Savage Wonder gallery shapes its new space
Though some works at the new exhibit KaleidoSCAPE at the Savage Wonderground Art Gallery in Beacon are amorphous, geometric figures predominate. Rectangles interrupt circles, some pieces suggest a street grid and a chin-high sculpture consists of two red quarter-circles that seem to defy gravity.
This is the second show at the 4,000-square-foot gallery, which occupies the basement of the former Beacon Savings Bank building at 141 Main St. Initially known as Vet/Rep (short for veteran’s repertory theater), Savage Wonder is refurbishing the building and plans to open two performance spaces next year.
So far, the only areas open to the public are the art gallery and a 2,000-square-foot space that houses The Parlor for staged readings and musical performances, and the wine bar Grape Rebellion, which also serves food.
Gallery director Jeannie Freilich brings 43 years of experience in Manhattan and a matrix of connections. “The art world is rough,” she says. “There’s a lot of people who take no prisoners. I’m so happy to be here.”
She lives in Washington Heights and comes north for extended weekends, staying in what she calls a “dorm room” in the mixed-use building that serves as the Savage Wonder administrative office.
The two most expensive works at the show, paintings by Manhattan-based Robert Kelly, are each priced at $80,000. There is also a print (one of 10) by Vicki Sher for $500. The plan is to integrate local artists into the mix, with an important criterion: They must be veterans or “veteran-adjacent,” which includes parents, spouses, children and siblings. First responders and their families are also eligible.
Sher, creator of the tipsy red sculpture, is also represented in the show by three acrylics, in addition to prints. In “Everything You Ever Wanted,” circles splinter into rectangles. In five of the seven works on display, she plays with round objects; her input also includes a bench created from stacked, multicolored aluminum rectangles.
Squares are prominent in Caroline Blum’s visual works, especially in “Things to Come,” though frames include jagged angles and other shapes. The symmetry in Charles Spurrier’s untitled drawing is provided by painted popsicle sticks stacked atop each other and a ring of smudged fingerprints covered in scotch tape in the image’s center.
Watercolors and another piece by Shawn Dulaney feature portions of circles painted in contrasting colors that suggest cosmic landscapes and rippling water. In “Lunar Tide,” consisting of handmade paint on linen, the space between two luminous round objects provides a textured contrast to the manipulated surface.
Of the two large Kelly works, “Guardian II” stands out. Freilich, who sees a protector wearing a helmet and perhaps a child in the womb, appreciates the “mid-century modern feel.”
Though the gallery is the largest in town, the space would never pass muster in Manhattan, she says, noting its relatively low 14-foot ceiling, exposed pipes and pillars. “One advantage is that we can get larger works in here, but high-end art spaces strive for perfection,” she says. “We are nowhere close to a traditional contemporary art gallery, which is probably a good thing.”
The Savage Wonderground Art Gallery is open from 5 to 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and noon to 10 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. See savagewonder.org or call 845-205-0175.
