THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 4, 1994 TAG: 9412030032
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: TERESA ANNAS
LENGTH: Long : 142 lines
WILLIAM MULLIGAN has been following Joseph Campbell's advice - ``follow your bliss'' - for about five years now.
Bliss has changed the Virginia Beach psychologist's life, and it's altering the local art scene.
Five years ago, Mulligan began making sculpture and designing mirrors, screens and other decorative arts objects.
``I was taking some personal growth workshops. And they were designed to help people just really create a life they loved, and get down to the core of what they loved doing.
``I suddenly became aware of the fact that I had always been interested in and loved doing art.'' Within a short time, he found a gallery and patronage.
This fall, Mulligan, 49, went a step further. He gathered the nerve to open his own gallery. As businesses go, it's considered about as secure an investment as mounting serious drama on Broadway. And here he was, with a wife and toddler son to support.
He was acting in a Kevin Costner way: ``If you build it, they will come.'' The Mulligan Gallery, his Gallery of Dreams.
It's not that he was looking to start his own business. In August, he had to clear his artwork out of Vincent's Fine Art and Framing in Virginia Beach, which moved to a smaller space in Great Neck Square Shopping Center.
The week before he left Vincent's, he wandered into the Chambord Antique and Design Center in Virginia Beach. He ended up chatting with owner Ann Williams, and showed her his portfolio. She mentioned she had a large second-floor space that had never been properly used.
``Then she said to me, `I'm kind of metaphysical. I've been praying to God for the past few days about some guidance on what to do about this space upstairs. And here, you walk in.' ''
Within minutes, Mulligan decided to open a full-blown fine arts gallery.
Two months later, he had contacted many of the region's top artists, collected work by them, and hung it on freshly painted white walls.
The show is titled ``Contemporary Virginia Masters,'' though some of the artists on view he places in the ``emerging'' category, including himself.
Among the major regional names are painters Charles Sibley and Norman Goodwin, draftsman Edward G. Carson and printmaker Ken Daley.
The sculpture is especially strong, including works by Vic Pickett, William Wagner and Steve Tatum. Also on display are lesser known artists who display a large talent, such as painter Bruce Bingham, printmaker Tom Siegmund and sculptor Larry Eskridge.
Mulligan also plans to stock fine art furniture by such top regional practitioners as Tom Wessells, Charles Yeager and Charles Streshley.
He intends to stick with original work by the best regional artists. He admits an attraction to intense color, a bias reflected in his choice of certain artists inclined to a celebrative palette, such as Goodwin and Daley.
Among the shows he plans to stage next year are solo exhibits featuring Barclay Sheaks and Siegmund.
To get to the gallery, visitors must pass through the Chambord center to an art-lined wheelchair ramp leading to the second floor. Upstairs, in a 3,500-square-foot art sanctuary, paintings and fine art prints are tastefully arranged, leaving plenty of space between works.
Given the high rental fees for commercial real estate, most galleries can't afford such space. Here, you can actually get back far enough to properly view a larger piece.
The spare installation lends a meditative atmosphere in stark contrast to another show of Mulligan's work. Through December, his work also is on view in the second-floor lobby of Norfolk International Airport.
Quiet and soft-spoken, Mulligan doesn't seem the sort who'd crave the fast, elbow-brushing environment of an airport. But he's already spoken with airport officials about building special cases to display work by artists in his stable.
``I think it's a great place to show art, where a lot of people from all over the world will see it.''
While many galleries come and go within months, Mulligan's setup could be around for a while. He plans to continue as a psychologist, maintaining a full schedule of clients.
And he's rigged the business so it won't be a financial drain. He pays no rent. And he purchases no art, unless it's for his personal collection. When sales occur, he and Williams receive a commission.
Soon, Mulligan will have art sellers minding the gallery. Instead of a salary, they also will receive a sales cut. The framers also have agreed to be paid a commission per framing job.
``If I had to pay out $2,000 a month in rent, I couldn't make it.''
``Contemporary Virginia Masters'' continues through Jan. 15. The gallery is at Chambord Commons, 2224 Virginia Blvd., at London Bridge. Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Free admission. 486-0730. HEAPING HELPING OF ART
This has never occurred at the Virginia Beach Center for the Arts: an exhibit whereby the art is stacked almost floor to ceiling, and tightly installed pieces nearly elbow one another for the viewer's attention.
At least, it's never happened in the new building, which opened five years ago.
``Common Wealth: Collecting Virginia Artists'' is a wild ride that gets your eyes popping right away, at the entrance, with a sublime painting of a field of grass by Newport News painter Barclay Sheaks, a nocturnal flight of fancy by Craig Nilsen, a delicate environmental-balance sculpture by Laurel Quarberg and several dozen other pieces that are similarly diverse.
Area observers can no longer say VBCA hasn't shown many local artists. This month, dozens of them are showcased.
As VBCA curator Jan Riley explained, ``Common Wealth'' is a fund-raiser, not an exhibition. Showcased here are artists who were recommended by more than a dozen art curators and museum professionals from throughout the state. Riley said she made no selections.
The outside experts were asked to suggest names of artists they considered among the finest in their region. The 118 suggested artists were invited, Riley said, and 98 sent work.
The point of the show is to sell. Two weeks since opening, the show is accomplishing that goal. By Tuesday, about $30,000 in art already had sold, with 40 percent of that amount going to the arts center. Since galleries often take as much as 60 percent, artists were asked to consider lowering their usual prices and to send art that might be affordable for more people.
Prior to the show, the arts center got businesses and individuals to commit to buying work from the show. With a half-dozen works by each of 98 artists, however, there's still plenty of unsold work in the galleries.
The quality is uneven, but with such a selection, there's literally something for everyone's taste - from pristine realism to punk figuration. You'll find landscapes, figure painting, folk sculpture, abstracts, conceptual time pieces and more.
By all means, consider stopping by for your holiday shopping. And if you don't like what you see in the galleries, check out the gift shop, well-stocked with artful jewelry, books and decorative arts.
With ``Common Wealth,'' the arts center resembles a commercial gallery. This is not a project the center should engage in with any frequency, since it is a nonprofit entity.
The center does need to survive, and if turning the gallery into a sales den for a month helps them pay the bills, fine and dandy. As long as they call it a fund-raiser, and not an exhibition.
``Common Wealth'' continues through Dec. 31 at the center, 2200 Parks Ave., across the Virginia Beach-Norfolk Expressway from the Pavilion. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday noon to 4 p.m. Free. Call 425-0000. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
``Last Vision of Christine,'' a print by Ken Dailey, is on view at
the Mulligan Gallery in Virginia Beach.
Photo
William Mulligan's new gallery in Virginia Beach features his own
work (pictured) as well as that of other artists.
by CNB