Denison gallery announces eight-month opening

By Joyce Godwin
Herald Democrat

One of downtown Denison’s newest art galleries is now open at 325 W. Main Street.

On Main Off Center announced its opening with a different twist than any of the others. Concurrent with the opening announcement is its closing announcement scheduled for Dec. 31.

Gallery owner Scott Goddard sad his gallery will feature contemporary art that catalogs the human condition and responds to life’s great questions — Who are we? Why are we here? Where should we go for lunch?

The gallery is opening with a John Saxon’s debut. Although this is his first art showing, one look at the display will tell anyone, it won’t be his last. The showing dances around the universal issue of losing family members. It’s striking and emotional.

The gallery will follow Saxon’s exhibit May 27 with a sculpture series celebrating the miracles of life, creation and evolution by Carmelo Pampallona.

Next will be a multi-artist photographic chronicle titled “Denison Two Thousand Plus Six.”
Kay Merritt, the director of On Main Off Center, said the gallery will also be the site for youth workshops and other happenings. She said, the goal is to provoke art while displaying art. She describes the new gallery as “an event in the guise of a gallery.”

“Our inspiration is the 1997 comet Hale-Bopp,” Merritt said. “It came with a fury, its appearance was brief and it was a once-in-a-lifetime event.

“The relationship between art and money is always difficult,” Goddard said. “Because the gallery will only be open eight months, whether or not it’s profitable becomes unimportant.” He said their philosophy allows them to choose exhibitions “based solely on their potential to establish emotional connection with the viewer.”

On Main Off Center will show art to be sold and will also show work that is unlikely to hang on the walls of a customer’s home. “But, even if artwork does not go home with somebody, it might still have penetrated their life,” Goddard said.

The gallery is open Thursday through Saturday in the afternoons.