Gallery Box

“Moon Power,” collage by Diane Reitz

Chroma Studio and Gallery first opened in October 2008, but already it's moved to a bigger arena to accommodate its growth. Its new 9,000-sq.-foot Downtown space opened to coincide with the April First Friday ARTScrawl. The new digs include the gallery and studios as well as performance and classroom spaces.

Owners Paula Manning-Lewis and Aaron Lewis aim to provide artists with a truly professional studio space. Manning-Lewis says that some gallery spaces aren’t even equipped with air conditioning or heating, and as a former gallery manager at other places, it was important for her to provide proper business conditions for the artists hosted in the gallery.

Chroma is an arts space as well. Once a month, Chroma hosts an intimate concert series where performers play to an audience of 30. Lewis, himself an acoustic musician, began the concerts after he'd had difficulty finding venues in town that book acoustic musicians. Albuquerque-based singer-songwriter Kimo plays the series on May 15 at 7pm.

Chroma Studio and Gallery exhibits open monthly with First Friday Albuquerque ARTScrawl receptions. Now through June, the gallery hosts paintings by Diane Reitz.

For more information, visit HYPERLINK "http://chromastudios.wordpress.com/"; http://chromastudios.wordpress.com/