There’s a new gallery shop in town that may seem familiar.
Mary Puller, former exhibits director for Durango Arts Center, has opened Plein Goods on East Eighth Street. The shop formerly was housed in Durango Arts Center.
For you Durango old-timers, DAC wasn’t Plein Goods’ first home – originally, it was upstairs from Pine Needle Mountaineering in the Main Mall.
Puller said it was Barbara Conrad, former director of DAC, who was instrumental in moving Plein Goods into DAC.
“Barbara sort of laid the groundwork in getting the building up at Eighth and Second,” she said.
After Puller retired from DAC in 2016, she took a some time off and then decided to reopen her shop, offering an eclectic mix of artistic styles.
She also emphasizes the importance of local artists.
“I show handcrafts and select art from around the world – I used to work for UNICEF – my love is folk art and textiles,” she said. “I also show the work from 30, 40 local artists right now. Everything from jewelry and textiles, painting, handmade papers, photography – I’ve gotten great photographers – and glass.”
Leonard Davies is one of the artists Puller represents.
Davies, a former lawyer, writer and first president of the board for Music in the Mountains and now, oil painter, has known Puller since she was at DAC. His passion for painting pretty much took him by surprise.
As a visiting scholar in Rome in 2006, Davies was convinced by an artist to try his hand at painting.
“I thought, ‘By golly, if I wanted to do it, I ought to go for it,’” he said. “So I took up oil painting. It captured me so, much that the books – I still have four unfinished manuscripts I keep promising my wife I’ll get back to them. The pleasure of writing, for me, is not nearly as great as the pleasure of painting.”
For Puller, its this passion for art that deserves more space in town.
“I love Durango, and thought ‘Well, I’ll just give this a try again and see how it goes,’” Puller said.
katie@durangoherald.com
If you go
What:
Plein Goods
Where:
133 E. Eighth St.
Store Hours:
11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. seven days a week.
