“Let love live in this lodge!”
Last Saturday afternoon, Henry Real Bird, Crow Nation rancher and last year’s poet laureate of Montana, called down blessings at the HallSpace Gallery (950 Dorchester Ave.) during an eclectic celebration of mythology in word and image, which fittingly took place during National Poetry Month.
Gallery owner John Colan put out all his folding chairs, but some of the overflow audience sat on the floor as the Native American mystic chanter alternated with Prof. Bernard Horn, whose prize-winning verse combines Torah references with observations on modern secular Israeli life.
Both wordsmiths are friends of artist Ric Haynes, who arranged the event in conjunction with his current show at the HallSpace, “Children of the Empire.” Haynes’ bold, surreal canvases with overgrown children in mutant-filled, otherworldly cityscapes made an appropriate context in which to explore these other cosmologies.
Colan, who chairs the Graphic Design department at Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, created the gallery specifically for artists not affiliated with a commercial gallery. But “not affiliated” should not be confused with “lacking prestige.” Haynes’s credits, for example, are enviable. His works are in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, The Guggenheim Museum, Library of Congress and the Getty Foundation.
In February, 2008, John Colan moved his HallSpace gallery to its current address where he has a flexible 34 x 35 area, softly lit through two glass-block windows. Previous to its Dot Ave. home, he exhibited at 31 Norfolk Avenue in Roxbury. HallSpace got its name in 1996 from its original location, an actual 50- foot corridor on Thayer Street in the South End.
Though many Dot residents are still unfamiliar with the HallSpace, it’s far from unknown in the regional art world. In fact, the same day this issue of the Reporter appears, the Boston Globe will feature Haynes’ show as a Critic’s Pick. The Globe’s Cate McQuaid often notes HallSpace offerings, and “Art New England” and “artscope” magazines regularly list and review Colan’s selections.
Over the years, Colan has featured work by several Dot residents, often those from the nearby Pearl Street Studios and the Humphrey Street Studios. In fact, next (April 28 – June 2) he will showcase the photographs of Linda Szabo White, until recently a Pearl Street resident.
Grampian Way sculptor Pat Shannon, who attended Saturday’s gathering and whose work has appeared at HallScape, commented, “For many years and in multiple locations, the HallSpace and John Colan’s work as a gallerist have been a steady pulse in the life of Boston’s art scene. John sustains a dynamic and varied exhibition schedule and generously devotes a big portion of it to supporting the work of area artists. I think I speak for many when I say we’re very fortunate to have the current incarnation of his gallery come ashore here on Dorchester Avenue.”
Colan hints that his pre-election September and October exhibits will be “political in nature.”
For details on past and future shows go to hallspace.org. The gallery entrance in the 950 Dot Ave complex is on the extreme right side of the parking lot behind the transformer, immediately adjacent to the Ryan Playground fence. Hours are Friday and Saturday 12-5, or by appointment.
