Second Saturday Art Gallery stroll in Beacon

SEEKING SPONSORSHIP

Every month, A Little Beacon Blog seeks out what is exhibiting at each gallery. It takes an incredible amount of time and we hire a talented editor, Catherine Sweet, to do the job. We need ongoing sponsorship of this guide in order to continue producing it.

Sadly, until we have regular sponsorship of this guide, regular updates guide have paused. The list of art galleries remain, in order to continue to make it easy for you to have a list of all galleries and descriptions in one place.

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1. Artists: Subscribe to any level of Art Gallery Guide Advertising, and send us your new info each month. Even with Corporate Sponsorship, your contribution of even Level 1 helps this publication a lot. Learn more here.

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Second Saturday

Our Second Saturday Art Gallery Guide is sponsored by No. 3 Reading Room and Photo Book Works, at 469 Main Street, down toward the east end of Main Street near the Story Screen Beacon Theater. Owner Paulette Myers-Rich has set up a new exhibit in the storefront windows, and is still showing the previous artist online. Peruse it at your leisure!

Do you have an art opening coming up? Tell us about it: Drop a line to editorial@alittlebeaconblog.com with the who/what/when/where, and include a representative photo, to be considered for inclusion in this Guide. 

Second Saturday 101

Second Saturday is a lively day into night in Beacon, and is a celebration of Beacon's galleries, restaurants and other businesses on the second Saturday of every month. Dan Rigney, former president of BeaconArts (the organization who encouraged this movement to happen over a decade ago, and who still heavily promotes the events) says: “Back then, Beacon was one of the last places people outside of town thought to go on a Saturday night. Now Second Saturday has become a part of the fabric of Beacon. It’s such a part of it, many galleries have their opening events on other Saturdays, so that they get two big crowds each month.” Second Saturday provides a great reason to walk Main Street and beyond, and explore the events going on around town. It's always a pleasure to dine your way through Beacon, so turn to our Restaurant Guide to help you puzzle out where to eat and drink as you explore special exhibits and happenings.

What to Know About This Guide:

• This Guide includes gallery and art showings that may be hosted in a gallery or in a shop or restaurant.

• Many of these shows run through the current month, so check back often if you are on an art hunt.

• Closing times posted here are for Second Saturdays only, and may not reflect regular Saturdays. Always call an establishment directly for current hours, offerings, or any other questions.

• Parking can be found on side streets, on Main Street, and in municipal lots. Click here for A Little Beacon Blog’s Free Public Parking Guide, with pictures and cross streets!

• Share your way through Second Saturday by using #2SAT, the hashtag created by BeaconArts, and tack on #beaconny or #SecondSaturday if you have room in your tweets or Instagram postings.

• If you are a gallery and have something special to add, please email editorial@alittlebeaconblog.com.

Late-Night (After 9pm) Spots to Eat and Drink: 

Check these places, and others in our Restaurant Guide, to see who’s offering takeout. 

• Bank Square 129 Main St.

• Chill Wine Bar 173 Main St.

• Meyer’s Olde Dutch 184 Main St.

• Max’s On Main 246 Main St.

• Baja 328 328 Main St.

• Quinn’s 330 Main St.

• The Towne Crier (bar only) 379 Main St.

• Draught Industries 394 Main St.

• The Beacon Hotel Restaurant 424 Main St.

• The Vault 446 Main St.

• Joe’s Irish Pub 455 Main St.

• Roundhouse 2 East Main St.

• Dogwood 47 East Main St.

• Melzingah Tap House 554 Main St.

Leave all of our Guides open on your phone, because they include addresses and phone numbers. Tap on a phone number to call anyone!

Second Saturday, October 10: Read on to learn about Beacon’s galleries and the exhibitions their artists had planned. If you’re out and about and see something that you think we shouldn't miss, tag us on Twitter or in your photos on Instagram (we’re @alittlebeacon on both). Take care of yourselves and one another! Let’s hope this passes quickly. 

NEAR THE TRAIN, BEFORE MAIN STREET

Dia:Beacon
3 Beekman St.
Beacon, NY
(845) 440-0100
One of the preeminent modern art museums in the world, Dia:Beacon opened in 2003 in a former Nabisco box-printing factory on the shore of the Hudson River. Take a closer look at Dia:Beacon's giant shapes, piles of glass, grayscale geometry, neon tubes and so. much. more. Dia:Beacon is free for residents of Beacon, Fishkill, Chelsea, and Glenham every Saturday and Sunday, year-round. (Thanks, Pete Seeger.)
Special for Second Saturday (in person): Admission is by advance reservation only, with timed tickets. As the museum warned ahead of its August reopening, “availability will be extremely limited.” A few quick checks of dates/times on this page bears that out, with Friday, October 9, through Monday, October 12, completely sold out. Plan as far ahead as you can to find a little leeway with ticket times. See more information here. Free admission for Beacon residents remains, so try contacting the museum at (845) 231-0811 or tickets@diaart.org.
Online: Dia’s website is spotlighting a lot of neat content. A behind-the-scenes series lets us peek into Dia employees’ lives, while an Artist Prompt encourages us to get friendly with our plants.
Hours: By appointment/timed ticket only

