At Albany Arts Gallery, Apple Stays Close to Tree

Miles Williams is glowing with pride, and as we talk he seems comfortable and nervous all at the same time. Comfortable, because he has been hanging out at the since he was about as tall as the desk he's sitting behind. Nervous, because I'm clearly an intimidating reporter and always ask the hard questions.

“My mother was a ceramicist and I basically grew up in this building. Before she bought it, it was a ceramics studio with about 18 potters,” he explained before finally admitting, “I was a very unruly child and got kicked out of a lot of preschools, so I was with my mom a lot. She was always throwing pots and I'd wander around with other artists and they'd show me things.”

Miles' parents Michael and Susan Williams had owned the gallery since 1990 with the goal of “working for a brighter world.” For these two artists a brighter world was one filled with art which they not only showed, but also taught right at the gallery.

Michael instilled a love of photography in his son with countless trips to the Sierras, and Miles still contends that there is no other medium that can change his view on the world more than photography. Now Michael is passing the torch.

“When someone has built this business that's a cornerstone of this little town and then hands you the keys, it's sort of trippy. It's sort of like, 'Oh, cool. Now what do we get to do?'” said Miles.

The gallery will continue giving photography, ceramics and clay wall application classes, and they will soon be adding inventive classes for kids that combine art making and art history.

Miles will be sharing ownership with two of Michael's former photography students. Sally Francis is a semi-retired psychologist who started coming in for weekly classes about three years ago and hasn't stopped. Not wanting to see the gallery go, she was a natural fit as part-owner. Some of her work is currently on display at the gallery.

Jonathan Eden, another photography student, is an American history instructor at Ohlone College in Fremont and will be kicking off the next phase of the gallery with a show of black and white photography.

“This is the culmination of many years of going around the American West and finding these abandoned towns,” said Eden, “A bunch of places I've gone to aren't even there any more. Some are completely destroyed, knocked down or burned.”

Eden's photographs evoke a wide range of feelings — from cozy and comfortable, to eerie and lonely. Eden has never shown these pieces before, and he's excited have so many of them, a dozen altogether, in one space.

Miles said that putting together Eden's show was their test run for curation.

“It's one of those things that I always saw my parents do with ease and I took it for granted. They just knew what was going to look right together and it's not that easy. A lot of thought has to go into the flow of the show,” he said.

The three owners share a vision of the gallery as an artistic resource for the community, but say they're also curious about what is to come.

“We're on this adventure and we're trying to plan ahead, but also seeing where it's going,” said Eden.

Their adventure is starting with Eden's Ghost Towns of the American West, which will have its and will be on display through Sept. 30. If this first show is any indication, Albany should rest assured that this Solano Avenue mainstay is in three pairs of talented and dedicated hands.  

Everybody makes mistakes ... ! If there's something in this article you think should be corrected, or if something else is amiss, call editor Emilie Raguso at 510-459-8325 or email her at emilier@patch.com.