The DOWNSTAIRS gallery + studio at 137 Art Alley was opened in September 2012 by resident artist Julie Pearson to feature emerging and established artists working in all mediums through solo and themed group exhibitions. The 1,000 square foot gallery with twenty foot ceilings and storefront at the end of Art Alley creates a vibrant accessible exhibition space, enlivened with musical performances outdoors. Pearson, an architect from Dallas, Texas, has worked with artist coops for twenty years, and wants to bring that vitality to Monroe, with exhibitions and working studios, including her own, available to the public throughout the year, and not just during crawls which draw large crowds, but don’t necessarily engage the broader public or art patrons of the community. Pearson’s typical works in oils or graphite can be found in her studio and the DOWNSTAIRS and UPSTAIRS galleries, however her passion for mosaics and sculpture will spill over into Art Alley. Her first exhibition, OUTSIDE (R) IN featured the contemporary work of “outsider” (self-taught) artists Skip Noah in Austin, Texas, Louisiana Folk Artist Wendell Wilson from Chatham, and the metal sculpture of Wade Rawls. The first annual ALL SOULS DAY juried competition opened on November 2, 2012, featuring the works of 18 local artists in all media. DOWNSTAIRS recently featured the group exhibition, UNWRAPPED | Celebrating Nudes, a group exhibition, which opened on December 6, 2012 at the crawl. Artists included Dana Law, Austin Bantel, MC Davis, Andrea May, Rachel Barnes, Victoria Smith, Rick Sikes, Robbie Jones, Sasha Shestko, Stephanie Jaie, Emmanuel Anthony Percy Adlain, and Sophia Maras, with photography by Burg Ransom, Jess Van Alstyne and Larry Cavalier, and beautiful hand-crafted wood sculpture and furniture by Phillip Williams. Upcoming events include the group exhibition EL CORAZON (The Heart) opening February 7, 2013, and A CLOCKWORK STRANGE, a steampunk event and exhibition celebrating Victorian futurism, which opens April 4, 2013. About upcoming group exhibition EL CORAZON: This group exhibition will feature passionate works inspired by the human heart (el corazón), a significant theme in eastern and western cultures and world religions. From sacred hearts to anahata chakras, from Eros to Saint Valentine and the tradition of courtly love, from bound and chained, broken, bruised, and empty, to mended and overflowing, all matters of the heart will be explored (without an angiogram).
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