If you look at the drive-able sections of Main Street (Kensington heading towards downtown), it's not hard to see the street slowly turning around. From the projects slated (and started) at the corner of Ferry, the improvements at Utica and Bryant, Artspace, Ira Ross Institute, Granite Works... there's even hope for the Red Jacket building and the Bosch building (corner of Allen). If Canisius College would only tackle the big blue wall and a few more building owners would remove the Dryvit overlays and concrete infill blocks, the street might gain some additional momentum.
To help gather some of that momentum, a unique midtown property has been purchased, and the owners (who moved back to Orchard Park from Chicago, and then, missing city life, purchased on Main Street) have some incredible plans for the building... and I mean incredible. Not to say that the building wasn't impressive to begin with (see interior shots in previous link) - the current owners have been working overtime to transform the first floor into what will be a sprawling modern gallery unlike anything Buffalo has seen since the creation of Hallwalls and Big Orbit. The plan is to convert the dormant first floor into an adjoining 3200 sq.' gallery combined with an additional indoor/outdoor tin ceiling-covered carport (that will also function as gallery space). It doesn't end there. The private yard will serve as a sculpture garden, complete with an impressive reflective zinc wall and refurbished brickwork that would make your jaw drop.
It only gets better from there. Art & Artifact, a gallery based in LA, will be curating the installations, bringing to Buffalo the photography of acclaimed former LA Dodgers photographer Frank Worth. It was only recently that a large collection of previously never before viewed celebrity negatives was discovered under the photographer's bed upon his passing. Frank spent his off time hanging around the likes of James Dean, Natalie Wood, Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe - the Golden Age of Hollywood (see Frank's images from the 40s - 60s). When upwards of 4,000 of these images surfaced, it created quite a stir. Following Worth's passing in 2000, hundreds of the negatives have been painstakingly restored... and guess where many of them will be displayed for the first time? At this gallery on Main Street. Half of the gallery will be dedicated to Frank Worth's celebrity photography, while the second half will be reserved for rotating international artists and artisans, handpicked by the gallery's curator Linda Dzhema.
Hailed by Christie's of London as "The most extraordinary collection of its kind in the past fifty years", the Frank Worth collection made its debut at Art & Artifact Gallery in LA this past April. Since that time Art & Artifact was given the distinction of being the best photography gallery in Southern California by the 5W Report. Photographs are starting to appear in international magazines and online, and soon people will be able to see them up close and in person on Main Street in Buffalo, NY. The gallery is scheduled to open (with a bang) as early as October 15th, and is hoping to announce the possibility of hosting Buffalo's first Oscar Party among other notable showcase events. More to come on BRO as the project comes along.
*According to a viewer on the Art & Artifact Facebook page, "Original ABC clip about the (only) photo of Marilyn with Kennedy on display at Art & Artifact. This video posted earlier this week has already surpassed 3.3 million views on the Yahoo News pickup."
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To help gather some of that momentum, a unique midtown property has been purchased, and the owners (who moved back to Orchard Park from Chicago, and then, missing city life, purchased on Main Street) have some incredible plans for the building... and I mean incredible. Not to say that the building wasn't impressive to begin with (see interior shots in previous link) - the current owners have been working overtime to transform the first floor into what will be a sprawling modern gallery unlike anything Buffalo has seen since the creation of Hallwalls and Big Orbit. The plan is to convert the dormant first floor into an adjoining 3200 sq.' gallery combined with an additional indoor/outdoor tin ceiling-covered carport (that will also function as gallery space). It doesn't end there. The private yard will serve as a sculpture garden, complete with an impressive reflective zinc wall and refurbished brickwork that would make your jaw drop.
It only gets better from there. Art & Artifact, a gallery based in LA, will be curating the installations, bringing to Buffalo the photography of acclaimed former LA Dodgers photographer Frank Worth. It was only recently that a large collection of previously never before viewed celebrity negatives was discovered under the photographer's bed upon his passing. Frank spent his off time hanging around the likes of James Dean, Natalie Wood, Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe - the Golden Age of Hollywood (see Frank's images from the 40s - 60s). When upwards of 4,000 of these images surfaced, it created quite a stir. Following Worth's passing in 2000, hundreds of the negatives have been painstakingly restored... and guess where many of them will be displayed for the first time? At this gallery on Main Street. Half of the gallery will be dedicated to Frank Worth's celebrity photography, while the second half will be reserved for rotating international artists and artisans, handpicked by the gallery's curator Linda Dzhema.
Hailed by Christie's of London as "The most extraordinary collection of its kind in the past fifty years", the Frank Worth collection made its debut at Art & Artifact Gallery in LA this past April. Since that time Art & Artifact was given the distinction of being the best photography gallery in Southern California by the 5W Report. Photographs are starting to appear in international magazines and online, and soon people will be able to see them up close and in person on Main Street in Buffalo, NY. The gallery is scheduled to open (with a bang) as early as October 15th, and is hoping to announce the possibility of hosting Buffalo's first Oscar Party among other notable showcase events. More to come on BRO as the project comes along.
*According to a viewer on the Art & Artifact Facebook page, "Original ABC clip about the (only) photo of Marilyn with Kennedy on display at Art & Artifact. This video posted earlier this week has already surpassed 3.3 million views on the Yahoo News pickup."
Raymond E. Kelley Building Restoration and Specialty Contractors
As a diehard Marilyn Monroe fan... I am very excited about this!