Move an aim to help gallery and winery

Oeno Gallery, an extraordinary showcase of contemporary Canadian fine art and occasional treasures from elsewhere, is now officially open. It features paintings, mixed media and sculptures in ceramic, metal, marble in an architecturally beautiful space that, in itself, is worth the visit to their new location at 2274 County Rd. 1, next to Huff Estates Inn and Winery.

I caught up with Carlyn Moulton, one of the owners of the gallery, to get the scoop on how the new space evolved, who helped to make it happen and what sets this gallery apart from others in the region.

This is her response.

"We started talking with Lanny and Catherine Huff three years ago, and thought that the combination of wine, art and great accommodation would be a good one.

"We all shared the belief that by making the experience of coming to the winery or the gallery a more rewarding one, that both our businesses would benefit.

"It took some time to get the project designed and approved but we pressed on, overcoming various obstacles along the way.

"Jeffrey Douglas of Douglas Design Studios was a great help in making the design of the space work the way we wanted it to. Many people were involved to make the project a reality -- many local contractors, and others with expertise in gallery and lighting design.

"It has long been our ambition to build a gallery which is not only commercially successful (this remains our ambition!) but which also celebrates excellence, artistic courage and provides a great venue for people to experience and learn about art.

"Over the years, we have hosted many jazz events and artist talks -- the current lecture series is an extension of that. The dialogue that emerges helps inform our activities here at the gallery, and enriches our understanding of the goals that the artists have, the context in which they work, the influences that they incorporate.

"The first lecture by Michael Bell was attended by over 50 people -- a demonstration that there is an appetite for this sort of activity here within the community.

"We spend a lot of time finding interesting professional artists and encouraging them to let us represent their work.

"We receive about five or six inquiries a day from artists looking for a home, and while it is difficult to say no, we want to focus on providing an uncluttered space to showcase the work of artists who have attained a certain level of accomplishment.

"While it is true that we often carry work that is, perhaps in comparison with other local galleries, perceived to be at the higher end of the market, it is also true that we are committed to selling work that we believe will appreciate in value over time and which represents a sound investment as well as an object that one might wish to live with.

"We are also, in our next show, featuring smaller and vibrant works by a number of our gallery artists -- Juan Ezcurdia, Louise Laroche, and Ivo Stoyanov for example. About 80 per cent of the artists that we do exhibit live and work within a two hour radius of the gallery, and the remainder are people we have come to know in our travels."

Look for upcoming group shows in the Alcoves with work by John Paul Robinson, Sylvain Louis-Seize, Kim Atlin, Doug Robinson, Ivo Stoyanov, Nancy Zboch and others. Solo shows booked to date include: Otto Rogers in May, Ben Woolfitt in June, Andrew Lui in July, Greg Angus in August, Alice Teichert in September, Susan Collett in October and Anne O'Callaghan in November. There is also a Sunday Lecture Series entitled The Gift Exchange -- Exploring Ideas about Art and Creativity. March 1 has Otto Donald Rogers and March 8 has John Paul Robinson. Check out oenogallery.com for more details and a view of the work in the gallery.

Oeno Gallery is now accepting applications from qualified people with experience for seasonal positions at the gallery from June through October and open seven days a week 10 a. m-6 p. m. and will be open until 8 p. m. during the summer months.

I encourage anyone who has not yet visited the gallery to make time to see the new space, enjoy the work and then head for a tasting of some fine County wine at Huff's Estates next door. Salut!

Carol Feeney is the executive director of the Quinte Arts Council.