Explore the growing art options in Oneida County

Cover story
Hidden
beauty
Explore the growing art
options in Oneida
County
STORY BY TENNILLE-LYNN MILLO
PHOTOS BY MATT OSSOWSKI
It’s not your imagination:
Pop-up galleries, art studios, and
creative projects of all kinds are
beginning to add a bit of color to
our once gray city.
From experimental art to large
installation pieces that grace the
front of area banks and buildings,
local artists began teaming up a
few years ago to showcase Utica as
an artistic haven. And now, the
public is beginning to notice.
That’s largely thanks to
streetscape projects by artists such
as Jenna North and Steve Nyland
– who filled the vacant windows of
Downtown Utica with their Project
U collaboration – and the artists
behind the Oneida Square Project,
who transformed old wire trash
cans into beautiful mosaic-tile art.
With its industrial past and
sometimes bleak appearance, Utica
may not seem like a natural choice
for creative types. But the truth is
art and those who love it have
always had a place here.
There are, of course, the pres-
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Local art lines the
walls of 4 Elements
Studio in Utica.
tigious institutions and programs – the
Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, the
Stanley Center for the Arts and the Pratt
Institute School of Art among them.
But there’s also the everyday art many
of us take for granted.
From the sculptures along the Parkway,
to the stunning architecture of local buildings, to the designer landscaping found
along Proctor Park and the installation art
throughout, the city’s past offers endless
inspiration for emerging artists. The question, then, is why wouldn’t you create here?
Local metal sculptor Joel Grimaldi has
been honing his art for 30 years. Breaking
into the Utica scene with signs and furniture, this metal engineer, responsible for
constructing industrial-sized heat recovery
units for area hospitals and universities, has
slowly sculpted his metal art into an area
attraction everyone can enjoy.
You may not know his name, but it’s
almost impossible to walk through the city
without seeing some of his work: custom
signs designed for companies such as Utica
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Joel Grimaldi stands near his
Metal Logix Chair.
Photo courtesy of Francis X Schram
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Bread and Sickenberger Lane, bike racks in
Bagg’s Square, benches in Griffiss Business
and Technology Park in Rome, and – soon –
signs and artwork at the Utica Zoo.
And even though he’s gone national –
working with artist John Taylor to create displays for big-name companies such as Lacoste,
Diesel Clothing and LaPasta Inc. – his heart
and passion have remained local.
“This is a cool place to be,” Grimaldi said.
“It’s centrally located between the Adirondack
Mountains and bigger cities, like New York,
and it’s inexpensive to live. All of that is
attracting a younger group of artists. With the
new galleries opening, paint-and-sip parties,
and even divisions of artesian food, bread, and
craft beers emerging, it creates more awareness, and attracts more artists and visitors. It’s
a new breath to the area.”
Artist Jenna North, left, and Sculpture Space
Executive Director Monika Burczyk
…featured every
Saturday in The O-D,
provides a listing of
available real-estate
in the Mohawk Valley
and an array of
information all relating
to home life.
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Sculpture Space, located at
12 Gates St. in Utica, has been
responsible for nurturing
artists, such as Grimaldi, for
40 years. Opening its doors in
1976 in the former Utica
Steam Engine and Boiler
Works building, founders John
von Bergen, Richard Friedberg,
and Charlie Fisher set out with
the intention of maintaining a
space where they could create
massive works of art, while
allowing their friends and fellow sculptors room to do the
same. What they didn’t know
at the time was that this space
would go on to become a vital
piece of the contemporary art
world.
As one of the first artist-inresidency programs in the
nation, Sculpture Space has
attracted more than 550 artists
from all over the world. From
video projection installations,
to papier-mâché, to galvanized
steel, and twigs and strings,
this local nonprofit has given
artists of all types a venue in
which to produce and showcase
their work to the public.
“We like to think of ourselves as a laboratory for cre-
The Dev is one of several restaurants and
bars that display local artwork, such as
works by Joe Coniguliaro.
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ativity,” said Executive
Director Monika Burczyk. “We
bring artists here from all over
the world to experience Utica
and create new work they
wouldn’t otherwise.”
While the artists work to
transform their art, their art
transforms our area. Pieces created at Sculpture Space have
found permanent homes at
Hamilton College, Utica
College and Colgate University,
as well as at several other locations around Central New
York.
