October 9, 2007
Volitant Gallery Losing Lease, Closing At the End of the Month
Just as they debuted their most promising exhibit to date, Congress Avenue's Volitant Gallery yesterday announced plans to shutter its doors at the end of the month.
"At this point it appears Volitant Gallery will be losing its lease by October 31, 2007," wrote Volitant Gallery Director Xochi Solis. "Sean [Gaulager, Volitant's assistant director] and I are excited to begin new and fresh challenges that will continue our personal missions for art education and growth in Austin."
Femme Fantastique, their current exhibit of fantasy-themed works by an international array of artists, will run through through the rest of October. The corresponding Femme Fantastique Film Festival will conclude with the October 23rd screening of the sci-fi drama, Teknolust. Determined to go out on a good note, Solis and the staff are planning a grand finale "with as much vigor and importance as if it were our very first exhibition." Stay tuned for more details.
After the jump, the full letter from Volitant Gallery.
Image, Drippy Flowers by Nancy Baker, courtesy of Volitant Gallery
Dear Friends and Colleagues,I hope this letter finds you well and in good spirits. Volitant Gallery has had a wonderful, innovative year and a half of showcasing both regional and international artists. We have had the fantastic opportunity to share work from the far reaches of Lithuania to our young collection of emerging artists in Texas. Continuously with every exhibit, it has been our joy to educate and inspire the Austin art community and expand upon the diversity established by long time veterans. Our time here has been celebrated by wonderful collaborations and spirited discussions on the direction of the visual arts here in our city. We have been embraced by the art population of Austin; meeting and learning from art lovers whether they were familiar with or new to the thrill of collecting contemporary art. It is with all these fantastic experiences that we prepare to leave our space at 320 Congress Avenue. At this point it appears Volitant Gallery will be losing its lease by October 31, 2007. I feel as a committed gallery director it is my obligation to both inform you of our most recent development and assure you that our time at our location on 4th and Congress has been rewarding and fruitful.
That being said, our current exhibit, Femme Fantastique, is our last and greatest opportunity to showcase our concentration on thought provoking and mindful work. We are certain that through the hard work and efforts from each artist in Femme Fantastique, Volitant Gallery will exit as a memorable and keystone pioneer in the growth of our ever-burgeoning art community. My staff and myself are working tirelessly to create our grand finale as one with as much vigor and importance as if it were our very first exhibition. We treasure the opportunities we have had to work within the art scene here and most assuredly will maintain a strong presence in our future endeavors.
I thank you for all your love and support in all of our ambitious efforts. Sean and I are excited to begin new and fresh challenges that will continue our personal missions for art education and growth in Austin. Best wishes to you all and thank you again!
Take Care,
Xochi Solis
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An art gallery built on the whim of a young naive millionaire who "needed a place to crash" while in Austin, was destined for that big blank wall in the sky.
I love art and I love going to galleries, but I never went to Volitant. There was just something very standoffish about it. Plus they never displayed the best works in their windows. You walk by there right now and you don't see this dripping flowers thing. You see a centipede that looks worse than the bamboo I made in 10th grade art class when we did calligraphy. It's not exactly a draw.
Personally, I respect someone for trying to start a gallery in Central Austin without a sweetheart loan/subsidy from the city. Wish Solis & Gallaugher could've made a go of it, but trying to turn a profit by selling art in such a large space on prime downtown real estate is next to impossible.
I've also been told that instead of open to the public openings, you had to have an invite to attend their openings. That probably didn't help them sell art much either.
You never needed an invite, you just show up to the openings. WHoever wrote that doesn't go that often.
Good luck to the staff. Hope to see you do more great things in the art community.
i have visited almost all the shows, and have yet to be impressed (i have not seen the new one). much of the work was immaturish and provocative just for the sake of being provactive, not really saying anything. much of it felt like student work. i mistakenly assumed that it was subsidized by the City or a local Arts foundation.
i applaud the passion which Volitant put into the endevour. its always sad to see a gallery fade.
the current show is good. though the pieces are of uneven quality, there are a couple (darkly themed) photographs worth popping in for, as well as some really expert collage.
so it's too bad about the closing. i hope a new gallery pops up there.
or an ethiopian restaurant. (go, go!)
"You never needed an invite, you just show up to the openings. WHoever wrote that doesn't go that often."
You're right. I never went after I was told you can't show up to their openings because they were invitation only.
You never needed an invitation to the openings.
Although there are two possibilities where I can surmise the confusion coming from.
1 - I heard the Terri Thomas opening was a parody of the "celebutante universe" filled with a fake waiting line and fake paparazzi
2- There were instances of private parties. They looked identical to openings.
Either way, it was impressive that they lasted as long as they did.