Art gallery reviews

I not only make art, I like to go see other art that's been made.  And since there is a dearth of art galleries in my town, we go over to Asheville to check out galleries.  I'll say this for Asheville, there are a shit ton of galleries over there and they show all kinds of art, which is a good thing in the long run.  The only drawback to all those galleries is the fact that most gallery owners and their employees over there size you up the second you walk through the door and if they think you can't afford the art they sell or if you don't look 'cool' enough, they shun you like the plague and they freeze you out by refusing to make eye contact with you and or refusing to speak, even to say 'Hello,' to you.

Thankfully there are some exceptions to those kinds of galleries in Asheville and we happened to go to two of them yesterday.

The first was a charming gallery called Gallery Minerva.  This gallery is on the smallish side but that only enhances it's charm. Because it's on the smallish side they showcase only a few artists and the ones they were showing while we were there were fantastic.  The art, which includes paintings, sculpture, and mixed media works, is varied, eye catching, and provocative.  And the best part of this gallery is that it's owned and operated by an enthusiastic and super nice woman named Anna Parker Barnett.  Ms. Barnett could not have been more charming and engaging to us on our visit.  She was polite, charming, laughed at all my stupid banter and she bent over backwards to make sure we got to see all that we wanted.  She even went to her store room to show us more works that she didn't have room to display yet.  If all gallery owners in Asheville were as nice and engaging as Ms. Barnett, then they'd all sell a lot more art.  And I must add that Ms. Barnett is as beautiful as she is nice.

The other gallery that we visited that is an exception the usual snooty Asheville art gallery was American Folk Art & Framing.  I did not catch the woman's name who was running the place today, I believe she is one of the owners, but she was super nice and engaging as well.  She gushed over her artists, and most of them deserved it, and she took plenty of time to show us around and to make sure we saw all she had to offer.  When I told her I was a Facebook friend of one of her featured artists, a fellow by the name of Spencer Herr, she was overjoyed and she spoke at length to me about his work and what a nice guy he is.  She made the whole time in her gallery pleasant and she was helpful without being a pain in the butt.

One day I'd like to be in both galleries and if that day comes, I know I'll be in two of the finest art galleries in Asheville.