Author: Kornelia Gondek
Standing at 5173 Liberty Ave, is a small gallery space that sits on a corner that, with the large half circle of windows and alternating grey siding, doesn’t stand out much in this portion of the Bloomfield neighborhood. Formerly a dentist office, the Tomayko Foundation building has two gallery spaces. One is a large, tall-ceiled room; the other is off to the side and quite small. The larger room functions as a rotating exhibition space, as the foundation’s director Nina Freidman works to put together shows for winners of the Tomayko awards as well as juried shows. The small room, known as the Frank Mason Gallery, is a space that exhibits the works of realist painter Frank Mason. We do a few shows and the occasional private event and school tour throughout the year.
This semester, I have been the Tomayko Foundation’s sole intern and only other on-site team member. This space is run by the sheer force and willpower of Nina and her collaborators. I didn’t know what to expect before I came in. I spent my time at the beginning making Instagram posts, composing email blasts for the foundation's newsletter, and sitting at the front desk greeting visitors. Then, things started really picking up in preparation for our new show, Felt-Occurrence, juried by Davine Byon.
The previous exhibition closed, and suddenly, we had a lot of work to get done to transform both gallery spaces. I came in on a Saturday, on top of the two days a week I already spent there and got ready to be put to work. I dislodged wall hooks and spackled and painted many walls. The small gallery was getting ready to get in a new rotation of paintings, but this time displaying not only the work of Frank Mason, but also those of Frank Vincent DuMond and James Sulkowski.
Also, around this time, we started the monthly maintenance of the space – troubleshooting a variety of issues typical of a small gallery welcoming its visitors. Before coming here, I couldn’t even begin to tell you about any of the physical work and labor that goes into maintaining a small gallery. My time at the Tomayko Foundation has taught me so many amazing things – and confirmed how important the ongoing task of maintaining a gallery space is to bring its program to life.