Gallery 14: Joe Bailey Exhibit

By Nichole Seitz
Contributing Writer

On Main Avenue, in downtown Fargo, is a building that looks like any other building. It has a brick façade that blends right in with everything around it. In fact, if you don’t know what you are looking for it is easy to drive by the Regional Small Business Center. Once you enter the building, the interior resembles any other office building you might have entered.

In the entryway, a directory can be found that lists the building’s inhabitants. However, there is one entry missing that is quite possibly the most interesting space inside the building. To find it, you must walk through a maze of hallways and down a flight of stairs into the basement. On the other side of a large steel door is a space that looks more like an abandoned storage space than anything else.

The minute the door opens the smell of spray paint and other chemicals fill the air. The large basement, which looks like it is still under construction, holds artist Joe Bailey’s studio. A painted door signifies his space. This space, which is about the size of an average living room, is covered with paint, drawings, paintings and some retro furniture that looks like it was rejected from the show “The Brady Bunch” for being too ugly. It only takes one glance to become intrigued; unable to turn and walk out of the environment he has created.

Bailey has partnered up with Denise Knudson at DK Custom Framing to put on his first exhibit in roughly 10 years. “It’s just been a long time coming,” said Bailey, adding that most of his work has been done on a one-off commissioned basis or donated to charity for good causes. Last fall, Bailey approached Knudson about the possibility of working together on a show. He plans to have anywhere from 12 to 15 works for sale in the exhibit, which will be on display through March 30.

The timing just seems right to Bailey. After some major life changes, including getting married about two years ago and a becoming a new father last spring, Bailey has new inspiration to get back out into the public eye.

“When you have that kind of stuff happen to you in your life it just kind of inspires you to get out there and do more of what you want to do. You want to look through your kids’ eyes one day and how they would see you. You want to tell them and show them more than anything that you can get out there and do what you want to do,” said Bailey.

The artwork that will be featured in the exhibit spans years of work plus a few new pieces from Bailey. “It’s a collection over the years, new and old,” said Bailey. There is no one topic or idea behind the paintings. Hanging up in his studio are a some of the works that will be entered in the exhibit.

It is easy to see the wide variety of topics explored in these works: a camping picture that was inspired by an old photograph he found of his father and some friends camping in Canada; a painting of two people sitting in a booth drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes; a large, standard wood door with a scene that features a number of individuals on either side of a fence, pushing and pulling at one another - all are seemingly unrelated. “I’ve always liked character-driven paintings. It is just something that anybody can relate with. I get ideas from photos or everyday events,” said Bailey.

Bailey’s paintings tend to be on the larger side. “I do smaller paintings but primarily I do bigger stuff. Sculpture, stained glass, large steel sculpture. I’ve always liked bigger work. Because it’s bigger it seems more intimidating to me and when stuffs big you can kind of get lost in the space and create images,” said Bailey, adding that he first experimented with the idea of painting on doors back in college.

One day, after noticing a door left by the side of a garbage can, the idea came to him. A door provides a large, blank space and if it is free, all the better. “Back in college, buying canvas and making stretchers all the time was expensive. That’s time and money which I didn’t have,” said Bailey. “It’s a big, blank space that’s perfect for a painting.”

After his exhibit at Gallery 14, Bailey hopes to participate in more exhibits and become more active in the art community in the Fargo-Moorhead area.

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If You Go

What: Joe J. Bailey Opening Reception
Where: DK Framing, Gallery 14
When: Sat, Mar 6, 6-10 pm
Info: 701.239.0063