Six years ago, I had a chance meeting with Cheryl Clinton at the International Encaustic Conference in Provincetown, MA. She told me about a gallery she was starting with a fellow artist. A few weeks later over lunch, I handed her a check for an artist friend membership in the gallery, sight unseen.

 

I have never regretted that decision. Both Cheryl and Marie Craig are professional, driven gallery owners. Until recently, they co-directed the gallery at Fountain Street Fine Art in the Bancroft Building in Framingham, Massachusetts, which has operated as a hybrid cooperative/juried gallery.  

The list of exceptional core artist members includes Sarah Alexander,  Sorin Bica, Linda Destefano Brown, Brenda Cirioni, Cherie Clinton,  Marie Craig,  Mia Cross, Denise Driscoll, Susan Emmerson, Sara Fine-Wilson, Tatiana Flis, Kay Hartung, Anita Loomis, Vicki McKenna, Joel Moskowitz, Iris Osterman, Cory Shea, Rebecca Skinner, Tracy Spadafora, Mary Spencer, Marcia Wise, Leslie Zelamsky.

 

As they approach their 6th anniversary, Cheryl has bowed out as a co-director and Tatiana Flis, a core artist member, has stepped in as assistant director. 

 

While the gallery has seen great success and hosted phenomenal juried exhibitions, the 4-story factory building filled with artist studios, is not conducive to foot traffic.   And while I knew that they were considering finding a new home for the gallery, something quite remarkable happened.

 

On April 6, Framingham town officials made the decision to close the Bancroft building to the public due to safety concerns. While artists tenants may still work in their studios, the general public is not permitted to enter the building. This decision came on the opening day of a two person show for Kay Hartung and Denise Driscoll, who had spent the prior week hanging their show- a culmination of over 2 years of work.

 

The closure left the gallery no choice to cancel the opening and close the gallery. As any artist who has worked for years towards the opening of their exhibition, this was a crushing blow for the artists. 

 

And, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Marie, Cheryl and Tatiana went to work and quickly secured a new space in the heart of SOWA, Boston’s central artist district, and in less than a month, opened for First Friday on May 5th with a new show, Scarcely Awake, gracing the walls. 

 

I went to visit and got a tour from Tatiana, who, along with Sara Alexander, share the gallery for the show. While space is slightly smaller, the location is fantastic and member artists are thrilled with the move.