Jan 26 2006
January Gallery Stroll
Last Friday Bryan and I packed up Asher and met some friends downtown for dinner and the monthly gallery stroll. Strolling along Pierpont avenue, peeking into the various galleries and trying to navigate the crowds, I was struck by how very hip and cool the youngsters - midsters are getting in Salt Lake these days. Maybe it’s a side effect of Sundance, but the ambience along Pierpont was tres chic. Having every gallery totally packed probably didn’t hurt either. Trying to view some of the highlighted photography of the Chinese Opera children in training and keep Asher from grabbing people’s scarves and hair was a feat of strength in itself. I could have sat down and just people-watched the whole time. Midway through the night we lost our friends in that crowd. We stopped by the retro furniture store and noticed that Bryan’s old easel is gone. Wonder who is working on it now? The highlight of the night for me was stumbling into Holly Mae Pendergast’s new studio and chatting with her for a few minutes about her work and her future shows. She will be having a large show at the Women’s Art Center very soon. Of everything we saw on Friday, her new work was my favorite (particularly a painting of two girls leaning against one another in the front window. Save that one for me Holly!) One thing we’ve noticed over the last few years of gallery strolls is how depressed the prices for art are in Utah. There are fewer gems that are purchasable but because of that the ones that really sparkle are well-priced.
