New gallery showcases art in house setting

"Red Raven " by Laurie Samuels, acrylic and mixed media on canvas.

When the local art community lost longtime gallery Perry Nicole Fine Art in March, co-owner David Perry Smith thought he would get out of the art business and finally use that finance degree of his. Instead, he opened David Perry Smith Gallery less than two months later at 703 New York.

"Red Raven " by Laurie Samuels, acrylic and mixed media on canvas.

"Sunrise on the Path " by Greg Gustafson, oil on canvas

"Con-vergent "Disparities" by John Sadowski, acrylic on canvas

"Is the economy good for art? Nah, probably not right now," he says, sounding like a less-than-cautious financier. "But you know what? Why wait till when it is? You might miss the opportunity."

Smith's erstwhile partner at Perry Nicole, Nicole Haney, is happy about his decision to open a new space.

"It's a reincarnation more than an end and a rebirth," she says. "I'm grateful that he did it because now the artists can continue."

Tucked across the street from Central BBQ and around the corner from Gallery Fifty Six, Smith's Midtown gallery is a 1920s house filled with plenty of natural light arguably more tailored to his needs than a proper showroom. What better place, he argues, to show art made for the home than in a home?

"I want to give people an idea of what a painting will look like in their house," he says. "Yeah, if I block off all the windows I can really get the light perfect. But that's not how people live."

The focus of Smith's gallery is local contemporary art (though some regional artists are represented), with an eye on the variety of expression to be found here from representational to abstract, from paintings and mixed media to marble, glass and ceramic sculpture. He intends to offer monthly exhibits that will juggle solo, group and theme shows as well as lectures and artists demonstrations.

This weekend he will have a preview of the group show "Summer Artists," which features new works by gallery clients Bob Eoff, Greg Gustafson, Andy Reed, Mary Reed, John Sadowksi, Laurie Samuels and Alex Walter. An opening reception is scheduled for 6-8 p.m. July 9.

Commissioning new pieces will be an ongoing project for Smith, who represents about 15 artists.

"To keep them fresh and keep me fresh, each artist has to bring me a new painting every month," he says. "Since they all work at different times, hopefully, it'll be a nice flow of incoming work."

Highlights include the dreamy haze of Gustafson's "Sunrise on the Path" and Samuels' beguiling "Red Raven," which melds Pennsylvania German fraktur with modern design, to the dazzling, deep bursts of red that awake the eyes in different ways in Reed's landscape "Turbulence," and Walter's abstract "Untitled XXIII," which translates the glazed surfaces of fired pottery onto a frame.

Given the broad spectrum of styles in his gallery, Smith says he is driven less by tastes and trends than by two simple principles: "I have to like it, and I have to feel like I can sell it."

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'Summer Artists'

New works by Bob Eoff, Greg Gustafson, Andy Reed, Mary Reed, John Sadowksi, Laurie Samuels and Alex Walter at David Perry Smith Gallery, 703 New York. An opening reception is 6-8 p.m. July 9. Call 347-3541 or go to davidperrysmithgallery.com. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.

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