Riffe Gallery
Throughout history, cities have been large collections of people and ideas. It is here that the fine arts and humanities flourished. Art always has been and will forever be an enormous part of everyday city life. I firmly believe that people work to survive, but survive to enjoy the finer things in life such as art. Art comes in many forms in cities and is appreciated more because of the denser populations in comparison to areas with significantly lower populations. For these reasons, I chose the Riffe Gallery as a place important to the city of Columbus.
The Riffe Gallery is located within the Verne Riffe Center for the Government and the Arts building. It is across the street from the Ohio Statehouse on 77 S High Street. The first floor lobby is the home of this gallery. The gallery was established on March 17, 1989 and is a part of the Ohio Art’s Council. The current use of the gallery is showcase the work of Ohio’s artists and collections of the state’s museums and galleries. This gallery is unique and significant to the city of Columbus because it brings the art made by artists in Columbus to the people of the city. It also connects the citizens of Columbus with history of the state of Ohio in the form of its collections from the state’s museums and galleries.
My visit to the gallery was limited to external views and observations, as the gallery was closed to set up for a new exhibit, Go Figure which will open on January 27th, 2016. The external appearance of the building boasted an open roofed entryway between pillars, and a concrete clock on the side of the building. Ambient lighting is provided inside by windowed walls. The only sounds around me were the cars and buses on High Street. There were very few people on the street being that it was a Sunday around midday. My experience was limited because of the closed display, so I investigated more about past displays and the art showed via the Spotlight Riffe Gallery Website. That website shows examples of artwork that has been displayed as well as information about the Theater. From what I saw, I look forward to paying the gallery a visit once the display they are currently setting up is complete.
Andrew Jordan
Sources:
http://www.spotlightriffegallery.org/
http://www.oac.state.oh.us/riffe/