Artist Kerri Rosenstein, left, stands next to owner Jennifer Leutzinger Thursday in the Brink Gallery. The new gallery and Rosenstein’s exhibit will debut from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. during First Friday. (Ali Vandergon/Montana Kaimin)

Brink Gallery to open in time for First Friday

by Tori Norskog | March 5, 2010 | Montana Kaimin

Missoula’s First Friday is known for featuring new artists and exhibitions. But this month, as a special treat to art enthusiasts, it will also feature the opening of a new gallery.

Brink Gallery will open this Friday with “Being,” an exhibit by artist Kerri Rosenstein.

Jennifer Leutzinger, local artist and founder of the gallery, said the process of opening it began last spring when she decided she needed to do something for herself. She believed she wasn’t a productive artist, but still wanted to be a part of the art community.

The development of the Brink started in November when she found what she called “the perfect space.” The gallery is located on Front Street, just off of Higgins Avenue.

She said the space is perfect because it is small, has a “funky feel” and is located in the heart of the city.

Leutzinger renovated the space by adding lights and several walls that stand out from the rest of the room. The gallery is all white and has a very open feeling.

“The space is very clean,” Rosenstein said. “It feels very undefined. It’s a contemporary sort of industrial feel in the way they constructed it.”

The gallery is meant to be a fun, interactive space oriented toward community. Leutzinger conveys this sentiment by having one of the gallery walls covered with a chalkboard-like paint so that children will have a place to play and be creative during the art exhibits.

Leutzinger described the art she plans to showcase as contemporary, deliberate, fresh, conceptual and sometimes experimental. She said she is open to featuring all types of media, such as paintings, installations and music.

“I don’t want to define the gallery too tightly in the beginning,” Leutzinger said. “I want it to evolve and change.”

The first artist she is exhibiting, Rosenstein, is an established name who has had exhibits across the country.

Rosenstein said she has been developing “Being” over the past two years. The collection includes seven sets of spatial drawings from various places like cabins, studios and the Brink Gallery. The 180-piece collection consists of several small colored-pencil and chalk drawings of different interior spaces. The simplistic, geometric drawings are two-dimensional and contain little texturing.

There are seven collections of drawings, all on different walls. Each of the groups includes a picture of the wall it is on, drawn directly on the wall.

Leutzinger said none of the pictures are labeled because the artist wants the viewer to investigate the space the same way she did, without preconceived notions.

Conceptually, Rosenstein said the collection is about paying attention and being present to where one is internally or externally in terms of finding one’s bearings.

Leutzinger said the art is very fitting for the gallery’s opening exhibit.

“She’s also helping the Brink find its bearings,” she said.

Over the next couple of months, Leutzinger plans to feature some of her artist friends, such as Jen Erickson, Patricia Thornton and University of Montana faculty member Edgar Smith. Once established, she plans to feature local and regional art.

“Each art space in Missoula is unique in what it brings to the community and The Brink is a great addition,” Rosenstein said.

The Brink Gallery is open Thursdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m.

The Brink’s First Friday exhibit will open at 5 p.m. and will feature music by local musician David Boone. He plans to play an acoustic set of mostly folk and instrumental material.

“I’ll provide a light atmosphere,” Boone said. “I’m just there to support their event.”

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