Thursday, September 18, 2014

Gordon Skinner and EleMar Gallery: Brought Together by Project Storefronts

 Bread and Circuses

After a successful stint at Project Storefronts Popup55, longtime collaborator Gordon Skinner was introduced to EleMar Stone Distributer owner Mark Krueger. For over the past year Krueger has been carving out a piece of his storefront for an art gallery of the same name. After their first meeting a partnership was born and Skinner’s show, Bread and Circuses: Portraits and Collages by Gordon Skinner will open on September 20th.

"The artists I seek to work with” says Kruegar, “at my gallery are all committed to advancing their enterprises as businesses.  Intelligent partnership increases the possibility and probability of success."

In addition to being a gallerist and a businessperson, Mark Krueger is also an artist in his own right. "For me, its immediate application is inside people’s houses where I install decorative stone interiors.  In the last three or four years I’ve started to use stone to create artwork."


EleMar Gallery is located at 99 Shelton Ave New Haven, CT. The exhibit will open on September 20th with an opening reception from 6-8pm, and will run until October 18th with a closing reception on that date. The event is free of charge with refreshments. Skinner will also be in attendance discussing his work. All artwork and prints will be available for purchase.

For more information visit the Project Storefronts on Facebook and RSVP for the opening reception.
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About Project Storefronts:

Project Storefronts is a program that fuses the city’s creative sector with small business development. It grew out of the Department of Arts, Culture and Tourism efforts to diversify how they engage with artists and the community.  DACT partners with the Economic Development Corporation of New Haven and the city’s Office of Economic Development along with the State of Connecticut's Department of Economic and Community Development Office of the Arts to bring this project to life.   Project Storefronts works with property owners to secure free access to their vacant retail spaces. The program has been successful in helping landlords to rent their empty spaces. Meanwhile, the donated space helps creative entrepreneurs to test the viability of new, innovative business and retail initiatives while also educating themselves about what it takes to be a successful businessperson. Project Storefronts is actively seeking new applicants and properties in various neighborhoods.


About Gordon Skinner:

Gordon Skinner’s work has been exhibited throughout galleries in Connecticut and NYC including the international Outsider Art Fair in NYC and a number of solo exhibitions including Yale University’s Afro-American Cultural Center Gallery. The listing to his first solo exhibition was a featured listing in New York Times print edition. His work has been published as the cover for Fairfield University’s annual literary journal “Dogwood Journal” as well as the cover story for Yale University’s The New Journal. In addition to being the subject of a short documentary on his art titled “Stolen I.D., Fragmented, Colonized and Lost”, Skinner was commissioned to create a painting that is used for the documentary film “The Invisible Ones”, directed by an Emmy award winning filmmaker. Skinner’s artwork is archived at Vanderbilt University for research and art history and has many original works in private collections. Skinner is based in the Greater New Haven, CT area. For more information on Skinner’s work go to http://gordonskinnerart.com/ or scan the QR code below to watch his documentary.