Saul Lyons Studio & Gallery
NOW CLOSED
39 W. Bridge St., New Hope, PA 18938
Saul Lyons Studio and Gallery was a vibrant, queer-run space that combined Saul’s working studio with a rotating gallery showcasing fine art by gay artists from around the world.
More than just exhibitions, it was a site of creative collaboration — welcoming visiting artists from across Europe, Asia, and beyond to co-create, share space, and sell their work. The gallery quickly became a community hub for queer expression and artistic exchange, until plans to relocate in 2020 were halted by the pandemic.
Below are some videos and photos from the time when Saul Lyons Studio and Gallery was active, alongside its former home at New Hope Arts — a non-profit arts organization known for its juried exhibitions and support of the local arts community. The building also housed several private galleries, including Saul’s.
The gallery was part of a creative complex in the heart of New Hope, which included Sidetracks Art Gallery, 43 Canal Studio, USA Leather, Donna Lillo Stained Glass, The A Space Gallery, and New Hope Arts’ own curated exhibitions. The space welcomed weekly visitors and collectors from around the world, and hosted monthly openings and receptions that brought together artists and audiences in conversation and connection.
Though the gallery is now closed, it remains an important part of Saul’s artistic journey — a space built around collaboration, community, and queer visibility in the arts.
Here are a few memories from when the place was hopping:
Well, we did it! We had the final show of Saul Lyons Studio and Gallery and it closed on December 2nd, 2019. It was a wonderful ride, but it’s over. Here is the flyer for the last show in my space. I decided to dedicate it to the local artists who have become my friends and also my inspiration.
The last solo show of the gallery was “Flower Parade” by Susan Ottaviano.
This was a new art exhibit with 40 deliciously named and devastatingly beautiful flora painted in Susan’s colorful and unique style.
The show was on view from October 5th to November 2nd. We had an opening on Saturday, October 5th from 5-9 pm.
In August, we showed the work of Tom Muscatello.
The Opening reception was Saturday, August 17th and was a great success. The show ran from August 17th to September 9th.
Tom’s colorful, expressionist work is calming and meditative, but also earthy and emotional. You get sucked into the world of each work.
Here is a link to his Instagram account for more information.
Sidetracks Art Gallery and Saul Lyons Studio recently co-sponsored a solo show by the incredibly talented Kou Shou from Macau.
His work is truly some of the finest figurative drawing I have ever seen.
Please visit https://koushouart.wordpress.com for more information about his works or to buy prints.
In the summer of 2019, we featured new work from Dan Romer.
It was excellent series of powerful, colorful collages and mixed media works on paper.
For more information about Dan’s work, please go to danromerart.com.
The opening was our biggest one yet. Here are a couple of photos from the show:
In May, John Augustine and I showed a series of works around the theme of renewal and spring, called LOVE = BLISS.
There was a lot of color from both of us. John’s pieces were wildly colorful and vibrant with a surprising darker edge to them. I stepped out of my comfort zone and painted new works in acrylic and new subjects including a series of animals.
There was also an interactive piece for people to participate in.
In 2019, the first artist we featured was Wayne Freitag.
His work is erotic, masculine and very emotional. Very expressionistic, Wayne uses all kinds of paint roughly and loosely worked to create very sophisticated and poignant paintings.
You can see more of his work at www.waynefreitagart.com.
His opening was March 2nd. The show ran for the whole month of March.
The last show in November 2018 in the space featured works by Ward Lamb.
His work is a wonderful feast of colorful masculine energy. From mixed media works to simple line drawings, he creates depth in each piece. Some of my favorite pieces he showed combine elegant patterns with rough lines in the rich hues of old paperback covers from the 1940s and 50s.
Before that, the gallery featured John Riddle who is an exceptional charcoal and graphite artist, working with a variety of materials to create elegant, refined portraits.
He captures movement and shading with simple brilliance.
Here are some examples of more work that has recently shown in the space:
John Augustine is a painter who creates very expressionistic works that are moody and evocative and often very fun.
Here is one of his works showing at the gallery:
Antoine Dutot's work is marquetry and it is so finely detailed and well done, I have a hard time imagining how he works!
Here is an example of his work:
Francesco Brunetti's works are beautiful illustrations of beautiful, ordinary and magical gay life with all its elations and disappointments. His show featured 9 new works printed on paper.
Francesco’s biggest passion is always been drawing and he always loved illustrating people, in particular, men. Indeed, his illustrations are about his idea of what male beauty is. He loves to invent characters and their stories: he imagines their lives, from their outer workings to their inner lives. There are a lot of daily life situations he likes to represent, but his favorites are about couple's life: there's a lot of romanticism in his works and some situations are inspired by his personal experiences or simply imagined.
Most of illustrations are a mix of reality and fantasy: the men are frequently naked, even in strange contexts like streets or shops. The nudity is used to represents a total freedom idea: the characters are free to express themselves without inhibitions and they can love whom they want in a complete liberty.
The works are a mix of analog and digital: the drawings are made on paper and the grays gradations with digital programs like Photoshop.
Earlier in the year, we showed new watercolor and ink works by Tom Muscatello.
Tom is a self-taught painter currently residing in Bloomfield, NJ. These works begin as watercolors from live models, exploring the immediacy and power of the male form. The addition and removal of black ink provides depth and complexity to the inherent sensuality of the original image.
The first time I saw his work I got so lot in the colors, it took me a minute to realize I was looking at a male form and then I just felt that warm, masculine presence so intensely.
The show was from June 29th to July 15th. Check out more of Tom's work on his Instagram Page.
In May, we featured wonderful new work by Dan Romer.
The very successful exhibition of his new works on paper, watercolors and collages ran from May 11 through June 4th.
