ROY G BIV is huge! They have fantastic, large windows. I have often been impressed by their exhibit displays when I walk by on the street.
But going inside is a different story. It smells overwhelmingly like Pinesol. And for being such a huge gallery, they don't always make the best use of their space. It often seems empty. I went in during the last Hop and was totally unimpressed with one of the two artists they had. He just painted canvases blue then layered black paint over the blue and called it a day. Or he would paint a series of three gold squares. It didn't really lure any feelings out of me or anything. Well, actually, it did make me a little angry. Everyone who came in professed, "I could do that," which is my least favorite thing to hear in a gallery setting.
The second artist was pretty interesting. He took big sheets of double paned framed glass and dripped paint down each pane or stamped out designs or silkscreened them. It made for a cool effect. I stood there for a long time admiring the subtle nuances. He also had a bunch of black and gold pieces done the same way. They were all squares, maybe 4"x4". They filled an entire wall, making a nice pattern.
I did like the summer exhibit where they had an artist paint a castle on the wall. I actually was walking the district that day and got to see the work in progress. There was also one that had all these funky pieces of criss-crossing plywood layered on each other to make it look like the ceiling was falling. It created a little hovel where there was a makeshift bed; one of the components was a painter's rack. Very cool.
ROY G BIV is a non-profit, and I think they use a lot of student work from OSU and CCAD. So, they're doing what they can with their resources. Sometimes they're really on, and I really enjoy their shows. Other times I wish they'd step it up a bit. But the exhibits change regularly, I think one per month. It keeps the people happy, and it has to be a lot of work for a non-profit to pull off. So, I must commend their efforts. read more