Vera Nikiforov
Willy Street continues to grow as a destination for art lovers with the addition of art gallery DILLON, which opened at 1336 Williamson St. last fall. On a recent spring Friday afternoon, proprietor and artist Pat Dillon was barefoot on the sidewalk in front of her small, cottage-like gallery, setting up paintings. (Dillon is also an occasional freelance writer for Isthmus.)
Colorful paintings fill the white-walled, sunlit interior, too — from familiar scenes of Madison to portraits, pastoral landscapes and still lifes. The gallery also sells jewelry and ceramics from regional artists, and Dillon is adding more usable textile art, like rugs and pillows, in time for Gallery Night on Friday, May 6.
Dillon previously owned a small gallery on East Wilson Street called Bungalow 1227; it closed in 2009. But she did not give up on starting another one and was constantly on the lookout for a new space on the east side.
Her intention the second time around is to create a studio gallery — a place where she can paint and have space to sell others’ work, too.
Dillon’s admiration for the artists she features is evident. “The people I have in here are people you want in your life,” she says. She likes the work of both Vera Nikiforov and Kyle Martin, for instance.
“I’m drawn to Vera and Kyle’s work for the same reasons,” Dillon says. “While their styles are different, they both paint loosely and are colorists. They both use color to inform their shapes and mood,” rather than a more realist approach to the subject, she says. “I find myself staring at their work, over working on my own.”
Nikiforov, a Madison resident, started painting at age 5 and eventually went on to earn a BFA in painting from Boston University. She paints regularly with a group of artists on Sunday mornings.
Nikiforov liked what she saw when she checked out the gallery. “Pat has a really good eye,” she says. “She does a lot with a small space.” Nikiforov says it’s been great working with Dillon and appreciates the positive response to her work.
Kyle Martin
Martin is a painter who lives on his family farm in Rock Springs, Wis. Martin’s studio is a 20-by-30-foot converted chicken coop, but he says his favorite place to paint is outside, especially in the springtime, where he says he is most inspired. “It’s a color explosion right now,” Martin says. He loves to study the light and paint sunlight falling on objects.
Martin likes to paint in Madison too, where he sometimes wears his easel like a backpack and skateboards from location to location. He conducts workshops at the gallery, like a recent “Painting Cityscapes” session on April 30. Participants walked around the Willy Street neighborhood and painted city scenes in the afternoon light, stirred by the architecture on this diverse street.
Ceramics by Jennifer Darner Wolfe are among many usable pieces at DILLON.
In addition to Nikiforov and Martin, DILLON is currently featuring painters Chuck Bauer (former owner of the Soap Opera on State Street), Shelby Keefe, Paul Stroede (a former Isthmus art director), Jan Norsetter, Sara Qualey, John Brandt (a full-time Madison Metro bus operator when he isn’t painting), Jane Varda, Louise Kubista and Taya Kuklina. There are also paintings by Dillon, polka-dotted pottery by Jennifer Darner Wolfe and ceramic pieces by Katheryn Corbin, Kelly Jean Ohl and West High school pottery instructor Phil Lyons. Enameled jewelry by Linda Winther, an artist who works out of her home in Mount Horeb under the name Sift and Winnow, and welded sculptures by Brady Lueck round out the 3D offerings.
Dillon is thrilled with her new location right on Williamson Street and loves being part of what she calls the “merchant family” there.
“Everyone looks out for everyone else,” Dillon says. “It’s been really inspiring for me.”
DILLON
1336 Williamson St., 608-206-6584, Noon-6 pm Fri., 11 am-5 pm Sat., noon-4 Sun.
Extended hours for Gallery Night.
