THE BARN DOOR GALLERY
AT 33 HAWLEY
Stewarded by the Northampton Center for the Arts (NCFA), the Barn Door Gallery supports our mission to foster community connections through the arts, and is a dedicated venue for evolving, transformative dialogue between artists and audiences.
OPEN HOURS:
12 pm - 7 pm - Wednesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday
Closed - Sunday, Monday & Tuesday
The Barn Door Gallery is ADA compliant and admission is free.
Additional information can be found on our FAQ document.
THE SPLIT LEVEL GALLERY AT 33 HAWLEY
Stewarded by the Northampton Center for the Arts (NCFA) and A.P.E . (Available Potential Enterprises, Ltd.) the curation of this gallery is shared by both building partner organizations and supports our mission to foster collaboration and community connections through the arts.
Current Exhibits:
September 2024
Different Lenses: Exploring Northampton MA and local areas
Carolina Castro & Jesse Merrick
September 4 - September 28
Opening Reception on Arts Night Out
Exhibiting our work as a group allows for two separate photographers to capture the vibe and atmosphere of the Northampton community in a dynamic way. With its diversity and urban and natural landscapes, our photography provides stories of people, structures, shapes, colors, light and shadow. We both strongly believe in photographs with very minimal editing and no AI. Images, especially with street photography, are moments captured in time that tell a story. The images will speak to the viewer as they exist in the actual moment of capture.
We are very excited to present our work and to continue to explore the many ways in which we can continue to tell the story of Northampton, its surrounding towns and the many diverse peoples, urban, and natural landscapes.
Thank you,
CC and J
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Carolina (she/her), of Dominican descent, was born and raised in Washington Heights, NYC. She currently lives in Northampton, MA, with her family. Carolina is truly self-taught, learning by doing and being in the moment with her camera. She explores digital and film photography through books, videos, and, of course, by getting out there and practicing the art of photography.
Carolina feels that in her photography, she experiences a sense of connection and gratitude with her surroundings. In college, she was obsessed with classic films, abstract art, and graphic design.
Artistic influences include artists such as Frida Kahlo, Georgia Okeefe, Salvador Dali, Ansel Adams, and many others.
Carolina got her 1st camera in 2022. From then on, she has been happily capturing images that she feels create
an emotional connection with the viewer.
She enjoys street photography, landscape, abstract, and nature photography. Carolina's passion for creativity and her journey into photography is truly inspiring. It’s wonderful how she has developed her skills and followed her curiosity, leading her to capture images that resonate deeply with viewers. Her story and gratitude make her work even more special.
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Jesse Merrick (he/they) grew up in western Mass. and also spent a lot of time during his formative years in New York City with his Grandma. Jesse has been creating art since he was a little kid and is a photographer, filmmaker and art/technology teacher at a local public high school (Frontier Regional), where he teaches photo, video & other classes full-time. Aspects of J. Merrick’s formal training include Film School at Mass Art in Boston, Video Production and Film Studies at UMass Amherst and a M.Ed in Instructional Technology, from MCLA in North Adams, MA. Jesse comes from an artistic family (including a Croatian great-grandfather who was an influential sculptor) who always encouraged his interest in art.
Currently, Jesse is most focused on photography work, with a special focus on continuing and expanding the traditions of black & white street photography. Famous street photographers such as Berenice Abbott, Gordon Parks, and Vivian Maier, among others, are influences on his photo work. An interest in documenting real-life moments without adding or subtracting anything with Photoshop is explored in J. Merrick”s photo work. Historic, retro, and vintage imagery that displays a timeless quality are also common themes in J. Merrick”s photography. Jesse Merrick lives in Florence, MA, and is thankful for family, friends, and a positive Western Mass. community.
In the future, Jesse Merrick is interested in creating unique visuals for local businesses and photography related to anti-racism, LGBTQIA+/civil/human rights, and other historical projects. For more information related to buying photo prints, individual or group photography lessons, or collaborating on photo projects, please contact Jesse Merrick.
August 2024
Emerging Artist Showcase
Five local emerging artists
August 2 - August 29
Opening Reception on Arts Night Out
Art has always gone hand in hand with community, from the first cave paintings to the Eastern Island Statues. Artists of every status represent the physical voice of their community at that time—and emerging artists are stepping stones into the realm of that expression. In this exhibit, the art of each individual artist is not sectioned off, but organized according to how each painting communicates with the other. If artists from different backgrounds can still find connection through different pieces, then we as a community can find connection to one another. Supporting art, and embracing emerging artists, is one of the many ways we can push back against toxic individualism.
-Forrest Graey
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Debra Hoyle is an artist and writer from Western Massachusetts with a studio/gallery in the small hill town of Conway. Conway sits on the South River, about an hour east of the Berkshires. Currently she is exploring mixed media using collage, monoprints, and acrylics. Her inspirations come from the beauty of the natural world, a love of history, memoir, mark making, color, texture, and the movement of energy. Pieces often begin with an idea and a personal process which then lead into an unplanned, intuitive unfolding. Debra usually works in series, and formal elements such as design, composition, value, and color are always considered. Her many layered pieces invite the viewer to connect with a sense of mystery and discovery. Art is at the core of the way Debra perceives life. She is mainly self-taught and has studied with a number of artists both in person and online. She has also worked in oils, pastels, and watercolors. Some influences are the abstract expressionists and contemporary artists such as Louise Fletcher, Jane Davies, Judy Woods, and Nicholas Wilton. Debra has exhibited at the Hosmer Gallery in Northampton, MA (solo show), Blake and Co., Orleans, MA, The Southern Vermont Arts Center, Manchester, VT, A3 Gallery, Amherst, MA, Northampton Center for the Arts, Northampton, MA, and at libraries in her area. Debra has also had a healing arts practice for over 30 years, and has a degree in art history.
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Forrest Graey (she/they) is a hobby artist who enjoys writing and cycling in her spare time. As someone on the spectrum, when she paints she finds it’s easier to cultivate inspiration by giving herself over to hyper-fixations and seeing what inspiration comes from them. While she is not currently painting, she is creating another piece of art in the form of her debut novel, “Bloodwater”.
You can follow her writing process on Instagram, @author.forrestgraey
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Kari Giordano is a visual artist and educator working in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Her primary work is within the digital realm and she creates photographs and graphic design for commercial and personal use. Her current digital photography work, False Moons, comments on our search for social connection and aims to communicate our search for both individuality and group identities, and how we’re driven by instinct, experience, and collective consciousness.
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Rosetta Marantz Cohen has lived and painted in Northampton for 34 years. Her art celebrates the pleasures of everyday life in this community and the intimate world of her own painting studio–a converted garage behind her house. She finds humor and solace in very small things, and seeks to convey those feelings in her work.
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Ruthie Baker is a photographer and mixed media artist working primarily with analog and alternative photographic processes. Her work combines photography, collage, poetry, and sculpture, exploring how analog photographic processes can be combined with other mediums to create something strange and new.
Ruthie is interested in capturing the mundane experiences of daily life to examine themes of memory, tradition, self, and family. Her work centers on the emotional significance of modest objects and interpersonal relationships, as well as the fragility of human life.
She received her Bachelor of Arts in Film and Media Studies from Emory University and is currently a final-year MFA Candidate at The University of Massachusetts - Amherst.