If you've ever been down to Tremont to drink (or eat, or walk around, or whatever), you've undoubtedly stumbled by the Asterisk Gallery. Might have been when you were drunk and looking for food while walking in one direction, or while you were drunk and walking in search of ice cream in the other.
Well, the dude behind Asterisk, Dana Depew, is an all-around nice guy and talented artist — I've even picked up a piece of my own there around 2 or 3 a.m. on a Christmas Eve about five years ago. Dana is also a huge Browns fan, as evidenced by Bernie Kosar's No. 19 tattooed on his hand.
Here's our Arts Editor's little preview of a show at Asterisk that while named "19," has nothing at all to do with sports, but that you would enjoy anyway.
When he was younger, Asterisk Gallery owner Dana DePew was fascinated with former Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar. He can’t fully explain why, but he says it might have had something to do with Kosar’s unorthodox playing style. The QB’s jersey number, 19, inspires Asterisk’s latest show, which returns for its fifth outing on Friday. The artist has the number tattooed on his left hand, and it figures prominently in a photo of Depew and Kosar from the sidelines of a Gladiators game (the Gladiators were Cleveland’s short-lived contribution to the Arena Football League). “He wasn’t as excited about it as I was,” says DePew. The gallerist says the show is designed to forge new relationships and to motivate local artists to create new work. The Nineteen Show features 19 Northeast Ohio artists who’ve never exhibited at Asterisk. This year’s edition includes paintings, sculptures, photography and mixed media work by Lisa Kenion, Laszlo Gyorki, Sunia Boneham and others. All of the work was made specifically for the show, which opens with a reception at 6 p.m. Friday at Asterisk Gallery (2393 Professor Ave., 330.304.8528). It runs through August 8. It’s free. — Michael Gill
