Somerhill Gallery
Encyclopedia
Somerhill Gallery was a contemporary art gallery
based in Durham, North Carolina
owned by Joseph D. Rowand. Founded in 1972, it was the first art gallery to open in Durham, NC. The gallery shut its doors due to bankruptcy and failure to pay its artists in 2010.
Abstract and representational artwork in all visual disciplines was on display in the gallery's 9600 square feet (891.9 m²) setting. Designed by award-winning architect Philip Szostak, Somerhill featured fine art glass and jewelry, a contemporary photography gallery, an open-air glass atrium which stands at the center of the main salon where featured exhibitions are shown. The gallery also featured white oak floors, fabric walls and over 40 skylights. Fine art glass and art jewelry created by nationally recognized craftspeople could also be found in the gallery's architecturally significant space.
Exhibited artists include Herb Jackson
, Maud Gatewood, John Beerman, Claude Howell, Carol Bechtel, and Peter Butler.
in 1989. It was located in the Eastgate Shopping Center and built by architect Phil Szostak. The gallery stayed in this location for over 18 years.
, the region's arts and entertainment weekly, and is located in the heart of the Durham's arts and culture scene. As of 2010, Both Somerhill and its owner Joe Rowand have declared bankruptcy and Rowand was the subject of a scathing feature article in Durham's Independent Magazine, which divulged the history of years of failure to pay his artistic stable their due, all the while paying himself in excess of $15,000 per month. The final debts owed by the gallery and Mr. Rowand approach well over a million dollars.
Alex Wilhite
Contemporary art gallery
A contemporary art gallery is a place where contemporary art is shown for exhibition and/or for sale. The term "art gallery" is commonly used to mean art museum , the rooms displaying art in any museum, or in the original sense, of any large or long room.-Identity, function and locality:A...
based in Durham, North Carolina
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
owned by Joseph D. Rowand. Founded in 1972, it was the first art gallery to open in Durham, NC. The gallery shut its doors due to bankruptcy and failure to pay its artists in 2010.
Abstract and representational artwork in all visual disciplines was on display in the gallery's 9600 square feet (891.9 m²) setting. Designed by award-winning architect Philip Szostak, Somerhill featured fine art glass and jewelry, a contemporary photography gallery, an open-air glass atrium which stands at the center of the main salon where featured exhibitions are shown. The gallery also featured white oak floors, fabric walls and over 40 skylights. Fine art glass and art jewelry created by nationally recognized craftspeople could also be found in the gallery's architecturally significant space.
Exhibited artists include Herb Jackson
Herb Jackson
Herb Jackson is an artist and is the William H. Williamson Professor of Art at Davidson College. In 1999 he was awarded the North Carolina Award, the highest civilian honor in the state, by Governor Jim Hunt of North Carolina.-Life:...
, Maud Gatewood, John Beerman, Claude Howell, Carol Bechtel, and Peter Butler.
1972-1989
Somerhill Gallery was founded in April 1972 by Joseph Rowand. Its first location was in a small shopping center called "StrawValley" between the cities of Durham, NC and Chapel Hill, NC. The gallery expanded three times in this location.1989-2008
Somerhill Gallery moved to 1800 East Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, North CarolinaChapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...
in 1989. It was located in the Eastgate Shopping Center and built by architect Phil Szostak. The gallery stayed in this location for over 18 years.
2008–present
In June 2008, Somerhill Gallery moved to its current location at 303 S Roxboro Street, The Venable Center, Durham, NC. The one-story gray block building now housing Somerhill Gallery was built in 1952 as a shipping and receiving warehouse for the historic Venable Tobacco complex, which dates from 1905. The tobacco complex, now redeveloped as the Venable Center, is also home to the Independent WeeklyIndependent Weekly
The Independent Weekly is a tabloid-format alternative weekly newspaper published in Durham, North Carolina, United States and distributed throughout the Research Triangle area and counties .The Independent is a member of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies and has a...
, the region's arts and entertainment weekly, and is located in the heart of the Durham's arts and culture scene. As of 2010, Both Somerhill and its owner Joe Rowand have declared bankruptcy and Rowand was the subject of a scathing feature article in Durham's Independent Magazine, which divulged the history of years of failure to pay his artistic stable their due, all the while paying himself in excess of $15,000 per month. The final debts owed by the gallery and Mr. Rowand approach well over a million dollars.
Painters
- Paul Aho
- Kimberly Alvis
- Eldridge Bagley
- Michael Barringer
- Carol Bechtel
- John Beerman
- Peter Butler
- RJ Clark
- Genevieve Cotter
- Jason Craighead
- Fran Dropkin
- Yale Epstein
- Richard Fennell
- Maud Gatewood
- Paul Germain
- Donald Gialanella
- Patrick Glover
- Claude Howell
- Norbert Irvine
- Herb JacksonHerb JacksonHerb Jackson is an artist and is the William H. Williamson Professor of Art at Davidson College. In 1999 he was awarded the North Carolina Award, the highest civilian honor in the state, by Governor Jim Hunt of North Carolina.-Life:...
Alex Wilhite
Jewelry Artists
- Carolyn Morris Bach
- Margaret Barnaby
- Bazyli Studio
- Petra Class
- Barbara Heinrich
- Maija Neimanis
Sources
- Somerhill Gallery declares Chapter 7, owes more than a quarter-million dollars to artists
- Blog post regarding Somerhill Gallery's move to Durham, NC on Bull City Rising
- Carolina Arts article on Somerhill Gallery
- Somerhill Gallery at Szostak Design website
- "Art gallery set for stay in Durham" The Durham News, May 31, 2008
- "Art gallery owner confronts 'tall order'" The Chapel Hill News, April 6, 2008
- "Loss of Gallery is loss for town" Opinion, The Chapel Hill News, April 13, 2008
- Joe Rowand's Big Move Metro Magazine, May 2008
- Secrets of State: Somerhill Opening Metro Magazine, August 2008
- Durham stakes claim as Triangle's arts center WRAL News, August 22, 2008