Indigo Art opens in Allentown

We stopped by Elisabeth Samuels’s new gallery in Allentown Friday night for her grand opening.  Elisabeth’s former space, Insite Gallery, was at home in our Neighborhood Collective, off which Block Club’s first office was located.  Elisabeth is known for curating impressive shows of local talent, often attracting equally impressive names to be in, and attend, her shows.  To open Indigo Art—a name change which, while I liked the ring of Insite Gallery, brings a new moniker to our lips and minds—Elisabeth presents Lost Rose, a show of Catherine Parker’s famous impressionistic landscapes.

Friday’s reception showed the new space off, located at 74 Allen Street directly across the street from the new Falafel Bar and K Gallagher’s.  A wonderful location, if you ask me.  It feels embedded in the neighborhood.  It’s a lovely fit, and a great new space.  What used to Sage Florist, with its high ceiling and cozy loft space, is now a beautiful contemporary, urban gallery space.  Everyone I was with mentioned immediately upon entering that the space feels like it has awesome bones—it would make a killer studio apartment or office space.  But alas, it is a killer gallery.

If you were lucky enough to catch the detailed ironwork on the back windows from the loft’s balcony, you felt a presence that was all charm and character.  The private space in the back alley was a surprising oasis, and Elisabeth had it decorated with candles, caffe tables and some mood lighting.  She said she was going to sweep the beautifully colored leaves up, but that she had decided to keep them there.  She joked that she had actually swept the space and then individually placed each leaf; always an artist, Ms. Samuels’s eye is never at rest.  It was a lovely retreat and one of those bonuses you don’t expect to come across but feel lifted for having seen.  You felt out of town in this gallery, in its loft, in its alley patio.  And with Catherine Parker’s beautiful artwork, you were even more transported.

Lost Rose continues through Nov. 30 at Indigo Art (74 Allen St., 984.9572. noon-5pm Tues.-Fri.; noon-3pm Sat.: or by appointment)

Photos by Jennifer Ulrich.

Posted by on 10/21 at 08:20 AM