Tyndall Galleries - Chapel Hill, NC

Steve's Thoughts

I have loved this gallery for a long time. While it is in University Mall, where three art galleries can be found, Tyndall Galleries does not come across as a commercial gallery. Rather, it registers more like a museum of fine art. Everything is carefully designed to set each artwork for maximum impact.

Not that Tyndall Galleries isn't lovely in its own right. The walls are white, the floor is a lovely pale hardwood, the lighting is wonderful, and the labels are very quiet beside each piece. Artworks each have plenty of breathing room, and this means each is noticed. Featured artists have their names on the wall above their section, in a neutral toned, non-serif font, resulting in a display that could be photographed as a museum quality art poster. Jane Tyndall spoke with us about one display, in particular, and we could tell that while the artists want perfection within their paintings, Jane's goal is perfection within the gallery space. The result is worth the effort. Every time I enter this gallery I feel the wholeness and unity of it, even as I walk about and visit the separate galleries featuring each artist.

The display I mentioned above was for Jacob Cooley (whose paintings we will review in a separate post). A free-standing wall that divides the space into front and back galleries, without sacrificing the unity of the overall space, was hung with one long horizontal landscape, and then ten small square landscapes, five above, and five below. The spacing between the paintings, the spacing within the shape of the wall, and the placement of the artist's name (below, which was unusual and effective) all worked well as a composition in their own right, and held my attention longer for each piece as a result. While other artists had more work and more wall, I somehow felt that Jacob Cooley was the star attraction as a result of this special hanging.

The other two featured artists had key positions and beautiful displays, as well. We hope to review all three in separate posts.

Jane Tyndall radiates warm energy, always in motion, and if you meet her there she may strike you as the brightest point in the gallery. Staff always warmly welcome patrons, and then leave them to quietly engage the artwork. She has created a unique, beautifully scaled space, and the ever changing art in her gallery is always worth a visit.

Kaisa's Thoughts

Tyndall Galleries has an open interior, with white walls and a hardwood floor, and the artwork arranged so artistically that you feel like you’re in a museum. Each of the three featured artists have a wall to themselves, arranged to showcase the artists at their best.

Because the interior is so uncluttered, your attention is drawn to the artwork, which is easy to contemplate, since there are no distractions.

Artists featured during our review (7/28/07):

Rachel Campbell
Jacob Cooley
Gayle Stott Lowry

I love to come into Tyndall Galleries to see any new Jane Filer paintings. More on Jane Filer in a separate post, as well - I can't decide if the gallery or the artist is luckiest in that ongoing relationship.

Tyndall Galleries
University Mall
201 S. Estes Drive
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Tel: 919.942.2290

For more information, directions, hours of operation, please see the Tyndall Galleries website.