Zenith Gallery to close in March
Washington Business Journal – by Tierney Plumb Staff Reporter
After more than two decades at 413 7th St. NW, the Zenith Gallery will close its doors after its lease expires at the end of February.
Margery Goldberg, founder and proprietor of the gallery since 1978, decided not to renew the lease to pursue more art initiatives in the community.
“Mind you, we are not closing. We’re just changing the way we do business,” said Goldberg, in a statement. “We will continue to sell art and remain active in Washington’s cultural arena.”
The focus will shift to managing arts projects, serving corporate and residential clients, and expanding its consulting, commissioning and acquisition business.
Goldberg plans to arrange shows, programs and events in D.C. and other locales, as well coordinate studio and gallery tours.
She will also focus on initiating arts projects and partnerships through the Zenith Community Arts Foundation, a nonprofit she started more than eight years ago.
In a of couple years the Zenith Gallery is expected to reopen in a Spanish luxury hotel at 5th and Eye streets NW in Mount Vernon Triangle. The 475,000-square-foot entertainment project, called Arts at 5th & I, will include an ME hotel by Sol Melia, the Spanish hotel and resort chain, and a Boisdale restaurant and 200-seat jazz lounge.
Goldberg first opened the gallery’s doors at Zenith Square at Rhode Island Avenue and 14th Street NW three decades ago.
“After 30 years with a storefront gallery business, Margery decided there’s a lot of other ways she could do business in art that could give her more opportunities rather than with day-to-day operations,” said Judith Keyserling, spokeswoman for the gallery.
To mark its Penn Quarter closure, the gallery is putting its paintings, sculptures, mixed-media pieces, neon art, furniture, photos and jewelry on sale for the first time, at discounts ranging from 15 to 75 percent.
The six-week storewide sale will start with a private viewing party on Valentine’s Day. Work includes consigned pieces, Zenith-owned art and work held by the Zenith Community Arts Foundation.
On the bill:
who is both involved in global social art collectives and in the domestic DIY movement. She is most involved with the NYC based artist collective Locurativo, which works with rural communities throughout Latin America renovating abandoned spaces for community workshops and artists residencies. In 2008 alone she wheat-pasted on the streets of Oaxaca, Guanajuato, New Orleans, Washington D.C., Brooklyn, NY, Portland,OR, Dangriga Belize, and Mexico City. Other collectives she is affiliated with include The Latin America Community Art Project (El Salvador), Imagination Explosion Performance Troupe (NYC), Little Paper Planes (LA), and CyberPunkApocalypse Writers Collective (Pittsburgh PA).
