Come August 1st, the Edward A. Dixon Gallery, a commercial art gallery specializing in the exhibition, education, appreciation and sale of International Fine Art, will have a new home in the Opal building on N St Clair Street.
Dixon, who opened his first Dayton gallery in 2017, says he always was going to galleries and museum when he traveled and wanted to bring something that looked more like the places he was going to Dayton.
Dixon said a lot of the success of his original gallery was the ability to do events and bring people together around art. But then the pandemic hit and his lease was up for renewal and he just wasn’t willing to take that risk knowing in person events weren’t going to happen, so he downsized to a small spot in the Talbot Tower and a bigger online presence.
Color Photograph of Dr. King (at the podium) by Bernie Kleina
He’d been keeping his eye out for a new space and when he saw the Opal building space it just spoke to him. Just a block away from the river and built in 1900, he could already envision what his gallery would look like there. He’s excited to be able to share art from both locals and artists from around the world to the the Dayton art scene.
Mother and Child in a Flower Field by Patrick Gono
The art you’ll find in his gallery is eclectic and ever changing. Currently you’ll find a selection of photograhs from Bernie Kleina, a civil rights and fair housing advocate. He has produced some of the most innovative and powerful audio-visual presentations on fair and affordable housing in the country. His photographic archive includes profound images of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rev. Jesse Jackson, Andrew Young, Al Raby, Dick Gregory, and others.
You’ll also find pieces from Patrick Gono of Monrovia, Liberia who did a residency in Dayton in 2019. is in Dayton as an artist-in-residence. He created a mural on a Front Street building, while he as here, that was the result of his visit to Sunwatch Indian Village.
You’ll also find art by Syndey, Oh artist Maureen O’Keefe. The work pictured here is part of a series of American flags meant to explore her own struggle to come to terms with the diversity of thought in our nation. The background features lyrics from the Woody Guthrie song “This Land Is Your Land.”
Dixon looks forward to welcoming guest back to his gallery with his grand opening on August’s First Friday celebration downtown. His space will be available for rent for special events and he’s busy planning special exhibits for the fall. He’s currently got a call for entries out for an October exhibit he’ll be doing entitled FOCUS CAPTURE INSPIRE.
The 2nd Annual We’re Doing It ALL Wrong® Art Exhibition will open as a one month long exhibition beginning 
September 1, 2022. The exhibition seeks to create dialogue and spark ideas related to the many ways humanity continually fails itself. Artwork from the previous year’s exhibition touched on topics such as the environment & climate change, dependence on technology, social injustice, Native American women disappearances and homelessness. Many of these ways are discussed in main stream media; some only on social media and small gatherings; while others are barely spoken or purposely kept unspoken. Artists are encouraged to submit work that captures or is a comment on a tradition, a system, a practice, an institution or anything they see that needs repair or removal that has existed in this state for far too long. View the online version of the previous exhibition at weredoingitallwrong.com.
Another ambitious goal of the exhibition is to find a signature piece or pieces of artwork that while keeping to the exhibition’s theme defines our current period in history from the artist’s viewpoint. One art piece can tell so many stories and the goal is to find pieces that will speak to future generations and tell a story about our time.
Award Categories Include:
- Best in Show – $500 Prize
- 2nd Place – $250 Prize
- Signature Artwork – $250 Prize
Edward A. Dixon Gallery
222 N St Clair St
Dayton, OH 45402
(937) 985-2115
Located in Downtown Dayton and open by appointment 7 days a week.
