Pittsburgh Galleries Updated With Notes on Closings

 I have been remiss as far as updating PghGalleries.com over the year but I spent a few hours combing through the files and removed quite a few galleries which have either closed or are closing soon.  The list includes Michael Berger Gallery, Fein Art Gallery, Fe Gallery among others.  For those that don't know keeping a gallery afloat can be next to impossible without other revenue such as framing or other related retail sales so it's no surprise that more are closing.  The traditional gallery model has largely been absent from Pittsburgh for quite some time or arguably never really existed here.  Many venues in Pittsburgh, like the majority on Penn Avenue in Garfield, don't even have regular hours so that further complicates the goal of artists selling their work.  

I wouldn't be surprised to see more hybrid stores like Wildcard in Lawrenceville where they sell craft products along with visual art on the walls or some adaptation on that with a possible flat file system where a larger array of art could be marketed to people.  There will most likely always a be a handful of successful art galleries in Pittsburgh due to framing needs and other sales but it will never show the variety and depth of visual art here.  And neither will art crawls or similar events with the regular presenters.  I believe entrepreneurs on multiple levels will take Pittsburgh art to the next level with the right support.

Pittsburgh as a whole needs to look at how larger cities support their artists.  Think of what the URA could do as far as allocating larger properties for artist studios to show their work instead of making The Buncher Company richer.  Cities like Minneapolis and beyond have large factory buildings allocated for studios where customers can come by and see the work they want to purchase.  Pittsburgh claims it is a city for artists but when it comes to visual artists the proof is just not there yet.

Rick Byerly

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Eyes on Pittsburgh
Formerly the Pittsburgh Art Blog, Eyes on Pittsburgh focuses on cultural aspects of the region, including visual and performing arts, as well as locavore, development and environmental issues through original, analytical writing and interviews. Pittsburgh area galleries and art venues are listed at the sister site www.PghGalleries.com. The blog and website are volunteer projects from fine art photographer and Pittsburgh artist advocate rick byerly.

Artist Dylan Critchfield-Sales at Gallery on 43rd Lawrenceville Pgh PA

Dylan is from Pittsburgh, Pa and is currently working on his MFA out of state. Check the above info for the exhibit.

Opening Friday May 21 7-10pm

Excerpts from Dylan's Exhibit Statement:

Painting to me is about engaging with my surroundings through the act of observation. ‘Painting is a matter of impulse. It is a matter of getting out to nature and having some joy in registering it’ (Hawthorne). It is essentially a way of translating visual sensation through use of shape, color and value. In perceptual painting there is no need for predetermined concepts or formulaic systems. It is always an attempt to convey the truth of one’s visual experience.
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Working from simplistic subject matter allows me to focus on color and tonal relationships as well as the particular way that forms fit together within the picture plane. I think that painting at its best is about the experience of painting itself and the nature of the artist’s perception. In certain instances I have also worked from fictional sources such as Alfred Hitchcock films in order to introduce a subtle psychological aspect and to achieve somewhat antiquated aesthetic.

The work in this show spans the past two to three years. The earliest work is from my final year of undergraduate at The Maryland Institute College of Art and the latest work was done within the past few months during my first year of graduate school at Indiana University, Bloomington.

Gallery On 43rd Street

www.galleryon43rdstreet.com

187 43rd Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15201-3111
(412) 683-6488
Get directions
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The Pittsburgh Art Blog

pittsburgh galleries is reborn anew as The Pittsburgh Art Blog. the blog features selected pittsburgh artists and upcoming exhibits with photos from the artists and galleries. since the major press outlets do not go beyond a directory listing of exhibits, blogs are needed to promote pittsburgh artists and their work. the blog also calls attention to the inferiority complex of pittsburgh art and how it's perpetuated by the major players in town. Started on August 20, 2007.pittsburgh area galleries and art venues are listed at the sister site www.PghGalleries.com. the blog and website are volunteer projects from fine art photographer and pittsburgh art advocate rick byerly, www.RickByerly.com.