Grey Gallery owner Erik Guttridge opened his doors in early 2008 with the goal of bringing together enthusiasts, artists and bon vivants under the same roof to enjoy challenging and thoughtful work that is not just your usual bar and coffee shop fare. Much of the art that has been displayed at Grey is conceptual—such as the large installation in 2008 by Shawn Patrick Landis recreating a household after a flood—or utilizes unconventional materials and subject matter—such as the collection by Allison Manch currently showing. In short, Grey brings in a lot of art that deserves to be taken seriously by artists who seem to want to convince the viewers otherwise. It's subversive in the best possible way.

On December 5th, Grey hosted for the first time Drum of the Draw, a group of local artists who descend upon a gallery to meet art enthusiasts and dilettantes and produce work live. To attend is free, and all works for sale at these events are priced at or below $200. As Grey has sought to make art available at the street level and expose novices who might not usually step into a gallery, it was the absolutely perfect venue for such an event. Guttridge, the artists and the guests noticed the instant chemistry and Drum of the Draw will be returning to Grey in the first months of 2010.

Drum of the Draw represents artists renowned locally and internationally. Participants include Gala Bent (pictured immediately above), Warren Dykeman, Christian van Minnen (who is off to Mexico in the coming months and sadly won't be able to attend the next event at Grey), Kimberly Trowbridge, Harold Hollingsworth and Robert Hardgrave. One fascinating benefit of these events is seeing the versatility of the artists, most of whom usually operate in an idiom that is incompatible with the time and space restraints of live work. Hollingsworth created small abstracts whose shapes still hearkened back to his larger works. Dykeman, whose work is informed by instructional diagrams, drew out what might be drafts for one of his larger paintings, but stood on their own merit.

Other artists were able to create work more easily linked to their idiom. Artist Amy Huddleston painted small portraits in her peculiar, appealing style on card and copper. Chris Crites sketched his trademark mugshots on paper. His work (a sample of which is seen at the top of the article) usually consists of four-tone prints of authentic mugshots on paper bags. His choices of color make his subjects come alive in surprising and affecting ways on the humble brown paper, which—like the subjects themselves—most people would quickly discard.

To put it simply, this was one of the most enjoyable, exhilerating art events that I have attended in recent memory. I am excited to see what Drum of the Draw draws up next time. Accessible, affordable art, craft cocktails and scintillating conversation—heaven, thy name is Grey.