The Chadds Ford Gallery began a new tradition in 2009 when,
in February, it held an exhibition featuring African-American artists. It was a
break from the Brandywine Tradition style of art with which the gallery is
usually associated.

This year marks another first for the gallery. It will have
a combined multi-cultural art exhibit featuring African-American, Hispanic and
Asian artists. The exhibit is titled “Introductions.” There will be 12 to 15
artists showing their work from Friday, Jan 15 through March 28, with the
official opening Friday, Feb 5. Each artist will have at least two pieces on
display.

“I’m very excited,” said Gallery Director Barbara Moore. “I
hope we get to do more.”

Expanding the flavor of art on display in the township
“broadens and educates,” she said, but added, “When people come in I think
we’ll get a lot of the same reaction we got last year during the
African-American exhibit in that there was so much color on the walls, which is
not a natural thing for this building. But the mixture is what we, the United
States, collectively, is all about. It’s that mixture of people and it does
work.”

She said the gallery got mixed reviews from visitors during
the African-American show last year because it broke from the norm.

“Most of the reaction was very positive, that it was too
long in coming and [people saying] ‘Glad that you did it,’” she said. “But we
had a couple of people who said it was just out of sync with this building, not
what they were used to seeing in here. It was not anything to do with the
culture. It was just that it was too different than what normally they came
here for. It wasn’t what they were used to seeing.”

One of the Hispanic artists who will be showing this year is
Lucio Padron, 35, of Mexico City. He’s been living in Cheltenham for the last
six years. “Tulio,” as he is known, works in abstract. One piece he’ll have on
exhibit is entitled, “Hermann Hesse,” an abstract based on that author’s
“Demian.”

According to Tulio, the red-toned imagery is that of a bird
trying to break an egg, with the egg representing the world.

“It’s about breaking boundaries,” he said.

Tulio said much of his work is based on his memories.

Business at the gallery was mostly “horrendous because of
the economy” during 2009, according to gallery owner Jackie Winther. But, she
said, there were several bright spots including the Paul Scarborough show,
Christmas in Miniature and the African-American show.

That show was Winther’ idea. She told the story last year
that she was talking with people at a party and realized that people needed to
see more than just the Brandywine Tradition.

It was also during that time when she got the idea for other
ethnic and minority styles of art, including a show that was multi-cultural.

“And I think we’re going to take that further, too,” she
said.

Winther’s already thinking about including Russian and
Native American art in a show next year.

She said she likes the multi-cultural show because that is
less expensive than having a number of different openings. “To have more than
one opening is just not cost effective.

While that didn’t bring in a lot of sales, the show did
bring in a lot of people, both artists and customers.

“We met a lot of great people and I’ve learned that we have
to have things that the average person can buy,” said Winther