FINAL WEEK FOR "MERGE" AT PLUS GALLERY > GALLERY TO CLOSE DURING THE REMAINDER OF AUGUST FOR SUMMER BREAK

Plus Gallery is signing off for the next two weeks for our summer break, the gallery will be officially closed as of August 18th and won't open back up until September 7th when we present the first exhibition for the fall season "Stacks" featuring all new drawings and paintings by Karen McClanahan.  But before we go, we have a few last items to share, including the most significant news in Plus Gallery's history relating to artist Jenny Morgan.

Join Plus Gallery and artist Eric Shumake on Thursday August 16th at 7pm for an evening of unparalleled fun, interaction and drinks, yes delicious drinks!  Eric will talk about his current "Charnival" series as well as all-things art related in his life, including his recent weeks at the Vermont Studios Masters program and upcoming duties as the gallery curator at Boulder's Naropa Institute. This is the last official event at Plus Gallery to close out our summer season.

Jessica Kleinman is the latest local writer to cozy up with Plus Gallery and deliver a new article that dwells on the nature, history and artistic vibrancy of Plus, for the new edition of 303 Magazine.  Read it online at

http://303magazine.com/2012/08/plus-gallery-a-unique-icon/

And finally, we are excited to deliver news that more firmly roots all the postulating and emphasis we've placed on Jenny Morgan's career to date.  We have long held that Morgan will one-day be considered the most significant artist in history to ever emerge from Denver.  It will take a lot longer than 10 years to fully prove, and certainly we hope other artists might come along to be worthy of that stature as well, but so far her track record has been simply impeccable and on course for these bold claims.

During the final week of her recent all-but sold-out solo exhibition "Kith and Kin," we spoke at length with Jenny about a new era that will start for her this fall.  Babcock Galleries, the oldest gallery in all of New York City (dating back to 1852!) is in the midst of creating a new entity for contemporary art representation and exhibition, and will include Morgan as one of their lead-artists in the launch of a brand new space in the heart of the prestigious Chelsea art district, to be called Babcock Driscoll Galleries. We will have more news relating to Jenny's presence with the gallery in the near future, as well as their bold move forward to compete with the biggest players in the NY scene, but for now we present last weekend's report on the endeavor from the Wall Street Journal:

August 10, 2012

Venerable Gallery In Modern Move

By JENNIFER MALONEY 

New York's oldest art gallery is synonymous with the staid back rooms of Midtown art dealers, where the works of Old and New World masters trade hands in quiet, carpeted surroundings. Now, Babcock Galleries is moving to Chelsea. The leap to the heart of the city's contemporary art scene-a neighborhood with a markedly different aesthetic than Midtown-marks a new era for Babcock. The gallery, which for 160 years has specialized in American artworks, is embracing a new look, a new name and a new expansion-into contemporary and international art. It is also expanding its stable of living artists. Driscoll Babcock Galleries- renamed for its owner, John Driscoll-will open on Sept. 8 at 525 W. 25th St., on a block stacked with such galleries as Pace, Marlborough Chelsea and Nancy Margolis.

The owner's idea: to hang the work of contemporary artists side by side with historic works that explore the same themes. "You can't create this great art in a vacuum," said Mr. Driscoll, 62 years old. "Our interest is in artists who are cognizant of art of the past and recognize its pertinence in their own work today." And so he will move from galleries on Fifth Avenue near East 57th Street-decorated with imported wool carpeting and paint in shades of gray inspired by Cézanne's Aix-en-Provence studio-to a space with concrete floors, white walls and exposed ducts. It's quite a change for a place that has kept the same phone number since 1956, and occasionally receives calls from former clients' great-grandchildren. "Someone once said going into Babcock was like going into a white-shoe law firm," Mr. Driscoll said, acknowledging that he will be adding to his collection of edgy eyeglasses. Knoedler & Co., founded in 1846, held the title of New York's oldest gallery until it closed last year. Babcock Galleries was founded by John Snedecor in 1852-18 years before the founding of the Metropolitan Museum of Art-on Broadway near East Eighth Street. From the beginning, it sought out the works of American masters-the likes of George Inness, John Frederick Kensett, Winslow Homer, Mary Cassatt and Childe Hassam.

Snedecor's Gallery gradually zigzagged uptown, and was renamed Babcock Galleries in 1918. Works that today hang in the Met, the Brooklyn Museum and the National Gallery of Art, among others were sourced by Babcock. Mr. Driscoll bought the gallery in 1987. Although he followed its tradition of acquiring and sourcing American art, his personal interests are much broader. His own collection includes English, Japanese and Danish art, as well as 20th-century ceramics. He had been mulling a move downtown for about seven years. He said he jumped at the chance to lease 4,700 square feet-with the possibility of 2,000 more-in a building owned by Related Co. The gallery owns an unusually large inventory, numbering in the thousands of pieces. Although it has mounted shows and represents estates, it has had only a small stable of living artists. Mr. Driscoll recently signed the Brooklyn painters Jenny Morgan and Margaret Bowland, and said he is in discussions with other artists in the U.S., China and Europe. He will continue his back-office business sourcing works for private collections and museums.

Mr. Driscoll will be presenting a distinctly historic perspective in a neighborhood known for cutting-edge art. David Maupin, of Lehmann Maupin Gallery in Chelsea, said the idea is compelling. "I think juxtapositions of different periods in our history are always interesting, as long as they are done well," he said. "I look forward to seeing it."

Jenny Morgan, a figurative painter, said she left Like the Spice Gallery in Brooklyn to sign with Mr. Driscoll last month. "There's a lot of knowledge and experience behind him," she said. "It's really exciting." Ms. Morgan, who said she draws inspiration from the masters and as well as contemporary portrait painters, said of her decision to join the new venture: "Honestly, it was just instinct. It felt correct." Walking through his new space, which is still under renovation, Mr. Driscoll described a glass wall that will enclose the gallery's archives, which go back 150 years. The design for the main gallery includes LED lights and a metal mesh ceiling, only partially obscuring the "spaghetti" of pipes and ducts above, he said. And he will keep the phone number from 1956. "Every time that number lights up, we know it's a phone call from another dimension," he said.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443404004577581462636419698.html