AVS Art building arts district one gallery at a time

Andrew VanSickle has opened the AVS Art gallery at 315 W Fourth Street with the goal of reviving the street as an arts district.

VanSickle, who has a degree in marketing from the University of Cincinnati and has done publicity work for Club Clau, has a plan to make that happen.

"I'm getting PR as much as I can, and talking to other dealers and trying to encourage them to relocate here," he says.  "It's perfect for an arts district and certainly well-lit and secure, with plenty of parking.  With Bang and Twist Lounge, we're seeing a lot of traffic from couples and groups."

VanSickle says that the goal of his gallery, which will showcase pop culture influenced artists of local and national interest, is to create new art collectors and to help the many new residents in the downtown areas acquire strong works of art by notable artists.

Renovation of the space only cost about $1,500, but required a lot of effort.

"The space just needed about 25 gallons of very white paint and new bulbs for the track lighting," he says.  "And lots of hard work from myself and Kevin Kelly to get the place looking like a New York style gallery."

AVS Art is currently featuring the works of high-profile pop artist Kevin Kelly with "Opus Proprium", which VanSickle describes as an examination of the relationships between the sexes and the secret unspoken desires behind the “relationship”.

Kelly's exhibit runs through May 27.

Writer: Kevin LeMaster
Source: Andrew VanSickle, AVS Art
Photography by Scott Beseler