Spring Break
Local gallery goes beneath the surface
David Boerner
Issue date: 1/31/08 Section: Verve
Mahuron contacted Woodley, who immediately caught Mahuron's enthusiasm.
"I'd been living (and painting) in Fort Collins for three years and I hadn't shown anywhere," she said. "There wasn't really a gallery."
So the three pooled their resources, Mortensen moved to Fort Collins and they made the gallery themselves.
The Gallery Underground is about making Fort Collins an art destination by showing the best, most original, most diverse local art they can get. All of the artists are from Colorado. The owners are young. The space is creatively renovated. The artists are interesting. And they can show whatever they want.
"Our goal is not to censor," Mahuron said.
And since the ownership is split three ways and all of the owners use the back of the gallery as studio space, they don't have to worry about making money off the art. "We don't have to sell to stay open," Mortensen said.
But they've done quite well anyway. Over 500 people showed up for opening night the first Friday of November, and since then they've sold quite a few pieces.
"We had some relatively controversial stuff (at the gallery's opening)," Mahuron said. "The first people that came down was a couple in their 50s or 60s. We were thinking, 'this will be the barometer right here.' And the first thing the guy said was 'thank God there are no aspen trees.'"
This month's First Friday features two new artists and some new work from the existing artists.
And they're always looking for more.
"We want submissions from the CSU students," Mahuron said. "We really try to take the intimidation factor out. We just want to look at stuff."
The Gallery Underground is for local artists. And the local community has proven that it's interested.
"Fort Collins is open to change," Mahuron said. "Just by the sales you can tell. The town is definitely behind what we're doing."
Verve writer David Boerner can be reached at verve@collegian.com.
"I'd been living (and painting) in Fort Collins for three years and I hadn't shown anywhere," she said. "There wasn't really a gallery."
So the three pooled their resources, Mortensen moved to Fort Collins and they made the gallery themselves.
The Gallery Underground is about making Fort Collins an art destination by showing the best, most original, most diverse local art they can get. All of the artists are from Colorado. The owners are young. The space is creatively renovated. The artists are interesting. And they can show whatever they want.
"Our goal is not to censor," Mahuron said.
And since the ownership is split three ways and all of the owners use the back of the gallery as studio space, they don't have to worry about making money off the art. "We don't have to sell to stay open," Mortensen said.
But they've done quite well anyway. Over 500 people showed up for opening night the first Friday of November, and since then they've sold quite a few pieces.
"We had some relatively controversial stuff (at the gallery's opening)," Mahuron said. "The first people that came down was a couple in their 50s or 60s. We were thinking, 'this will be the barometer right here.' And the first thing the guy said was 'thank God there are no aspen trees.'"
This month's First Friday features two new artists and some new work from the existing artists.
And they're always looking for more.
"We want submissions from the CSU students," Mahuron said. "We really try to take the intimidation factor out. We just want to look at stuff."
The Gallery Underground is for local artists. And the local community has proven that it's interested.
"Fort Collins is open to change," Mahuron said. "Just by the sales you can tell. The town is definitely behind what we're doing."
Verve writer David Boerner can be reached at verve@collegian.com.
Be the first to comment on this story