Thinking of making a little free library? How about a Tiny Art Gallery

Julia Martin, NorthJersey.com
·2 min read

First there were Little Free Libraries. Then there were Little Free Pantries. Now, if a local woman has her way, there will be Little Free Art Galleries dotting Montclair's streets.

Francesca Castagnoli, a copy director for Amazon Fashion, has always been charmed by tiny things, including Montclair’s curbside libraries and pantries. This winter, she began wondering, “Wouldn’t it be fun if there were miniature galleries to peek into when you’re walking around town?

“We’ve gone through so much; it’s kind of nice to get small and local and spend a moment with something beautiful,” she said.

With the help of Seattle-based friend and artist Yana Rodin, Montclair's first Tiny Art Gallery now beckons viewers outside Castagnoli's Stanford Place home. Inside a 3-by-2-foot wooden box on a stand hang 12 tiny watercolor paintings and 12 unframed landscapes.

Francesca Castagnoli stands outside her home on Montclair's Standford Place , where she and her family have created a Tiny Art Gallery.
Francesca Castagnoli stands outside her home on Montclair's Standford Place , where she and her family have created a Tiny Art Gallery.

On the tinygallerymontclair website and on Instagram@tinygallerymontclair, Rodin describes her exhibit as 12 “intimate, vibrant jewel-like paintings [that] catch a glimpse of the wonderful charming and charismatic characters of [my] dreams.”

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Constructing the box and framing the Lilliputian artworks was no easy feat. Castagnoli relied on the help of husband David and son Conrad, an art student at Cooper Union. Coming soon to the website, she said, are directions for constructing a Tiny Gallery box and stand.

She asks artists interested in painting for the gallery to direct-message her on the Tiny Gallery Instagram account. She expects the Rodin exhibit to remain until April 1, at which point she’ll send the works to other tiny galleries. First stop will be Seattle, where Rodin is spearheading a 100-day "Tiny Art Challenge" to area artists; another friend in San Francisco is planning to start a Tiny Gallery project there. The artworks are available for purchase after exhibiting.

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Meanwhile Castagnoli, who works from home, delights in seeing passersby peek into her Tiny Gallery at the edge of her lawn, just off Grove Street.

"I work for the biggest company; today, everything's big and overwhelming," she said. "It’s a beautiful thing to see someone stopping by to look at tiny art. The other day, I saw my postman stopping and staring. I was like, Oh, my gosh, Angelo’s looking at it. Nothing makes me happier.”

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Tiny Art Gallery brings little masterpieces to Montclair street