The Pauly Friedman Art Gallery continues to show that it is more than your average gallery with its wide and ever-changing selection of shows – including works of Pablo Picasso this spring.
Established in 2009, the 2,700 square foot space has been the home of several circulating displays of paintings, sketches, prints, and photographs. The most recent, abstract paintings from David Klevinsky and a photography series from Philip Dente, represents a small percentage of the gallery’s features, according to art gallery director Brian Benedetti.
“We don’t care for sameness [in our displays]. You, know, we try to break it up so it’s not monotonous. It keeps an interest in the audience, in the people coming [to the gallery]. So, the show before this was a very traditional realism exhibition, and this one is totally opposite – and even the pho- tographs. The subject matter is recognizable. It’s a little bit more simplistic and shape oriented and not detailed. So we’re trying to have a variety of presentations,” said Benedetti.
The gallery does not have a commitment to one genre, which allows for presentations that are historical and local/regional while maintaining a sense of professionalism both in selection and arrangement of pieces. Not allart is selected by Benedetti and gallery assistant/curator Dona Posatko. Artists often seek out gallery personnel to have their work exhibited.
Benedetti said an artist interested in having work featured in the gallery will often send a letter of intent with samples, philosophies of their work and a résumé with a history of their exhibitions. It is from there that Benedetti and Posatko review the work in person before the final decision is made. However, not all of the displays come to the director’s attention this way. The Norman Rockwell exhibit of the artist’s many magazine covers was the result of a happy surprise.
“Each exhibition kind of has its own unique history,” said Benedetti, “For the Rockwell show, Dona went to Stockbridge [Mass.] with her late husband on a trip and she saw the magazine covers. She came back and told me. Well, it had been so many years since I was there – I don’t even remember. The museum’s been remodeled and enlarged. It has to be thirty years since I was there, and so I said, ‘Well, call them. See if we can get them.’ So she made the initial contact, and we started trading and bartering back and forth and we ended up with them. One of their people came out to do lectures and it was very well attended.”
Some collections don’t come from artists or museums, like the Rockwell collection, but from individual collectors across the country.
“In May, we’re going to have a Picasso exhibition. We’re going to have 25 years of his limited edition ceramics here, which is a really big show – and it’s going to be up for a long time because it’s a major show. So, we have specific presentations. There are going to be wall mounted cases that won’t be able to be pulled from the wall, and obviously the gallery will be under heightened security. You know, everything is always in- sured but it varies from collector to collector.”
Gallery assistant and senior Kendall Keller, who has been helping with the gallery since her sophomore year in 2011, said everyone who visits can learn and enjoy.
“I feel that the gallery’s selec- tions can speak to anyone. From sculptures and photography, well- known artists to student media, there’s something for everyone
to enjoy and the wide variety of selections the art gallery holds shows how diverse we are as a community here at Misericordia,” said Keller.
The gallery is located in the
first floor of Insalaco Hall and has exhibits year round, which can be viewed Tuesdays through Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Fridays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.