Goodbye, Hello

Dang! Why is the most interesting gallery in town closing?

It’s darn hard keeping up with Bridget Griffith and Gene Evans, who have (again and again) set up camp in various Milwaukee locations, only to pull up stakes and move on to what I guess they must have decided were greener pastures. Certainly their beautifully rehabbed and most recent space in Suite 311 of the Marshall building is far roomier than the wee digs they occupied years ago on floor one, but it does seem that wherever they landed, the scene was lively.

When notice of their closing arrived via email on Dec. 1, my first thought was “I’m not surprised,” having tracked them hither and yon for many years. That said, the tone of this email was different. It revealed they are shutting the gallery doors to exhibitions (and their traveling shows, etc), but they will continue to pursue what interests them. What that is remains unclear. They will not be open for the holiday, but you can catch a final glimpse and perhaps score some art today and Saturday, Dec. 2 and 3. They intend to keep the space for working.

Yesterday I was going through my stack of Christmas cards. Among the many from artists, I found one from Bridget and Gene with a hand-painted image of a candy cane rendered on canvas. Behind me, as I write, is a big wonderful painting of a 50s-style lady pushing a vacuum cleaner. The background is lime green sprinkled with pink stars, and in the lower right hand corner, glowing in hot pink, is the word “glamorous.”

But anyone who has run a gallery and survived for over a decade while catering to the fickle whims of the public knows it’s the opposite of glam. This year, Bridget and Gene welcomed their first child into the fold, a lovely girl-child who had her own space (decorated with art of course) in the gallery. When I dropped in to congratulate them, they handed me a pink fortune cookie snuggled in a cellophane wrap.

Today I opened it, and here’s what I read:

Olive Rose Evans – July 7, 2011

Lucky lady born under a lucky star. Your ma and pa will be missed.

 

The Luckystar Studio is located in Suite 311 at the Marshall Building in the Third Ward.