Economy takes its toll: Cooper Jackson to close
The toll of our bad economy is beginning to show up in tangible ways. Suzanne Gagnon, who operates the Cooper Jackson Gallery at 70 India St., Portland, plans to close her gallery.
She writes in an e-mail, “Spring has arrived, but the weather and the economy have taken their toll. I will be closing the gallery at the end of May, which means this is the last show Cooper Jackson will mount.”
That news is not altogether surprising. Art galleries and other entertainment that depend on discretionary income are likely to be among the first casualties of a bad economy.
The final show at Cooper Jackson features the work of photographer Noah Krell.
He photographs staged scenes of domesticity. The show is titled “At Home.” 
Says Krell, “Physically, the home becomes a stage where we explore and enact our culturally influenced roles, behaviors and identities. Emotionally, feeling ‘at home’ with oneself or one’s surroundings requires a certain level of acceptance and comfort in one’s own skin. With the daily barrage of messages showing us how we should look and act, and what material possessions we need to be happy and comfortable, it becomes more and more difficult to be truly ‘at home’ with ourselves.”
Krell will attend a reception 4 to 6 p.m. May 3.
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Suzanne Gagnon has been an instrumental voice in so much in the arts in the Portland area for a long time, there's good reason to think she's only going to morph into another entity to facilitate and bring out the best in our area's visual culture.
From her time at O'Farrell Gallery in Brunswick, to making the Clown the quirkiest art spot in town, to opening the most interesting of the recent spate of Portland galleries, to being the first president of the Gallery Association of Portland (which of course means the most important and heaviest workload).
I have have a feeling that even if she closes the doors to her gallery, Suzanne will still be the person whose number you might want to dial if you feel the itch to find some good art.
A fellow Bowdoin alum, Suzanne was the very first of my Portland art dealer colleagues to reach out and start sharing with me. She's the real reason why the gallery association is starting to fly.
If you haven't seen what she's doing, go visit her India Street gallery before it closes - otherwise you might miss one of Portland's coolest art venues ever.
I would also suggest that you don't throw away her phone number. She's for real.
Posted by
Daniel KanyApril 11, 2008 10:48 PM
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