Bickett brings high art to Raleigh

To the artist’s eye, nothing is ever quite as it seems. So it’s no surprise that when Molly Miller saw the small quasi-industrial area on Raleigh’s Bickett Road she also saw an artistic space. The former interior designer envisioned a gallery that not only housed visual art, but that incorporated all of the senses into a multi-layered artistic experience. After months of planning and building renovations, the combination gallery, Art Bar and live performance venue made its April 2002 debut as Bickett Gallery.

The modest-sized Bickett does its best to pack a big punch. The main gallery, which doubles as a live performance venue on the weekends, feels fresh and open with its white walls providing a non-intrusive background for the artwork. Remnants of the building’s industrial past peek through in the Art Bar and Lounge Gallery area. Fluffy pink insulation is unapologetically visible through a lacy white covering—an aesthetically pleasing result of Miller’s decision to acknowledge the building’s history.

Miller also chose to acknowledge the plethora of artists hailing from outside the region. A fact that is also readily visible. Though the gallery doesn’t shy away from showing area artists, Miller makes clear the importance Bickett places on featuring a cross-country and cross-global spectrum of works. Miller says it is “important for the [local] community and artists...to see what’s going in other parts of the world.” The fruits of the curatorial labors pay off frequently. In August, for instance, the gallery featured Jacob el Hanani, an artist whose work is collected globally in over 30 museums. In exhibiting el Hanani, Bickett joins an elite club of art spaces that include the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, Paris’s Musée National d’Art Moderne and the British Museum in London. Though summer art sales lagged industry-wide, Bickett continued to court established artists like el Hanani during these heated months. To those who doubt this decsion, Miller responds with a bright smile. With an excited gesture towards one of el Hanani’s dizzying pen and ink pieces, she says, “Just look at the caliber of the person I’m showing.”

The visual experience continues in Bickett’s boutique, which sells one-of-a-kind pieces by “emerging artists.” In the boutique one can find purses made from vintage kimono cloth, handmade silver jewelry, dangling earrings, witty postcards, screen-printed T-shirts and affordable original artwork. One can even contribute a dollar to six-year-old Skylar Miller’s Hello Kitty fund by purchasing a small piece of her work. Miller says the boutique is another way to showcase artists and provide inexpensive original artwork in a time in which purchasing art is seen as “a luxury.”

Bickett is much more than a visual art venue. The Art Bar and Lounge Gallery area fuses artwork with spirits. Works of art overlook cushy pink couches, and soft lighting is provided by globular hanging lamps. If you don’t mind the occasional smoker and love a starry night, venture through Bickett’s boutique onto the patio and enjoy a drink—or a conversation—by glowing candle-light. Whether beneath the lamps or beneath the stars, the Art Bar provides a laid back environment.

On the weekends, live performances in the main gallery space offer another great opportunity to partake in the merriment. There is something beautiful about watching musicians sing and strum with paintings catching their notes, and the acoustics of the building nicely complement any heightened sound. Still, the close quarters may be too intimate for those who prefer the anonymity of a large audience and the mood too subdued for those who like to converse or dance freely during performances.

Minutes away from Raleigh’s artsy Five Points area, Bickett is a fine annex for the artistic experience. In fact, Miller hopes to expand the sensory triple threat concept of Bickett along the east and west coasts and perhaps abroad. With nearly monthly reworkings and building additions, a visionary staff and a curator that thinks globally, Bickett seems destined to outgrow its impressive beginnings.

The Gallery is open Tuesday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.. Admission is free. The art bar is open daily from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.. There are live performances during the weekend; times and prices vary. Visit www.bickettgallery.com for more information.