Most of this weekend was spent on working on my own art as opposed to seeing other people's. However, I did manage to get up to Baltimore for the first showing at a new gallery called Cubicle 10 on Saturday night. DC based artist Billy Colbert and his wife Ozlem purchased what I believe was an old sign factory located in a rough part of Baltimore. They purchased the space in December of 2003 and began renovations in March 2004. They have tiredlessly worked since then in preparation for this opening show, in which Andrew Au and his wife Jennifer Purdum participated with five other artists.
This gallery is unlike anything I've seen in Washington, DC (and this makes sense because I wouldn't be surpised if a similar space in DC cost 20 times more than in Baltimore!!). It was two floors, and if I had to make a guess, approximately 4000 square feet. The wood floors had seen better days and the wooden ceiling was left exposed. The only things distinguishing the space from its former life as a sign factory was the wide open spaces and bright white walls.
As for the art on display, I don't have much to say. Obviously I liked Au's work. He showed eight prints from the Mechanical Animal Print Series, which seemed to garner quite a bit of attention from the large crowd. His wife, Jennifer, showed a large drawing/painting that measured 8' by 20'. I liked the piece very much but I haven't spent enough time with her work to be able to provide an appropriate review.
Since I went to this show to see Au's work and not as an art blog writer, I didn't pick up the names of the other artists. Given that, I don't want to provide a negligent review of their work. I was most enamored with the space. I don't believe that Cubicle 10 will initially have gallery hours and don't think they have a Web site or phone number yet. However, given the quality of venue, I believe many artists will jump at the chance to show there... I know I would.
For you folks on the east coast, keep the name Cubicle 10 in mind. I wouldn't be surprised if we all hear more about this space in the future. As I hear of more news regarding this gallery, I'll post it here.
By the way, the address of Cubicle 10 is 1431 N. Central Ave. in Baltimore.
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