All Over Albany

Marketplace Gallery re-opening

The Marketplace Gallery , located in a loft down by the Port of Albany, held several awesome art shows last spring and summer. The expansive space, run by Samson Contompasis and his brothers Alex and Max, was a great addition to the Albany arts scene, until an electrical fire back in August shut it down.

Now, after months of rebuilding, the Contompasis brothers are re-opening their gallery and they've got some promising plans for the place.

The space at 40 Broadway was not just a gallery, it was the Contompasis brothers home. The blaze, caused by a faulty extension cord, cost them housands of dollars, damaged many pieces of Samson's art work as well as works by Radical and other local artists, and killed Max's American bulldog, Xena.

Since the fire, friends and local artists have rallied around the Contompasis brothers, who are pretty well loved in he local art community. Tess' Lark Tavern threw them a fund raiser to help defray the rebuilding costs, and back in the fall they had a few gallery events at 4 Central.

Now, Samson says the renovations on the gallery are about 80 percent done and he's totally confident they'll have everything pulled together in time for their first show on February 5th. Samson says he's had tons of help putting the place together and he hopes that level of cooperation really shines through at their 1st Friday show.

Featured artists for the Feb. 5 show, titled "For the Love of," will be Cara Nigro of Albany and Woodstock's Scott Michael Ackerman. The gallery will also be open Feb. 6 and 7. They've also got a March show planned featuring an installation piece by a New York City artist named Cake.

There's another fundraiser for the gallery being held at the Fuze Box this Saturday from 6 to 10 p.m. The event, "So Close, Yet So Far" will feature an art sale with local artists selling pieces for as low as $20, including "microprints" small enough to fit in your back pocket. The $5 admission fee will also get you into 80s night later on.

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