FLAME RUN CATCHES FIRE AT SOFA!

Brook White and Susie Slabaugh of Flame Run Gallery at the SOFA glass blowing demonstration. Photo courtesy of Flame Run Gallery.

It’s been a big year for the Louisville art glass gallery and studio.

Article by Carmen Marti.

Entire contents copyright © 2010 Carmen Marti. All rights reserved.

Looking sharp in his suit, Brook White seemed a veteran of the international art show scene as he welcomed visitors to the Flame Run Gallery space on opening night of the Sculpture, Objects & Functional Art expo (SOFA) in Chicago.

In truth, SOFA 2010, which ran from Nov. 5 through 7, marked White’s debut at a national, not to mention international, show. His art glass gallery and studio has been open in Louisville since 2004, but this is the first year Flame Run has exhibited at a fair of SOFA’s stature.

“We’re going in with the big boys,” White said in late October as he prepared to depart for Chicago. “Some of the galleries and artists have been around for 20, 30, 40 years. We’re excited to be included.”

White and Flame Run were actually invited to apply for acceptance into SOFA, one of the oldest and most prestigious art fairs in Chicago; 80 art galleries and dealers from 10 countries were present. “I would have never expected this to happen,” White said.

The invitation to attend came after White and his colleague, Ché Rhodes, glass artist and assistant professor at the University of Louisville, approached the Glass Art Society about holding its annual conference in Louisville this summer. White and Rhodes gathered a committee of co-chairs and a team of volunteers to organize and staff the city-wide event, which drew 1,000 glass artists and enthusiasts to Louisville in June, and included 40 venues lending space for events around town. Mayor Jerry E. Abramson was on hand for the opening festivities. “Louisville was ready for it,” White said. “The city really supported it.”

The event was such a hit, White was contacted by SOFA organizers shortly thereafter. “We were riding the momentum of the conference,” he said. “For me it was the sign, the writing on the wall that we should go [to Chicago].”

Flame Run exhibit at SOFA. Photo courtesy of Flame Run Gallery.

So White, who has been a glass artist since his college days at Centre in the 1990s, donned his gallery-owner cap and rallied his troops. He brought to Chicago 10 artists and dozens of pieces of art made in a variety of methods: cast glass, blown glass, sculpted glass, etched glass, plate glass. He even brought a large metal sculpture using a glass-based paint. “For us it was a win-win situation,” White said. “Even if no one sold anything, we saw coming as a chance for Flame Run to get on the scene. I wanted to show our great artists and the talent in our region.”

As it turned out, three artists – Bryan Holden, Matt Cummings and Devyn Baron – did sell work. White made strong contacts, and he, Baron and gallery artist, Susie Slabaugh, participated in the glass-blowing demonstration program, drawing crowds of nearly 300 people to the glass-blowing stage on two days of the show. “It was a great advertising opportunity,” White said. “We were the underdogs, and we got great feedback.”

Now back in Louisville, White returns to his busy schedule at Flame Run. Housed in a 13,000sf space on Market Street, the gallery and studio have gotten stronger over the past few years, a tribute to White’s vision and perseverance during hard economic times. “We’re still here,” he said. “Anybody here after the past two years has earned his stripes.”

The gallery has also benefitted from the burgeoning arts district in NuLu. “This area has come to life, even since we’ve been here,” White said. “When we opened, we took bets about whether we’d see anybody come in on any given day. We’re seeing more foot traffic now.”

White admits, “We had a big learning curve.” But, he said, he’s used to playing the odds. “With something like this, I gamble every day. Going to the track to see the horses is boring.”

Flame Run exhibit at SOFA. Photo courtesy of Flame Run Gallery.

Flame Run Gallery and Studio
828 East Market Street
Louisville, KY 40206-1628
(502) 584-5353
www.flamerun.com