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By Linda Weber

When Amy Garland and her partner, Joy Ritenour, opened 5ive & 40rty gallery in 2006, they knew they were tempting fate. Despite the presence of SECCA and several college-level studio fine arts programs in the city, Winston-Salem is not exactly a paragon of contemporary art.

Since local taste runs more toward figurative pieces in which flowers are flowers and a sunset a sunset, it was a gutsy move to open an urban box-style gallery where exhibitions consist of a small number of abstract or conceptual canvases (or sculptures) displayed against an expanse of white walls.

Why do it? For the same reason painters paint and sculptors sculpt.  And because Garland and Ritenour’s contribution to the arts is to provide emerging talent with a space in which to display and sell their work. “We wanted to have a place—a gallery where emerging artists can exhibit their works in Winston-Salem’s Downtown Arts District and also invite the business community to a place where they can meet and enjoy art from regional and national artists,” says Garland, who operates her marketing and PR business, A.S. Garland Marketing, from offices at the back of the gallery. That proximity enables her to take an active role in day-to-day gallery operations. “My marketing background allows me to offer artists promotional and media support that they might not otherwise have.”

I always feel a sense of anticipation when I walk into 5ive & 40rty because of the unpredictability of Garland and Ritenour’s interests and taste. A recent exhibition of large-scale color photographs by Brooklyn-based photographer Greg Vore is a case in point. During his travels in India, Vore shot portraits of rickshaw drivers and their gaily-decorated vehicles. The drivers’ creased, worn-looking faces and shabby clothing contrasts oddly with their whimsical, folk-art-covered cabs. The rickshaw exhibition followed on the heels of in-your-face, graffiti-inspired abstract paintings by local artist Beamer Aston. Saturated yellows and reds peek out from beneath tributaries of thick, bold, black lines and shapes that cram the frenetic canvases. The juxtaposition of these two shows left me wondering:  What next?

The economic downturn has clobbered all sorts of businesses, but those, like galleries, that depend on people’s disposable income have been hardest hit. Ever resourceful in their determination to outlast the recession, the gallery owners have forged a partnership with Ember Audio + Video, a company that designs, sells, and installs high-quality audiovisual systems for music lovers, film buffs, or tech junkies who are interested in installing multizones of audio and video throughout their home with the ability to control them from a one-touch panel. The gallery has now become a discreet “salon” where brothers and co-owners Chris Livengood and Blake Stewart can demo quality sound and visual options for clients who also, as a bonus, get to peruse art.

Sharing the gallery actually makes sense because there’s a certain amount of synergy between the two businesses. During art openings, the brothers can DJ, and since many contemporary artists incorporate video into their work, the audiovisual setup can actually enhance art exhibitions. Meanwhile Ember gains exposure.

As a contemporary art lover, I’m rooting for 5ive & 40rty’s survival. I never miss an exhibition and hope there are legions of mini-me’s who make the trek to Trade Street every six weeks to see the latest work Garland and Ritenour have uncovered.  Says Garland, who developed her taste for and knowledge of art doing PR for SECCA and the Winston-Salem Arts Council, “I simply hope that we can continue to showcase the great talent of artists who, on a daily basis, put their work out there for those of us who appreciate and respect their ability and determination. I just encourage people to support the arts and the artists.”

5ive & 40rty Gallery, 541 Trade Street, Winston-Salem 336.724.2474. 10 am – 5 pm Tuesday – Friday, 10 am – 2 pm Saturday.