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These Walls Can Talk

Speakeasy Art Gallery's

10th anniversary exhibit 

February 1 - March 23

Speakeasy Art Gallery celebrated their 10 year milestone with the exhibit, "These Walls Can Talk" opening Friday, February 1st. The exhibit showcased one piece of art from each artist who has had a solo exhibit at the gallery. Opening reception Friday, February 1st from 6-9pm.

On January 23, 2009 Speakeasy Art Gallery opened it's doors to it's brick and mortar gallery in Boonton, NJ. Previously, owner and founder Paul Jach was curating pop-up shows at lounges, clubs and bars in NYC and Northern NJ, which is where the name originated. Paul partnered in the gallery located in Boonton with art consultant and installer, Michael Paquette. At the time of the grand opening it was the height of the great recession and Boonton had a lot of empty store fronts. Cautiously, they signed a 6 month lease to see how it went. Bucking the trend of most new and established businesses at the time, the gallery flourished. After two years, Paul and Michael found that they had different visions of how they saw the gallery evolving. So they amicably parted ways, Michael remained in the original space and opened Gallery Paquette while Paul moved Speakeasy Art Gallery across the street to it's new location where it has remained for the last eight years. At that point, Paul's wife Kristy Brucale Jach came on board as the co-owner of the gallery.

The gallery has always aimed to exhibit art that is new, interesting and out of the ordinary. Paul was always drawn to the aesthetic of publications such as Hi Fructose and Juxtapoz. He wanted to fill a void with a gallery that exhibited work of this kind in Northern New Jersey. Artists working in this style from the area and as far as Japan have become a part of Speakeasy Art Gallery's impressive stable of artists. They have done close to 30 solo shows and over 50 exhibits all together. The gallery was instrumental in establishing a first Friday event in Boonton, holding there opening receptions on that day each month. The gallery and it's owners have received many accolades over the past decade including being voted the Best Gallery in Morris County multiple years by publications such as the Daily Record and Morris/Essex Health & Life. In 2013 the Boonton Main Street organization named Speakeasy Art Gallery "Business of the year". The Morris County Arts Council, Morris Arts, awarded Paul & Kristy the "Outstanding Professional in the Arts" award in 2014, that same year they also received "Citizens of the Year" honors from the Town of Boonton.

The gallery owners are proud of what they have accomplished in the past 10 years, providing a venue for emerging and established artists to exhibit their work and nurturing the next generation of artists with their classes. They are now excited to move into their second decade, continuing to push the envelope of what can be shown in a gallery in New Jersey!

Participating artists include:

Christine Wagner
Michael Teters
Ryan Ganley
Rob Barth
JMR
Peet Sketches
Francesca Azzara
Tom Shelton
Amy Puccio
Toni Silber-Delerive
Rob Hessler
Jan Huling
Tricia Zimic
C. Spliedt
Anthony Weird Eye One
Mike Moran
Betty McGeehan
Dave Calver
Mike Bell
Kelly Vetter
Kasey Tararuj
Jenna Morello
Bill Ross
Elisabeth Ladwig
Jim Somers
Justin Long
Dion Hitchings
Adam Gustavson
Ezerd

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