Gallery artist SAM BARBER, center, gets some love from his wife, JANIE, and artist ALFIE GLOVER photos by Kara Ryan
AMIT RAKHIT and BRAD SENATORE photo by Kara Ryan
Gallery artist BILL DAVIS and his wife, JUDY photo by Kara Ryan
Festive evening puts the GRAND in Grand Opening
Jeff Urquhart is used to crowd scenes: He’s photographed such venues as the Kentucky Derby, rock concerts, and the Super Bowl. While Chapman Art Gallery’s Grand Opening didn’t rise to quite that level, he — and others — estimated Saturday evening’s event may have drawn as many as 400 people.
As owner Scott Chapman notes: “It was three hours of people coming and going.” And Scotty — from beginning to end — kept a watchful eye on the whole affair, making sure everyone was having a marvelous time. “It was wonderful to see so many people smiling, everyone feeling like they were in the middle of a happening place where nobody felt left out,” he says.
Friends came from as far away as New York and Connecticut as well as from all over Massachusetts and Cape Cod. A lovely, well-timed story by Joanne Briana-Gartner in the Enterprise newspapers had caught a number of guests’ attention. Twelve of the 14 artists the gallery represents were also at the party. “Each and every one of them was sought after by their followers,” Scotty says. “And many guests — as they discovered new artists to admire — were asking, ‘Is this artist here?’ It was a star-studded evening.”
There was also live music, with the legendary John Salerno on keyboards. “He was a hit,” Scotty says. “He played whatever was asked. We had people singing.”
Not only was the evening festive, it was safe. “All the workers that were here pulled their weight to make it an extremely successful opening,” Scotty says. “Believe it or not, I haven’t had one complaint,” he adds with a laugh.
See our Facebook page for more pictures of the Grand Opening
“If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all.”