The new gallery is appropriately named referring to a place where its focus is on experimentation, investigation and collaboration. Located in the charming downtown pedestrian mall of Charlottesville, VA, the grand opening of Chroma Projects Art Laboratory gallery is to be celebrated next week with a special event on Wednesday, March 17 and a public art opening on Friday, March 19 (scroll the images for the exhibition postcard). The owner and director of Chroma Projects Art Laboratory is the multi-talented Deborah McLeod. She is the former Exhibitions Curator at the McLean Project for the Arts and a former writer and critic for the Baltimore City Paper. I should add that she currently is one of the contributors for The Studio Visit. My own work will be part of her roster of artists along with two fantastic DC area artists: Pat Goslee (who was featured on the TSV in 2008) and Beverly Ress. I got the tour of the space when I dropped off my work and it is my honor to feature her new collaborative gallery space here on this site where she has been an amazing contributing writer and editor as well.
First of all, it is huge. Housed in a historic art deco building, is a place where themed exhibitions will take place as well as a place where artists have studios. Spanning two floors, the space boasts two project spaces in addition to the main gallery, a black box for video and time based work, a communal ‘lounge area’, kitchen and several artist studios. It is a diverse group of artists and artisans that include a painter, an architect, a jeweler, ceramic and concrete artists and a printmaker. Deborah says she wants to “shake it up in Charlottesville”, by not just featuring work that is decorative and functional, but work that pushes the conceptual envelope. They’re intimate and private spaces that flow and have been clearly designed to cultivate a sense of community.
The first show titled “In The Beginning” runs from March 19 – May 1, 2010. For further information on the program, exhibitions and studios, contact Deborah McLeod at:
Chroma Projects Art Laboratory
418 East Main St. on the Mall
Charlottesville, VA 22902
(434) 202-0269
Website soon to come!
