"The Gallery of Contemporary Fine Art Photography in Alaska" has been the premiere venue for Alaskan photographers to display their work since photographer/graphic designer Hal Gage opened it almost a year and a half ago. The Gallery is sad to present their last show, "The Last Picture Show," which will run until the Gallery closes its doors forever, on July 31st.The building on 2008 E. Northern Lights (one block West of Lake Otis, between Shriner's Hall and Printer's Ink) housed Gage's photographic studio, the largest darkroom in Anchorage, and The Gallery, a small but intimate setting for the display of photography and "photographically derived" works of art.
Gage suffered a terrible setback this winter, when a heavy snow load caused the roof of his building to collapse. While the damage has been repaired, Gage has had to deal with the logistics of having a lot of his stuff in storage. He would have recovered from the disaster with the help of his business insurance, but cites an "unreasonable landlord," and a property manager Gage has "always hated," as his overriding reasons to relocate and dismantle The Gallery. "We came to an agreement," said Gage at the show's opening, "I'm wrong and he's right - and I'm leaving."
His plan now is to consolidate his home and business to save on overhead, close the Gallery for lack of space, and continue with his studio, darkroom, and desktop publishing business.
Gage's computer work has been featured in art shows around town, the Anchorage Museum, and in desktop publishing contracts for companies like Cafe Europa and BP.
- "We brought some great photography to the people of Anchorage, which otherwise wouldn't have been seen at all."
Gage is sad to see his gallery go, not only because it was the only all-photography gallery in Anchorage, not only because all of the previously unknown solo-show participants at his gallery have gone on to other venues, but also because of his personal mission to bring more visibility to the art. "There are some other galleries in town that show photography - Stonington currently has Richard Murphy, and the International Gallery of Contemporary Art is still showing stuff. My work will be shown in November at the Fairbanks Art Association Gallery." Still, it seems noone is prepared to bring photography to Anchorage to the degree Gage did.
"I'm not happy about it, but it had to be done," says Gage, adding that the last one-and-a-half years have yielded some amazing shows, "We brought some great photography to the people of Anchorage, which otherwise wouldn't have been seen at all."
While Gage always hopes he'll be able to open another gallery, it's not a priority for him right now. He hopes to team up with other galleries in the future to put on cutting-edge photographic shows, but realizes that even if it happens, it won't be the same as his all-photo gallery.
"The Last Picture Show" will be a retrospective of all the showings since The Gallery opened. The invitation to the July 11th opening read, "You are cordially invited to come celebrate a retrospective exhibition of works from artists featured at The Gallery over its short but illustrious history, and mourn the demise of yet another contemporary art venue in Alaska."
Each artist represented is showing one to four photos. The show includes some of Gage's work in addition to Steve Heimel, Al Flory, Dennis Whitmer, Matt Johnson, Margie Rot, Alan Parks, Don Decker, Matt Chmielarczyk, Michael Snively, Kay Klose and Maribeth Crick. While, according to Gage, "It's just a teaser, a small indication of what the original show was like," the retrospective features some of the finest photography going in Alaska. The show features detailed artists' statements and a wide variety of styles and themes.
Call Hal Gage at 272-4356 or e-mail him at halgage@alaska.net for more info.