By Amanda Miller

For the Gazette

For more than 30 years, Gallery Eleven on Quarrier Street has hosted artists and offered arts and crafts for sale. The gallery will be a stop on today’s Charleston ArtWalk. 

Patrons can expect to see original paintings by each of the gallery members, as well as a variety of ceramics, printmaking, sculpture and jewelry produced by artists from the surrounding area.  In addition, Sonja Adkins’ exhibit “Cat Works” will be up for view and sale.

All members of Gallery Eleven work in West Virginia, and much of the work on display focuses on the natural landscape of Appalachia. Some of the artists paint in specific stylistic modes, as with Pat Workman’s impressionist scenes.

The gallery members represent a wide range of artistic backgrounds, academic studies and approaches to media. Hank Keeling works with found objects and mixed media elements to make modern collages, and Frankie Wheeler paints representation landscapes with watercolor. Linda Charles Stone uses metallic paints and heavy textures to build abstractions of natural forms on paper.

All of the gallery members work in painting, except for Mayssan Shora Farra, who works with ceramics and is currently showing a collection of narrative clay figurines.

In the gallery’s 32-year existence, members have moved, passed away or left the co-op. New members have joined.

The history of multiple generations is visible in the variance of subject matter and execution of work.

The gallery takes its name from the 11 original artists who came together to form a co-operative in 1975. It’s moved within downtown Charleston a few times before settling at 1033 Quarrier St. 17 years ago.

As its numbers increased, the gallery expanded in size, and the co-op now consists of 15 active members. Gallery Eleven has also hosted artisan work on consignment for a number of years. Almost all of these crafts are produced in West Virginia and range from necklaces made of sea urchin spines to hand-blown glass to raku ceramics.     

Members of the co-op staff and maintain the gallery themselves, so an artist with work on the walls is there to assist patrons at any given time. As the oldest artist co-op in West Virginia, Gallery Eleven relies on a niche market for original work and high-end crafts.

Pat Workman says sales pick up around holidays when people are looking for something special. “People like us for wedding gifts, Mother’s Day and such,” she says. “We’re different from the department stores.” 

Normally, the gallery is open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday, but this evening it will be open past its normal hours for the ArtWalk. For more information, visit www.galleryeleven.com.

Other ArtWalk participants this month include the Annex Gallery at Taylor Books, Art Emporium, No’eau Studio, The Purple Moon, Showcase West Virginia and The Squire Tobacco Unlimited. Visit www.charlestonartwalk.com for exhibit information and venue location.