Review

Wonder Fair Offers Rich Art Encounters for All

Wonder Fair proprietors Casey Millstein and Eric Dobbins. Photos courtesy of Wonder Fair.

At Wonder Fair: Art Gallery & How!, you can retrieve art from a repurposed vending machine and discuss the beauty of artist books while sipping a Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and purchasing a handmade screen-printed T-shirt. An opening at Wonder Fair, located on popular Massachusetts Street in Lawrence, Kansas, has it all. The positive energy and unpretentious space, coupled with its varied and unique art offerings, promise a truly unique experience.

Wonder Fair occupies a cozy space beneath the Casbah Market near Eighth Street. Despite its remote location, the gallery has an inside atmosphere that in no way suggests it is the meeting site of a secret art society. There are no guest lists or dress codes to overcome. In fact, the mood is just the opposite. The name Wonder Fair sums up the energy of the place, as well as the potential it holds, says owner, Eric Dobbins. He hopes that people view the gallery as a place where possibilities loom and transformation is welcomed with an open mind.

Artists books displayed for purchase at Wonder Fair. Artwork by Justin Marable hangs on the rock wall in the background.

The humble chalkboard propped on the sidewalk outside serves as the gallery’s first introduction to passersby, as it charismatically invites them to come on down. Its art-without-airs attitude reflects ideals espoused inside. As I traipsed down the stairs to the gallery, my eyes pored over every square inch in an effort to decode what, in particular, made the space so whimsical, and so welcoming. It took no more 45 seconds for the owner, clad in an ink-smeared apron, to rise from his worktable, setting aside the screen print he was assembling. He was busily printing shirts for an interested individual who had dropped off his design earlier. Still, Dobbins introduced himself and eagerly fielded each of my questions, a privilege afforded to every one of his guests. Not long after I made my first pass around the perimeter of the space, two women from out of town walked in. I watched as their faces portrayed reactions similar to those I had experienced. They seemed to recognize that they had just stumbled upon a room piled high with hidden treasure. They looked at each other, and simultaneously concurred, “Nice space!” Joey Gantner, now a Wonder Fair-regular, recalls catching the bug. His first trip to Wonder Fair inspired him to go home and create a comic. Now, he sells screen covers of that comic in the gallery. “It’s by far my favorite place in Lawrence … or maybe anywhere,” he says. Gantner also cites the owner’s friendly enthusiasm as a draw. “The gallery itself feels very gentle and inviting, and Eric (Dobbins) always seems ready for a chat about anything.”

In its inaugural year, Wonder Fair is seeing success through support from an active community of artists and art advocates and the unyielding enthusiasm and savvy of Dobbins, a Lawrence native and graduate of the Kansas University fine arts program. Through connections with artists he has worked with and admired, Dobbins brings their works in under the spotlight of the track lighting that lines the north wall of his gallery. The vibrant screen prints of Justin Marable, a northeast Kansas native, were the most recent works to have earned feature billing in the space when I was there. The work in In a Sea of Change addresses themes of commercialization and progress and pays heed to the visible tolls taken on the natural environment. At the opening for his exhibition, Marable sang Dobbins’s praises, explaining that the feeling of the gallery appeals to many. For some, it serves as a welcome reminder of The Olive, a Lawrence gallery that closed in 2006, much to the dismay of those who appreciated its “edgy” and affordable art, says Marable.

Another hand-selected artist whose work Dobbins has featured is Bernadette Zacharias. Her gel-ink pen drawings, though undeniably different from Marable’s prints, also met with great approval. Many sported sold stickers before the end of the opening event. Before Zacharias, Dobbins had featured the work of former classmate, Ilenia Madelaire. Her exhibition, In a Stranger’s House, featured eight acrylic paint-and-pencil drawings of faceless figures set in curious spaces with perspective riddles and suggested furniture.

Independent from featured artists’ styles and media, Wonder Fair maintains an unfaltering aesthetic of whimsy and delight that encourages visitors to appreciate all that surrounds them. People like local artist Christa Dalien treasure the atmosphere at Wonder Fair. “It has been a really a great space to bring people together in a creative way and has provided an outlet for the creative makers all around us. Eric (Dobbins) and Casey (Millstein, who with her family also runs the vegetarian market above Wonder Fair) have done a great job in making it into more than a gallery.”

Part of that sense of the space as more than a gallery springs from its impressive collection of artist books and handmade crafts, objects not always associated with a fine art gallery setting. At Wonder Fair, they are given pride of place, crowding the tabletops and shelves that line the gallery’s south wall. They stand next to the big comfy couch, where conversationalists, thinkers, and lookers plant themselves among the cushions. There are handmade sketchbooks, comic books, colorful pins, handmade jewelry, and stationery, set off by a backdrop of vintage ephemera, including a pair of metal skates and a Crosley River radio.

The incorporation of merchandise stems from Dobbins’ initial conception of the space. He thought about the tendencies and offerings of galleries that attracted him in the San Francisco area, and in an effort to bring that feeling home, he took a trip there with his father. He studied the spaces and brought back carefully selected ideas. As noted by Michael Krueger, a local artist and associate professor of art at KU, Dobbins’ selections reveal a distinctiveness that is not always present in galleries. “Eric Dobbins has a very clear curatorial vision,” he says. “Wonder Fair showcases the artworks of local artists in a welcoming and professional setting. The feeling of community and openness abounds in a totally unpretentious atmosphere.” Steve Goddard, a self-proclaimed “art worker,” delights in Wonder Fair’s selection of special handmade artist books. With the ambiance set by the music and the variety of works by familiar teachers and students alike, the experience is special for him. Goddard notes that Dobbins’s connectedness with local artists is remarkable.

Through its welcoming environment, local artist promotion, and varied scale and types of works, Wonder Fair encourages people to encounter art and embrace creative expression with no barriers. There is a professional demeanor — without stuffiness. Dobbins observes that patrons buy art at Wonder Fair because they love it and appreciate it. They are not drawn in by the incentive of a major investment but rather to the unique experience they have come to associate with the place.

Wonder Fair: Art Gallery & How!
803 Massachusetts Street
Lawrence, Kansas 66044
www.wonderfair.com

Emily Ryan holds a B.A. in art history from the College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio, and an M.A. in art history from the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. She currently works at the Spencer Museum of Art in Lawrence.

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