Saturday, July 4, 2009

Neil Young once sang that it's better to burn out than to fade away. But the folks at American Royal Arts Corp. gallery disagree.

After suffering a devastating fire in March that gutted the gallery's former location, American Royal Arts is to reopen today just a block away at 622 Duval St.

"I'm so happy that we are reopening so close to our previous location and that it only took us three month to do this," said Jason Cornely, American Royal Arts' director of gallery operations. "I have been running galleries for my entire career, and the one we lost was my all-time favorite. I am still not over the fact that it's gone."

The gallery is known for its entertainment art, photography and memorabilia, including signed works from Elvis, The Beatles, Bob Marley, Led Zeppelin, Frank Sinatra and countless other Rock and Roll Hall of Famers.

The March 8 fire, which was caused by electrical problems, destroyed the gallery and heavily damaged neighboring businesses The Creperie and Montage sign shop. Montage is still looking for a new location, according to Maureen Laferriere, who owns the business with her husband, Louis. The owners of The Creperie could not be reached.

The gallery sustained the most damage, with the blaze leaving only a scorched shell. All the memorabilia inside was destroyed, and the damage was so extensive the building had to be demolished.

Cornely, who operated the Key West gallery, still remembers feeling helpless as he stood in the street watching the building engulfed in flames.

"[It was] a great sense of loss," he said.

In the past three months, he and the company have been working to find a new location, identify works for the gallery and get the space ready.

"The Key West lifestyle and rock 'n' roll go hand in hand," Cornely said. "We are proud to be reopening here."

For its grand reopening, the gallery plans to bring back the exhibit "Florida, Cuba and the West Indies -- 300 Years of Mapping out Paradise." This exhibit, which was brought to Key West in 2008, showcases maps dating from the 1600s to today. Included are pre-Civil War maps of Key West, early maps of North America from the 1600s and 1700s, and vintage tourism and gas station maps from the 1940s and '50s.

Also, artist Dan Mackin will have a special show this month.

"I have been selling art for so many years in Key West. I felt it was time to do a very specific Key West scene in my next painting," Mackin said in a press release. "In light of the fire, I felt the time was just right to do something special."

Later this year, in honor of the 40th anniversary of Woodstock, the gallery is bringing the former lead singer of Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship to Key West to introduce his one-man art show. Marty Balin's work showcases his portraits of his rock 'n' roll friends Jim Hendrix, Grace Slick and Jerry Garcia, among others.

The gallery also is scheduled to bring in artists and photographers each month to talk about their artwork and the world of rock 'n' roll.

American Royal Arts reopens at 10 a.m. today.

amswary@keysnews.com