Lights Out is showing the work of four artists in '3' at the Frank Brockman Gallery.
BY JORGE S. ARANGO
The lively opening of Lights Out Gallery’s “3,” a pop-up show at the Frank Brockman Gallery in Brunswick. Photo by Ezra Churchill
"I don’t recall ever being to an opening quite like the one that heralded “3,” the pop-up show put on by Norway-based Lights Out Gallery at the third-floor Frank Brockman Gallery in Brunswick (through April 2). I was very familiar with the work of two of the four artists in the show (Lynn Duryea and Oliver Solmitz), and found the work of the other two (Lynne Barr and Mark Little) wonderful and surprising.
But what differentiated this opening from others was its energy, which felt particularly enthusiastic and fresh in a youthful sort of way. This can be attributed to the infectious ebullience of Lights Out’s founders – Daniel Sipe, Karle Woods and Reed McClean – and its ripple effects on everyone in the room.
Lights Out started in 2019 to, according to its mission, “connect artists and their circles to a broader community” and to “show emerging and established artists alongside one another to encourage conversation, collaboration, and camaraderie.” In other words, Lights Out is unselfishly not about them; it’s about the artists.
Their first show was at Sipe’s apartment, where the lights went out when the exhibit opened, hence the organization’s name. Last February, the trio purchased the old 13,000-square-foot Tubbs Snowshoes factory in Norway, which they hope will eventually accommodate a bevy of small businesses, local organizations, artists, makers and educators.
Lights Out got through the pandemic by filming artists in their studios (their website is a treasure trove of these videos) and, once gathering in person was OK again, doing pop-up shows in scrappy venues like an abandoned redemption center. You get the picture. Their determination and their positivity permeated the gallery.
And guess what? The art on display is pretty fabulous too..."
Read the full article, including reviews of each exhibiting artists' work here.