Year-old Art Gallery Thriving After March Flood

It's been a few months now since the severe rain in March flooded the floor of the Albright Gallery + Craft shop on Main Street, and owner Bonnie Albright is looking forward to hanging new shows in the coming months.

She said the lower level gallery had about 3 inches of water and sewage in March, but none of the art was damaged. Now the gallery has a new stone tile floor that complements the bright space rimmed with tiny spotlights.

The gallery is divided into three distinct spaces: a large viewing gallery and a smaller room for framing and hanging the work, and a craft and art supply shop at the other end.

Albright said she is a crafter rather than a fine artist, but she wanted to offer craft supplies and top-quality art materials because of the abundance of particularly water colorists in Concord.

Albright lives in Concord with her two children who are nine and five years old.

Her love of art came by her interest in visiting galleries in Boston with friends. As she toured the various spaces she developed an eye for various genres and styles of art, and decided that opening her own gallery would promote the artists that do not get shown widely as yet.

"I fell in love with gallery-going," said Albright, "and I was going through a life change of sorts, and decided to focus on emerging artists."

She also changes her shows every few weeks. In the last year, Albright has had 11 shows, and more scheduled. In September, she will exhibit the work of Concord artist Jim McManus.

Albright added the art and craft supply end of the gallery because of the need for high-quality professional paints and paper, but also she found that it takes three years on average for a gallery to become established enough that customers buy the work off the walls.

"I'm on a shoestring budget," she said. "I don't have that much, but what I have is very good."

She knits and does needlepoint. When she is not in the gallery, she relies on manager Pam Tobler.

"My mailing list is growing and the openings are well attended," she said as she turned her attention to framing a new piece.