A converted townhouse is home to a new gallery complete with sculptures, paintings and photographs adorning the exposed brick walls.

Gallery 83, which opened Saturday, is not the typical gallery that most people would expect to find in the Short North area.

Owners Audra Cheek and Geoff Collins opened Gallery 83, located at 83 W. 1st Ave., in hopes of exposing Columbus to the underground art scene that it has been lacking.

Abigail Miner/The LanternAn art exhibit, consisting of sketches displayed in a bathroom and illuminated by 13 candles, is displayed at Gallery 83 during Saturday’s Gallery Hop.
“The Short North is a great area to show artwork and it has come a long way in the last 10 years,” owner Audra Cheek said. “I think it needs more of the edgy art, kind of like the L.A., Chicago, underground feel of what raw artists are as opposed to going into an everyday gallery where everything has to be just so.”

Artist and Ohio State alumnus Mic Wesson said he believes Gallery 83 offers the type of climate in which indie art can be enjoyed at a basic level.

“We want to show that it’s actually possible to do indie art from the ground up and not be pretentious and over-the-top,” Wesson said. “We are trying to start a gallery that is grassroots and underground. The Short North is all about independent, personal, individual art and we want to bring it on the basic level and show that anybody can do art in a basement.”

Cheek and Collins want to change people’s stereotypes of uptight gallery settings.

“People feel pretentious, like you have to have a certain amount of money going into a gallery,” said Cheek, who graduated with a fine arts degree from Columbus College of Art and Design. “We’re bringing the spin that we don’t so much care if we sell the art as much as making statements about society, so to speak.”

Drawing on their experiences from living all over the country and in Europe, Cheek and Collins also hope to change the relationship people have with art.

“I think art in a sense is [meant] to liberate,” Cheek said. “It gives people ideas, it strikes emotions, if it makes you happy, angry, sad, mad, we’ve done our purpose. I think most people go into a gallery with the thought that they are going to buy a pretty painting that’s going to hang in their house, but that’s not creativity. There’s talent, but there are no ideas behind it.”

Besides offering later and more convenient hours throughout the week from 4 to 8 p.m., Gallery 83 is separating itself from other art galleries by making an effort to create personal relationships with the artists.

“We focus more attention to the artist as opposed to our space,” owner Collins said. “In the other studios you show up, you hang your art and then you leave. We are trying to get a little more personal with the artists and promote everyone; it’s friends helping friends.”

Gallery 83 is also attempting to make art more affordable by offering the lowest hanging price in Columbus.

“We are actually making the art more affordable by not jacking up our prices so we can sell more art at a more reasonable cost,” Collins said. “We are able to keep the prices down lower and everybody can walk away with a piece of art.”

DJ Enoicent, who spun music at the gallery opening, is a part of the gallery’s attempt to mix visual art with music to create a unique experience.

“We are going to have music, fashion, bands and DJs to combine and incorporate all of the arts as opposed to what a normal gallery might offer,” Cheek said.

Cheek will also be selling clothing from her label, ADD-VINTAGE, which she says is both affordable and eco-friendly.

“It’s recycled so it’s for anyone that believes in going green,” Cheek said. “There might be the same type of design on it, but it’s going to be a one-of-a-kind item so that not everyone is going to have the same shirt.”

While the gallery opening showed pieces from local artists such as Justin Grey, Josh Brockwell, Bill Arnold, Heather Reese, Kool-aide Keith and both Collins and Cheek, they hope to feature artists from all over the country and Europe in the future.

Ultimately they want to encourage people to experience the intimate environment of Gallery 83 and simply enjoy the art.

“What we want to do is make it an atmosphere where people can really feel like they can get to know the artist. I think art is to be enjoyed and it will bring everybody together to relate to the community,” Cheek said. “It will make art a culture and not just a walk in, walk out experience. If you don’t have $300 to buy a painting, we are okay with that. We just want to get who we are out there.”

Megan Laney can be reached at [email protected]