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ARTISANworks Gallery by Charlotte Lowrie Art Lives in this Truly Unique Artistic Theme Park Article rating: 7.00

What happens when a man with a dream and an old factory join forces? If the man is Louis Perticone and the building is an abandoned munitions factory in Rochester, N.Y., the result is ARTISANworks, an eclectic art gallery of paintings, photographs, sculptures, antiques, and working artist studio space. The ARTISANworks gallery is a realization of Perticone’s life-long dream of making art accessible to anyone who had the modest price of admission.

The factory that churned out wartime cannons during World War II bears little resemblance to its former incarnation. From the beginning, Perticone saw the factory as 40,000 square feet of wall space—every inch of which he could fill with art.

His partner, Kimberly Trenholm aspired to create a not-for-profit art space where community members could come, regardless of their background in art or feelings about it, and feel welcome.  With an overwhelming response from the community, ARTISANworks quickly developed into the greatest place in Rochester to host a corporate or personal event.  Even visitors who are not “into art” keep coming back for more.

Perticone’s vision was inspired by his parents. His father studied at the Rochester Institute of Technology after the Korean War. His mother worked as a cashier in a department store and nurtured a lifelong love of art. Perticone, one of three children, nurtured a love of art and grew up to become a lifelong eclectic art collector. His initial art collection, dubbed the Elizabeth Collection, was a tribute to his mother, and it formed the core of the gallery’s initial collection.

Today, after years of work, creativity, and love, art fills not only every square foot of wall space, but, in some cases, canvases and photos have also worked their way up to dangle as suspended visions from the ceiling. In all, ARTISANworks is home to 5,897 pieces of art, ranging in price from $10 to $250,000.

ARTISANworks, a unique and tactile art experience, displays photography, paintings, and sculptures, alongside an eclectic assortment of antique objects including a cherry wood piano, a large view camera complete with a box of glass negatives, and a vintage Texaco gas pump. Notably absent is a traditional gallery organization by theme or period. Rather, Perticone mixes with impunity classic Ansel Adams, Eikoh Hosoe, and Josef Sudek prints interspersed with contemporary prints from Joyce Tenneson, Jeff Dunas, and Jill Enfield.

The collection originally began in an 800 square foot space consisting of hallways and about 15 local artists' work. After five years as a small local gallery, Perticone and Trenholm had their vision set on acquiring an old factory building (just think of all the art it could hold!). Now another five years later in their old factory, which is also home to the work of approximately 700 local artists, their dreams are reality. They have created an art theme park, a place where visitors’ imaginations are ignited. A large part of ARTISANworks operating budget is funded through facility rental for parties (weddings, holiday, corporate, etc.).

Not only have Perticone and his partner Kimberly Trenholm created a unique and accessible nonprofit art gallery, they have also added thematic spaces including a working Japanese tea room, a rooftop garden, and a room inspired by and dedicated to Frank Lloyd Wright that includes a downstairs dining room appropriately connected via spiral staircase to the upstairs library.

In addition, a variety of local artists-in-residence ply their craft in working studios that are open to visitors. And herein is the second part of the vision--to support as many artists as possible. The arrangement is a win/win arrangement for the artists and for ARTISANworks. Currently 100 local artists receive a small monthly stipend from Louis. Artists of any skill level can come to Perticone with their work. If he likes the portfolio, he will buy a large grouping of the artist’s work.

Then Perticone frames and hangs the pieces on the walls (or ceiling) for viewing and for sale. Most proceeds from the sales go directly to ARTISANworks. In this way, ARTISANworks gets inventory to help keep the gallery strong (the works are also used for the gallery’s corporate art acquisition program), and the artist gets monthly income to help with studio and art supply costs.

Rental of the theme rooms and rooftop garden (complete with hot tub) along with memberships, and admission fees help offset the gallery’s $300,000 annual operating budget.

Just as the gallery has grown, so has the vision. In the ARTISANwork’s mission statement, Perticone and Trenholm say, “We would like to be the first in a growing community of similar innovative galleries experienced by artists and citizens around the country.”  As curators of art in progress, Perticone and Trenholm are uniquely qualified to make the expanded vision a reality.

>>Click here to visit the ARTISANworks website...

>>Click here to visit Charlotte Lowrie's website, wordsandphotos.org...

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