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Some of the most compelling features of Cleveland's art scene are the gallery spaces themselves. The way spaces change hands over time is evidence of a broader community that doesn't consistently buy art. But it is also evidence of a determined resiliency among artists and gallerists, as the great spaces don't remain empty for long.
Such is the case with a renovated building at West 53rd and Detroit, which was rehabbed by artist Bruno Casiano a few years ago. Casiano ran a gallery out of the building for about two years before succumbing to the pressures involved in juggling a full-time job, running a gallery, and spending time with his family. Casiano did a brilliant job of renovating the space, which has in the past served as both a legal tavern and a speakeasy. The building has high ceilings, pristine white walls, great lighting and patterned wood flooring. Someone was destined to claim the building after Casiano's departure, given its smart look and convenient location just west of downtown; earlier this month, photographers Bryon Miller and Ryan Weitzel opened in it a new exhibition venue, the Miller-Weitzel Gallery. Miller and Weitzel are hoping to pay the rent through art sales, and have the added financial advantage of sharing the space with Exit Stencil, a recording studio housed in the basement.
Their first exhibition focuses on the work of Bruno Casiano, Dana L. Depew, Joseph Day, Jay Brown and Stephe DK. The show demonstrates a range of approaches to the theme of abstraction. It also displays a breadth of quality; there are some lovely, well-executed pieces in the opening show, and a few pieces that reveal abstraction at its worst. Jay Brown's mixed-media-on-paper works, Lombardo and Lucius , are so vividly red, they appear to be enameled metal; it is as if Brown, like an alchemist, transformed paint and paper into thin sheets of steel. But beyond this magical, visual conversion, the works are very strong, revealing an adept use of material to achieve red in its most vivid hue. Brown clearly has a formalist penchant for color, despite the trompe l'oeil effect employed on the materials that hold the luscious pigment.
The exhibition includes three works by Bruno Casiano. His work, while not especially innovative, demonstrates his skill as a painter. He imbues abstraction with a refined, albeit incongruous sense of order, as the surfaces of his works are at once matte and glossy, as well as both flat and textured. In the context of the history of abstract art, Casiano's paintings are quite clever, as their manufactured appearance counters the free-spirited compositions of Jackson Pollock. Casiano's Flaming Towers is a blatant homage to the twin towers of the World Trade Center, as two narrow vertically arranged canvases are placed next to each other, both incorporating chaotic swirls of paint. While the works demonstrate an adroit technical ability, the subject matter is a bit tired. More than three years after 9/11, most artists have fully explored the tragedy and moved on, though admittedly the iconic nature of the towers and their demise are indelibly imprinted on our collective psyche.
Also included is the work of Dana L. Depew, who runs Asterisk Gallery in Tremont. Depew's paintings are, according to his artist's statement, an attempt to create a “fluid, balanced composition.” It is this striving for order that weakens the work, as the paintings lack energy and spontaneity, making them appear as exercises in design rather than sophisticated works of art. And Depew's straight-from-the-tube palette of neon color adds a caustic element to the paintings.
This is one of those galleries that can make almost any work look good. However, Miller and Weitzel will need to find their curatorial niche if they want to consistently draw crowds to their openings and sell art. Their inaugural exhibition is well presented but not overly inspiring. The gallerists might have opened their space with a more thought-provoking exhibition, and the show should not have been exclusively male; the last thing the Cleveland art scene needs is another white boys' club.