New art gallery, studio coming to Lombard

Artists and anyone interested in art soon will have a new place to exercise their creativity near downtown Lombard.

Emily Suarino, a Lombard native with a degree in studio art, is planning to open Art Life Gallery & Studio at 425 S. Main St. this summer.

"We're just kind of taking a leap with it," she said. "I think the need and the want is out there, and definitely the artists are out there. I'm excited to be able to bring some of that access to town so people will really just want to jump in."

For the past five years, Suarino has been working out of a small studio in her home, where she primarily does large-scale paintings with acrylic.

She recently decided that she wanted to move her workplace into a larger space where she could also share her artistic abilities with others and provide a "hub" for local artists.

"I was thinking about, 'What can I do to get back to doing art and doing something that would be good for Lombard?'" she said. "There's just not really an outlet for it in our town. I was like, 'Why can't we have (an art gallery and studio) in our town?' There's no reason we can't. We just have to do it."

For now, Art Life will only take up half of the building, with the other half being used as office space by another tenant.

Suarino said the front portion of her business will be dedicated to the gallery, which she envisions being filled with rotating artwork on consignment from several artists.

The remaining space will include a classroom area and Suarino's new studio for her own work. Registration is already open online, at artlifelombard.com, for two-day mini-art camps geared toward kids in kindergarten through fifth grade. Classes begin June 30.

Adult classes eventually will be offered, but to start, Suarino - who has 10 years of experience working with children at First Church of Lombard - is focusing on kids.

Suarino plans to have some handmade gifts for sale, too, since people aren't "looking to buy a large piece of artwork every day of the week." Between the artwork and the handmade gifts, Suarino hopes to give people a chance to build a connection with a local artist.

"People don't usually just buy a huge painting or piece of art from an artist they've never heard of. You have to build up a relationship with people," she said. "We're hoping to have a lot of meet and greets with the artists, accessibility to the artists so you can talk to them and see what they're doing."

In addition to the gallery and classes, Suarino wants her business to become a "social stop" for people in the area, through special events like "wine and paint" parties, where a group of friends can drink wine and work on a painting, drawing, craft or sewing project together.

To host the parties, Suarino had to obtain a new class "VV" liquor license, which was recently established by the village board. It allows for beer, wine and champagne to be served during receptions and social events at the studio.

Eventually, Suarino hopes to host a variety of private events, such as engagement or bridal parties, where liquor might also be served, or birthday parties for kids.

"We're going to have a big mix of things," she said, adding that she hopes her business will draw in "all different kinds of people."

A grand opening date has not been set, but Suarino anticipates it will be sometime in July.