair of Hallmark Card’s art selection committee.
“Nobody knows him as a photographer,” Gawel said. “He doesn’t show this stuff all that often.“
Many of the photographs were taken from 1982 to 1987, when Davis visited about two-thirds of the nation’s statehouses. He has continued his exploration of the symbolism, architecture and interior paces in the last two decades as well.
The photographs on view are from the American Century Investments Art Collection and are on loan to Workspace and not for sale.
Gawel selected the images, including some from the Nebraska State Capitol.
“It’s kind of weird to curate the work of one of your favorite curators,” Gawel said. “It’s odd. But it was fun.“
American Century Investments curator Caleb Fey brought the photos from Kansas City on the day of the opening and hung the show with Gawel.
“This was a way to do something for a community outside of Kansas City,” Fey said. “I did some research and found that there are a lot of people in Lincoln and Omaha connected with American Century.“
On opening night, visitors looked for the Lincoln photos but could not help but be struck by the technical perfection of Davis’ work and by both the similarities and contrasts between the spaces he photographs.
The images in “Temples of Democracy” aren’t so much about architecture in and of itself.
Rather, they say something of the value we place in our seats of government — a reflection of greater societal norms while working as images that contrast light and shadow, inscription, statuary and open space.
“Temples of Democracy” will be on view through April 30. Davis will be in Lincoln to talk about the photos at a reception on April 4, the next First Friday, at 7 p.m.
As of now, “Temples of Democracy” is the only show scheduled for the space.
Gawel and Fritz spent this past week at a national photo conference with each of them scheduled to spend at least 12 hours looking at portfolios for possible future shows.
Gawel said he also plans to try to coordinate shows at the gallery with his visiting artists program at Metro in which photographers come to Nebraska to work with students.
It is possible that if there is a citywide program like that planned for quilt exhibitions in several galleries next month, Workplace Gallery will show something other than photography, Gawel said.
But, as of now, all the shows in the space will be of photos, he said.
Workspace Gallery is open from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. It also will be open selected First Fridays. For more information about the space, curators and the current exhibition, the gallery’s Web site can be found at http://workspacegallery.googlepages.com.
Reach L. Kent Wolgamott at 473-7244 or kwolgamott@journalstar.com.