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At Locker 50B, A Little Gallery Goes a Long Way
Roth sees Locker 50B itself as conceptual art, in the tradition of works such as Joseph Cornell's dioramas or Marcel Duchamp's "Box in a Valise," a 1935-41 piece for which he created miniature versions of his art and put them in a suitcase.
Roth always stops at Locker 50B when he gives tours to prospective students. They get more excited about the gallery than the art program's high ranking or expensive printmaking equipment, he says.
  Virginia Samsel got the gallery's walls and floor from a dollhouse shop. (Photos By Rachel Beckman -- The Washington Post) |
Getting art into Locker 50B carries some prestige, but name recognition doesn't sway Samsel's curatorial decisions. She turned down a proposal from Rob Pruitt, a New York painter and conceptual artist who visited VCU in 2002. He wanted to dress a hamster in a suit and give it a little desk to sit at, like a greeter at a gallery. Even though "it was definitely an interesting proposal," Samsel didn't want to take care of a hamster for a month, she says.
"The fact that really well-known people show right next to students, I think that's part of the beauty of it," Roth says. "It's very democratic. We're all equal in Locker 50B."
Palpability is on view through tomorrow at Locker 50B, 1000 West Broad St., Third Floor, Richmond. Free. 804-828-1696 The fine arts building is open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., except holidays.
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