Pushing the envelope

Walking through the Front Street Art Studio and Galleries near downtown Dayton is an experience like no other. Creative artwork by sculptors, painters, photographers and mixed-media artists fills the three-story warehouse along East Second Street.

The former International Envelope building is now home to the largest community of artists and artisans in the Dayton area. The building still uses open-air freight elevators that reveal brick and stonework from the late 1800s as patrons travel from floor to floor.

Behind an oversized black wood door on the third floor is the Dutoit Gallery, a 20-member co-op art gallery that showcases a different exhibition every month.

“It allows the artists to create and showcase work that is pushing the envelope,” said Andrew Dailey, who graduated from Wright State in 2005 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art and serves as the coordinator of the Dutoit Gallery.

About two-thirds of their gallery members have a connection to Wright State’s School of Fine and Performing Arts either as alumni or faculty.

“The Wright State connections is important to highlight for us,” said Dailey.

Dozens of paintings by Edmund Merricle, a 2009 Wright State graduate, are on display in the gallery. Each painting in the exhibition depicts colorful images of beaten and sometimes bloodied boxing figures.

“It’s not about boxing,” said Merricle. “It’s more of a reflection of my inner thoughts.”

The gallery is free and open to the public during two monthly events: First Fridays from 5 to 10 p.m. and Third Sunday Art Hops from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“A lot of what we hear from the folks that come through the gallery is that they love to stop by because we always have a good show,” said Dailey.

Daily said it takes a lot of effort behind the scenes to mount every exhibition, many of which are the columniation of years of preparation and work.

“It’s their creative research and passion,” he said.

Works by Tracey Longley-Cook, associate professor of art at Wright State, will be on display in the Dutoit Gallery in September. The current exhibition calendar is scheduled through July 2025.