Swanson Reed Gallery: Bohemian Beat in the Heart of the Highlands
Located right on Bardstown Road in the heart of the bohemian Highlands neighborhood, Swanson Reed Gallery fits right in. At Swanson Reed Gallery, shimmering glass spheres dangle in the showroom adjacent to two colorful wooden roosters and a massive metal clock — something for every taste.
Naturally, Swanson Reed Gallery sells paintings, sculpture, mixed-media artwork and mosaics. However, the gallery also offers an eclectic assortment of home furnishings, home décor, candelabra, ceramics, greeting cards, journals and jewelry, most of which are locally crafted. Featured among the jewelry are chunky, colorful pieces from Regina Phillips Designs.
A giant bronze fleur-de-lis hammered out by Louisville-based artist Jerry Warner bedecks one wall. Nearby hangs paintings by New York artist Nick Pence and Berlin-born artist Katia Teterin. Art vies for space in the gallery with delicate gifts, elegant silver earrings, ceramic platters, enticing keepsake boxes and one-of-a-kind knickknacks, perfect for a friend’s wedding or that special someone’s birthday.
Co-owner Chuck Swanson opened what’s now known as Swanson Reed Gallery in the historic Schuster Building, located on Bardstown Road at Eastern Parkway, in 1982. At the time, Louisville had few such venues. (The gallery was previously known as Swanson Cralle Gallery, but the name changed when co-owner Lynn Cralle sold her share of the business to Susan Reed in 2003.) The gallery has now moved a few doors down to 1377 Bardstown Road.
Swanson Reed Gallery has been an early promoter of eclectic artists who have gone on to national recognition, such as colorful folk artist Mark Anthony Mulligan and the late wood carver Marvin Finn, two of whose folk-art roosters appear frozen in mid-strut in the showroom window.
In 1998, Swanson opened a second art gallery, Swanson Reed Contemporary, in what was to become the East Market District arts mecca; however, at the time, it was only the second art gallery to open in that locale.
Swanson Reed Gallery is open Monday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Thursday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.
Posted on Feb 4, 2011 by Ivonne Rovira
