Gallery opens behind Beacon shop
The secret is out!
The Super Secret Gallery will open Saturday (Jan. 14) in a newly renovated space inside and behind Hyperbole at 484 Main St. in Beacon.
The gallery, created by Diana Vidal with assistance from Hyperbole owners Carolyn Baccaro and Andrea Podob, will debut with a group show, Duality, with works by seven local artists, including Vidal. A reception is scheduled for 7 to 10 p.m.
The goal of the gallery and Super Secret Projects, the collective that supports it, is to “offer artists a supportive environment in which to collaborate, experiment and share their work,” says Vidal. The gallery plans to be open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., with new exhibits each month. Duality will be followed by two solo shows and a group show with an open call.
“This project couldn’t have happened without Andrea and Carolyn championing local artists,” Vidal says. “We all wanted to do something creative, and we got together to brainstorm. We wanted to lose the intimidating factor in art galleries.”
The gallery name is a nod to Hyperbole, “like a speakeasy alley to get to the back,” she says. To enter, visitors follow a hallway to a newly installed door that opens to the space, which had been empty.
Over the past few months, Vidal has organized a collage workshop with a talk on the history of the art form and a holiday print sale. She plans to provide more opportunities for “not just seeing the work, but seeing how it’s done.”
The gallery’s members include both full-timers, who are more involved in planning, Vidal says, and part-timers who can participate in group shows. She said there are two slots open for full-time members. “Any type of art-making is welcome: Current members include a sculptor, a photographer, an oil painter and an illustrator, for example,” she says. “The dues pay the rent.”
Hyperbole itself was forged through collaboration. In 2019, Baccaro and Podob, each running a small shop in Beacon (Artifact Beacon and Wares, respectively), joined forces in a new space to sell an eclectic mix of fashion, jewelry and original art — its centerpiece is a table of handmade items.
Along with Vidal, Duality will feature the work of Alyssa Follansbee, Darya Golubina, Allegra Jordan, Yunmee Kyong, Elin Lundman and Evan Samuelson. It will run through Feb. 4.
In the long term, Vidal says the partners are eager to contribute to the dialogue of the galleries in Beacon. “There is an artist community here and it’s growing, and being a part of the conversation and making opportunities for the community and for ourselves as well is what we’re about,” she says. “Artist-run galleries are a place to go, to experiment without the urge to sell, sell, sell, which can impede creativity.”
Vidal hopes for a return to the energy that used to suffuse Second Saturday in Beacon. “I would love to have more gallery-focused nights,” she states. “Hopefully we can contribute to bringing some of that back or making our own.”
For more information, see supersecretprojects.com and hyperboleny.com.