Mother Gallery
1154 North Ave. (downstairs)
Beacon, NY
(845) 236-6039
Mother Gallery is a co-creative, artist-run, exhibition space located in Beacon, NY. Conceived and stewarded by Kirsten Deirup and Paola Oxoa to foster collaboration, community, and open dialogue amongst all people in the Hudson Valley and beyond.
Special for Second Saturday (in person): In finally Golden, works from Brian Belott and Bridget Caramagna are woven throughout the gallery. Caramagna explores sacred geometry in vivid paintings, building on each work before arriving at the pinnacle piece. Belott spent the first half of this year digging around a beach on a river in Vermont, unearthing artifacts and assembling them in the sand; each one makes me wonder what of us archaeologists of the future will excavate. Mother’s exhibition, as usual, sounds incredible but is hard to distill; read the professionals’ press release about the show here. Through Sunday, October 25.
Hours: Open to the public Saturday, noon to 6 pm, and Sunday, noon to 4 pm; viewing by appointment only Wednesday to Friday, 9 am to 1 pm

Parts & Labor Beacon
1154 North Ave. (upstairs)
Beacon, NY
(917) 664-8861
This recent arrival to the Beacon gallery scene uniquely pairs works by young or emerging artists with pieces from more-established artists. Writer Alison Rooney and the gallery’s co-founders, Nicelle Beauchene and Franklin Parrasch, explain the concept really nicely in this Highlands Current piece.
Open for Second Saturday (in person): Lois Dodd and Shara Hughes, an exhibition featuring recent paintings by contemporary artist Shara Hughes alongside a selection of paintings by Lois Dodd dating from 1966 to 1988. According to Parts & Labor’s release, Dodd’s images “reveal the artist’s intimate and focused interest in painting her immediate environs — the surrounding woods of her summer home in coastal Maine, the interior-exterior views of her East Village apartment window, and the winter scenes of her home near the Delaware Water Gap — that she has revisited through her 70-year career.” Shara Hughes “creates images of invented landscapes and surrealistic environments defined by chromatic radiance and abundantly lush density. Addressing qualities of light and flora, Hughes defines the interaction between these two elements as they create portals that allude to spaces beyond the picture plane.” Get drawn in by the stunning works from these two women. Through Sunday, October 25.
Hours: Saturday and Sunday, 12 to 6 pm, by appointment. Appointments may be made by texting or calling (207) 460-0768.

THE WEST END
(Close to the train station)

Marion Royael Gallery
159 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(727) 244-5535
Special for Second Saturday (in person): Stick a fork in him? Not yet. Not ever. Local Beaconite Ed Benavente is popping up in Marion Royael after taking down some of his longstanding sculptures around town. You may remember the hammer people at Brett's Hardware, and other pieces that have been acquired to stay in place. See what else Marion Royael has in store for you.
Ongoing: Inside the gallery, see Candelabra: Things That Carry the Light of the World, featuring "finely executed visual perspectives" in various mediums by more than a dozen artists. What carries the light of the world to you? How do you carry light? Don't hide it under a bushel. Bring it to Main Street and the MR Gallery. 
Hours: Noon to 7 pm (sometimes later)

Clutter Magazine Gallery
163 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(212) 255-2505
The Clutter Gallery is a branch of the Clutter Media Group family, and is focused on showing quality work by both established and emerging artists in the fields of toy design and customization, as well as modern pop and lowbrow art. Clutter Gallery’s exhibitions are open to the public and free of charge. 
Special for Second Saturday (in person): Be excited, but also please be super careful and respectful of everyone around you - Clutter is hosting another real, live, in-person, in-gallery opening! (Their safety details are at the end of this listing.) Twin shows are opening in Clutter’s space. First up is Hope + Decay, a Wetworks solo show. Wetworks, aka Carlo Rodrigo Cacho, is a Singapore-based artist and toy designer known for his edgy stylized sculptures and kawaii characters. Also openingis Luminescence! the vivid sculptures and paintings of French artist MP Gautheron. Some of her work uses photoreactive paints, just right for black-light season. Both shows, through Friday, November 6.
Hours: Second Saturday opening reception, 6 to 9 pm
Social Distancing Guidelines: “Due to the ongoing coronavirus situation we will only be allowing in ten guests at a time. NO ONE will be admitted without a mask, so please make sure you are prepared. We ask that everyone observe social distancing rules both inside and outside the gallery.”

