Daniel A. Bruce stands amid artworks — including local ceramics artist Jazen Reuss’ in front and by artist Fred Tschida at right — inside the Step Mother Nature art gallery in Bloomingdale, where he has curated the works of 40 local, national and international artists. Step Mother Nature opens on April 5.
(Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)
BLOOMINGDALE — Stepping inside the Step Mother Nature art gallery on state Route 3, one is hit with a cozy explosion of color.
The soon-to-open gallery, curated by local artist Daniel A. Bruce, takes around 150 works from 40 artists — local, national and international — and highlights them as a “cabinet of curiosities.”
Stylized portraits and sculptures of woodland birds sit alongside abstract ceramic and fabric creations, while kinetic light art like Ian Burns’ “Mantra” hum and click. “Mantra” spells out the words “As. It. Is.” using lightbulbs and magnifying glasses, with the bulbs’ filaments working as the projected calligraphy.
Step Mother Nature will have a grand opening social event on April 5, with a fire by the brook and a special viewing of the local 1988 film “The Beer Drinker’s Guide To Fitness and Filmmaking” or “Sullivan’s Pavilion,” by Fred Sullivan.
The gallery started online as a project during the coronavirus pandemic, Bruce said. He wanted to evolve it into a brick and mortar space. He said a lot was lost to COVID-19 and he is trying to rebuild the art world he knew before then.
Daniel A. Bruce sits inside the Step Mother Nature art gallery in Bloomingdale, where he has curated the works of 40 local, national and international artists. Step Mother Nature opens on April 5.
(Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)
During the pandemic, it was hard to go see art shows and there was not a lot of access to see actual works in person.
The resulting “ongoing group exhibition” mixes Bruce’s personal tastes with Adirondack traditions.
“I think (visitors are) going to get an experience that they wouldn’t have otherwise expected to have in the Adirondacks,” Bruce said.
His goal is to have one of the most diverse galleries in the area. That’s diversity in terms of the mediums used and in the backgrounds of the artists’ race, sexuality and location.
Bruce said curating and displaying art is fun to him and an artistic venture in its own right.
Daniel A. Bruce stands outside the Step Mother Nature art gallery in Bloomingdale, where he has curated the works of 40 local, national and international artists. Step Mother Nature opens on April 5.
(Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)
He’s moved away from the tradition of consolidating each artist’s body of work to one portion of the gallery. Instead, their works are sprinkled throughout the room. Bruce said he wanted to take advantage of the contrasting colors, content and form in the pieces, highlighting their differences and similarities.
Taken as a whole, the gallery is a sort of collage.
Bruce said this holds the eye longer and challenges the viewer to compare and contrast works in relation to each other.
All of the art is for sale — on consignment, sort of — with Bruce displaying them and getting a commission on each sale. As works get purchased, their spots will be refilled, so the selection will be always changing.
Many of the artists were previously featured artists on his website, people he’s met in 25 years in the business. And he’s also recruited local artists like Carol Vossler, Mark Paul, Ali Della Bitta, Richelle Soper, Mark Kurtz, Jazen Reuss, Fred Sullivan, Drew Goerlitz, Clyde Rabideau and Tim Fortune. It features some of Bruce’s own works, too.
The building — formerly an antique storage shop and, earlier, a hardware and country store — was rehabilitated recently by local developer and former Saranac Lake mayor Clyde Rabideau. Bruce saw the work happening and pitched the idea of filling the space with an art gallery. He said Rabideau loved the idea and even has some of his paintings featured there.
Bruce grew up in Bloomingdale. His parents still live nearby. Back then, he said Bloomingdale had a tough reputation, but that’s been changing.
It doesn’t have a gas station, or even a stop light anymore. But it does have a record shop, a microbrewery, a daycare, an ice cream stand and now, an art gallery. All the fun things, Bruce said.
He spent 18 years in New York City and moved back to his hometown in late 2022. His show “Aunt Matilda’s Americana” was featured at BluSeed Studios in March 2023.
Bruce said he could never do something this in New York City. He could never afford the rent on a shoestring budget.
The gallery will be open around 20 hours a week — Wednesday through Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 7 p.m.
Bruce has a day job at Rice Furniture and he said owner Clyde Baker has been very supportive of his gallery.
Step Mother Nature is in the heart of Bloomingdale, across from the Hex and Hop brewery.