Sometimes, the artists stick
around too.
Armenian-born ceramic
artist Vartan Poghosian is one
of many who decided to Make
Utica his home after spending
time at Sculpture Space.
What’s more, after working
with Sculpture Space founder
John von Bergen in 2003, he
opted to open his own gallery.
His 4 Elements Studio,
located at 714 Washington St.,
opened its doors in February
2015.
Poghosian said he set out
to design a gallery that not
only showed his work, but
offered an array of studios for
other emerging artists. He also
hosts workshops and classes for
the public, such as silk painting, wheel throwing, and figurative sculpture.
“I’d always dreamt of having an art space where a lot of
creative minds could gather
and use their talent to bring in
the community,” Poghosian
said. “Utica had so much of
that history, and such an
extensive amount of talented
artists that I couldn’t see going
anywhere else.”
Another Utican with a passion for local art is Brett
Truett, a former SUNYIT student, inventor and founder of
companies such as Truett
Technologies USA and The
WaterBasket.
Truett spent a large part of
his life exploring downtown
Utica. So, when he purchased
the former Genesee Office
Equipment building, located at
10 ½ Liberty St., in Utica 13
years ago, he knew he wanted
to do something great with it.
Deciding what that would be
took him a few years, but he
always knew local art would
play a role in it.
Today, he’s getting ready
to throw a grand opening for
the new Liberty Street Gallery.
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“There’s a critical mass of
art that’s been developing
around us,” Truett said.
“We’ve always had great
artists and places, like
Sculpture Space and MunsonWilliams, but what we needed
was a gallery. A place downtown that makes people stop
and look and enjoy.”
While working with his
brother to construct the gallery
on the main floor, Truett also
is developing a “hackerspace”
on the second floor, along with
his home and office on the
remaining floors above. A
hackerspace is a community
workspace where people with
similar interests can socialize
and collaborate on projects.
By tapping into the
younger trend of communitybased workshops, Truett hopes
that something great will be
seen, created or inspired inside
the building he’s had such
grand hopes for all these years.
“There’s a critical
mass of art that’s
been developing
around us”
Brett Truett
4 Elements Studio
En plein air
Not all art is kept in a
gallery. Check out these local
art installations you can enjoy
for free in the great outdoors.
• Visit The Sculpture
Garden at Griffiss Business
and Technology Park in
Rome. It’s home to 22 sculptures created by both international and local artists,
including Jonathan Kirk’s
“Argonaut,” Tash Taskale’s
“Wishing Tree” and John
McCarty’s “Soft Rime.”
• Take a break on your
next walk through Utica’s
Roscoe Conkling Park to sit
on the galvanized steel chair
designed by Jonathan Kirk
and enjoy your view of the
city.
• View Ann Reichlin’s
“Trace” project, which
returns to Whitesboro Street
in Utica every spring.
Launched in 2012, “Trace”
involved planting 3,000 narcissus bulbs along the vanished foundation walls of
demolished homes along the
street. Now, visitors can see
thousands of vibrant yellow
flowers outline the building’s
graves each spring.
• Take a stroll along the
Memorial Parkway, and reacquaint yourself with the 14
monuments that showcase
famous Uticans and other historical figures. While you’re
there, check out the unique
fountain set off the Parkway
at Elm Street.
• Soak in the architecture
of Union Station, designed by
some of the same architects
who designed New York’s
Grand Central Station. Then,
stop to gaze at John von
Bergen’s large installation
piece across the street.
• Study the installation
and sculptural pieces set in
front of Sunset Woods, located at 118 Genesee St., and
the nearby NBT Bank.
• Schedule a date in
September to swing by the
Utica Music & Arts Fest. This
two-day show intertwines
music and art, and hosts live
mural paintings, where people can watch artists at work.
• While not technically
outside, many local bars and
restaurants showcase works
by local artists outside the
traditional gallery setting.
Look for sculpture and paintings by a variety of artists at
The Stief on Varick Street,
The Dev on Devereux Street
and Across the Row Bistro in
Clinton, among others. The
Dev holds art shows on the
first Wednesday of every
month.
See page 29 for a list of galleries
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