A Grand Celebration

Reprinted from the Galena Gazette, April 15, 2008



A Grand Celebration

BRIO Studio Hosts Galery Re-Opening



GALENA-A grand staircase is one of many amenities in BRIO Art Gallery's new location at 116 S. Main St. in downtown Galena. BRIO will celebrate their very grand re-opening celebration on April 18, 19 and 20.

Refreshments will be served and many BRIO artists will be on hand to greet the public and discuss their work.

The new location was completely renovated a number of years ago for a Chicago gallery owner who added the curved staircase, a three-story circular skylight that lights up at night, a private courtyard, and gallery lighting. However, the space never housed a gallery until BRIO moved in this spring. The move has allowed BRIO to more than double the amount of artwork they carry and add a line of fine handmade jewelry by Barbara Briggs.

"I can't imagine a better location for BRIO," said gallery co-owner Ed Rinetti. "The street-level store front is much more accessible than our old location. We enjoy the ambiance of being in the heart of downtown Galena and there has been a dramatic increase in foot traffic since the move."

Beth Bird, Jane Chukas, Nancy Lindsay, Karen Kurka Jensen, Dwight Walles, Rafic Sinno, and Herb Eaton, as well as Barbara Briggs, have joined the BRIO stable of artists. Returning artists are Nancy Beresford, Josh DeWall, Dean Dunkel, Gerard Erley, Ganos, Russell Irwin, Shirlee Methling, Dwain Naragon, Cynthia Nelms-Byrne, Susan Palmer, Sandra Principe, Abdul Sinno, and Marsha Rinetti, co-owner. BRIO is also home to two gallery cats, Colby and Reba, who have lived in the building for a number of years.

"We consider the cats a bonus," Marsha Rinetti said. "They add to the charm of the historic building and are popular with our clients."

Five years ago the Rinettis moved to Galena from Bloomington when Ed retired from corporate finance. In Bloomington-Normal, Ed was a board member of the Illinois State University Friends of the Arts and McLean County Arts Center. Marsha, a CPA, is retired from Clarke College in Dubuque where she was assistant professor of business and accounting. Her previous business experience includes vice president of BroMenn Healthcare in Bloomington where she was responsible for management of three medical office buildings on the BroMenn campus and oversight of BroMenn Foundation's annual fund, major gifts, and deferred gifts, as well as the Foundation's assets. She spent ten years in the corporate world as a project manager, auditor, investment accountant, and corporate trainer. Early in her accounting career, she was with a regional public accounting firm. Marsha has also served on a number of boards, including Illinois State University Friends of the Arts and the Community Cancer Center Foundation.

BRIO represents more than 20 regional and national artists and carries limited work by a number of other artists. The gallery specializes in original fine art, including paintings, glass, ceramics, and jewelry. BRIO Art Gallery is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The BRIO calendar of art events is available at wwwbriogalena.com.