Clarkson University’s Beacon Institute for Rivers & Estuaries
199 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(845) 838-1600
This historic brick storefront houses a variety of Institute programs: the WOW! gallery, the Hudson River bookstore and gift shop, its administrative headquarters, and a new venture, Sensor Place. Events feature talks by artists and regional Hudson Valley authors.
Reopening for Second Saturday! The Beacon Institute reopens this month with Jane Colgan’s blessing water. “In choosing paintings for this show, I wanted to share my relationship with and appreciation for water in her gentle beauty, her vast power, her fathomless generosity,” Colgan writes. Through November.
Hours: Second Saturday, 1 to 3 pm

THE MIDDLE & MARKET SQUARE

Twins Barbershop
349 Main St.
Beacon, NY
Special for Second Saturday (in person): A pop-up art show! This is actually the second one (at least) that Twins has hosted, but it’s the first time it’s been on our radar. The Beacon shop hosts an art showcase with Teron Wright, whose vibrant portraits jump off the canvas. He shared with ALBB a little of his story: Wright was born and raised in Beacon, and was even known in high school for his art. He “took a hiatus from art” when he moved up to Albany for college in 2004. “After the birth of my daughter, I started to fall back in love with art and slowly started using art as an outlet for relaxation.” Painting has become a family affair: His daughter, who Wright calls “the force behind my art … one big sponge,” is 7 now, and familiar with Keith Haring, Bob Ross, and Takashi Murakami. So how did he end up on the walls at Twins? “The twins are like brothers to me, and they always had an appreciation for art. With the emerging art scene in Beacon they thought it was a great idea to use their business as a platform/outlet for local artists to showcase their talents.” You might be hungry after walking around and seeing so much art. Great news - @theblayzingchef is bringing his food to Twins for the opening. (Of all the openings this month, this one reminds me the most of the vibe around town when I started helping out with this Guide five years ago! Community pop-ups forever. -CS)

Hours: Second Saturday opening, 6 to 9 pm

THE EAST END & BEYOND
(Closer to the mountain)

Morphicism
444 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(845) 440-3092
Moveable art in frames - art you must see and experience. Jay Palefsky taught art in New York high schools for more than two decades, then packed his bags to pursue life as an artrepreneur, with a steadfast commitment to doing things differently. 
Online: Take a while to cruise around Morphicism’s website. There are dozens of owner Jay Palefsky’s boxes of sliding panels, waiting to be explored.
Hours: Closed until further notice.

No.3 Reading Room & Photo Book Works
469 Main St. 
Beacon, NY
Two doors west of the Howland Center, No. 3 Reading Room & Photo Book Works is an artist-run venue, featuring select artists’ books, artist photobookworks, photography books, work on paper and poetry from small and independent presses. Contact Paulette Myers-Rich at photobookworks@gmail.com for additional information. 
In person: With her indoor gallery space remaining closed, Paulette has updated her windows with yet another moving installation. This time, in Earth Keepers: Native Portraits, photographs by Ronnie Farley highlight the centuries-long fight by Indignenous women for their people and their land. "In this time of reckoning with racist injustice, it’s important to put into view the Indigenous women who have struggled against sexist, racist and genocidal policies for centuries," Rich and Farley write. Through Monday, November 9, 2020.
Online: Go deep with any of Paulette’s reflections on previous installations, including this essay about Reach: A Selection of Drawings and Artist’s Books by Rosaire Appel, an exhibition that Photo Book Works hosted earlier this year.
Hours: Indoor space is closed until further notice.

Howland Cultural Center
477 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(845) 831-4988
Beacon's Howland Cultural Center is not just another arts organization. Its beautiful home is a Victorian building, a library for a long time, that was born specifically to serve the community as a cultural resource.
Opening this month: The Howland Cultural Center again hosts this annual showcase of work by students of Andrew Lattimore. Twenty artists who have studied painting and drawing at Lattimore’s studio in Cornwall present their best work to a broad Hudson Valley audience. Through Sunday, November 15.
Hours: Saturday and Sunday, 1 to 5 pm, except Saturday, October 10; Sunday, October 25; and Saturday, November 7.

Bau Gallery
506 Main St.
Beacon, NY
(845) 222-0177
Bau (Beacon Artist Union) is a platform for members and artists to grow, present and market their work and collaborative curatorial projects, while hosting events of related disciplines: performances, talks, film and music. Bau builds a vital link between artists’ activities and rest of the community.
Special for Second Saturday: We know and love Melissa Schlobohm for her exquisite prints (and that one time she house-sat for me and loved on my dogs), but now she’s spreading her Fledgling Press wings to tackle photography. “In DOUBLE/exposure the artist focuses on images made with Polaroid and iPhone cameras.” Visit Bau’s Gallery 1 to see the results. In Gallery 2, Jebah Baum is also switching up his art medium. Baum’s SPLITS reveals a wild process that he pretty much invented himself. He makes lithograph plates, then hustles to make a few prints before the plates degrade. Not great for exact, faithful reproductions, pretty great for art. Both shows, through Saturday, November 7.
Hours: Second Saturday opening reception (all day), noon to 9 pm; Saturday and Sunday, noon to 6 pm