Owners of 323East Announce New Gallery Opening in Eastern Market
Inner State Gallery To Open May 17th with Glenn Barr Solo Exhibition
Inner State Gallery will open May 17th with artist Glenn Barr's first Detroit solo show in nearly four years, aptly titled "Rooms". The debut show in the recently renovated 1800 square foot gallery at 1410 Gratiot in Detroit's Eastern Market marks the beginning of a new chapter for the creative collective grown out of 323East in Royal Oak.
Owners Jesse Cory and Dan Armand have invited storied Detroit artist Glenn Barr back for this inaugural show, as Barr's 2009 solo exhibition helped solidify 323East as a top spot for local artists and collectors. This would lead to a legacy of 50+ shows as well as being named Best Place To Buy Art in Detroit five years in a row by the readers of Real Detroit Weekly.
"Rooms is an exhibition of scenarios inspired by a lethargic Detroit. Images of wandering bars & bohemian escapists, electric streets & closing time, space gear & boas, all the while unaffected muses look down from on high," Barr said about his latest work from his studio space in Corktown. The show will feature a collection of smaller intimate works, large paintings, and a limited offering of rare sold out prints from the archives of Glenn Barr and 1xRUN.
To coincide with this exhibition, Barr and Inner State Gallery have also teamed up to create two limited edition print sets titled "Detroit Rooms". Each set will have six - 8 x 8 inch prints signed by the artist in a special two-sleeve embossed letterpress folio printed by Bryan Baker's Stukenborg Press, located in Corktown's Poneyride complex. Each set is limited to 100 and will be available at the opening.
The historic three story building totals nearly 10,000 square feet and includes an expansive white wall gallery, production offices of the group's online gallery 1xRUN, as well as an artist in residency live/work space. Built at the turn of the century, the building was originally used as a manufacturing and retail location for the Detroit Knitting Mills.
"We have been searching for the right location for the past two years and we are more than excited to finally call Eastern Market home," explains Inner State/1xRUN co-founder Dan Armand. "The Market is such a special place. It's a vibrant, colorful part of the city that has brought people from all walks of life together week after week for well over a century."
Now, with the completion of a recently renovated exhibition space designed by architect Tadd Heidgerken -- whose portfolio includes Slow'sTo Go, Astro Coffee & Red Bull House of Art -- Inner State Gallery will host the world's finest local and international artists as they exhibit exciting new work in Detroit.
On May 24th, Inner State Gallery will also open it's doors for fellow Detroit artist Ron Zakrin, as he showcases his latest body of work "Beauty & The Beats". This entirely new collection of work is inspired by electronic music in celebration of this year's Movement Festival.
"Beauty & The Beats refers to my pursuit of an aesthetic that embraces a sinister beauty, and the music that inspires my work. Repetition plays a visual role, alluding to rhythms heard, digested, and transcribed onto a two dimensional plane. In this exhibition of new work, some references are overt, some covert, and others are totally subliminal," Zakrin said. "There is enough ugly in this world to choke the heart out of everyday existence, I respond by painting what pleases me visually and sonically."
With exciting shows planned throughout the summer, highlights include legendary artist and designer Camilo Pardo, Theatre Bizarre creator John Dunivant, Austrian street artist Nychos The Weird and a collaborative exhibition from Canadian street artist Denial and acclaimed Australian artist Ben Frost.
Gallery Hours
Thursday Noon - 6pm
Friday Noon - 6pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm
Additional Hours Available by Appointment
