NPR Interviews Gino Belassen on BELHAUS' beginnings.
Full story by Lauren Gilger via KJZZ Phoenix.
There is a T-shirt you can buy from the Phoenix art gallery Belhaus that has the gallery’s name in all-caps bold. And under it, it says LA, NYC and PARIS — all crossed out. Next to that, is the word: PHOENIX.
It reflects gallery owner Gino Belassen’s attitude toward life, art and art in Phoenix. He asks: Why not Phoenix?
Bellasen is a painter himself who’s been in the gallery scene here for eight years, since he moved into his mother’s downtown gallery space and started curating shows.
And with the closing of longtime Bentley Gallery and few other high-end galleries in town, Belassen sees himself as filling a gap in the local art scene — representing the next generation of contemporary artists.
The Show sat down with him in our studios recently to talk about the gallery, its role — and his own art, which began by watching his mother, Sherri Belassen, paint.