Welcome home, Luckystar

Luckystar and M-80 had been staples of the Third Ward scene for years. What prompted the  move to your former space in Washington Heights?

Actually, the move to Vliet was via Chicago. We spent a year in Chicago after founding the M-80 Gallery, mostly for a change of scenery. There, we had a live-in studio space and we did a few one-night events.Vliet Street was meant to be more of a work-based space — it was huge. There was a small room on the main floor where Bridget set up Bridget Paints, her commission business and there was also a basement where we set up our print shop.

What caused that space to close?

Illness, without getting into it. Let’s just say we needed a break.

When did you decide to re-open, and what got that process started?

Well Bridget has been running Bridget Paints, her studio, in the Marshall Building since last spring. And, funny enough, the inspiration to open a gallery was the same thing that inspired us to open the gallery a decade earlier — we simply don’t see the art that we want to see in Milwaukee, so we figured we’d exhibit it our damn selves.

The Marshall building has always felt like home to us. Great people. The new space is 1200 square feet and houses the new Luckystar Studio Art Gallery, Bridget Paints and Gene’s studio.

What will be on the walls for the inaugural Gallery Night show?

John Scotello: an amazing Renaissance-inspired oil painting of Putto (cherubs) attacking the artist and each other with various weapons and crude figure gestures. We’re also featuring the fantasy style pop art of Jeff Sadowski and sculptures of “nature versus man” by Jeremy Wolf. And we have the honor of presenting a live performance by teenage phenom Ruadhan Ward (from the band Zombie Masquerade).

Now that you’re back in your former stomping grounds, what has changed and what’s in the future for Luckystar?

When we opened here we were the only art gallery in the building. Now, there are 25 galleries and studios. It’s a busier building – a lot of good energy.  We’ve been working together 11 years now and the only thing we’ve learned is that you never really know what’s around the corner. I can tell you that we will be here for quite a while though.

TCD will sponsor Luckystar’s inaugural show The Good, The Bad and The Chimp, opening on Gallery Night, October 15, 2010 from 6-10p.m. The gallery is now located on the 3rd floor of The Marshall Building , 207 E. Buffalo St. For more info, check out the Luckystar blog.