Aidan Stanley's new Fredericton gallery, Floor Five Hundred, specializes in exhibitions of work by emerging artists

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Metalsmith Aidan Stanley knew he'd found the home for his latest venture when he saw the former dance studio above Jack's Pizza in downtown Fredericton.

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Floor Five Hundred A choker by Aidan Stanley, in exhibition ‘Slash.’

Metalsmith Aidan Stanley at work at his bench. Inset, left: a necklace by Mike Milton, one of the works in ‘Slash,’ an exhibition at Floor Five Hundred.

"You walk into a space that has a little bit of a light, big white walls, a silver ceiling and lots of mirrors and it just screams emerging artist gallery," he said Monday.

Slash, the first exhibition at Floor Five Hundred, the name Stanley has given to his fledgling gallery, opened Friday. Along with five of his own pieces, he is showing jewelry and designs by metalsmiths Erica Sullivan and Mike Milton.

While an established artist might turn her nose up at exhibiting in a space where fast food smells waft up from the restaurant below, Stanley, 28, said most emerging artists are just grateful for a chance to show their work.

After graduating in June from an advanced studies program at the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design that teaches craftspeople entrepreneurial skills, "I'm realizing how finding a studio is really tricky and having a place to show your work is really tricky."

He is not overly formal in how he defines emerging artists. He expects most of the work he shows will be by students or recent graduates not represented by galleries.

The long room also doubles as Stanley's studio. He has been in the space for a month, setting up his bench and equipment and cozying it up with pottery and posters and a hanging screen he made of twine and twigs.

He is learning about the logistics of running a gallery and setting up a show. There is security to consider, along with display and lighting.

For Slash, he made 15 plaster hands in different postures to show the work, the pieces resting in the palm or dangling off the fingers. He screwed the hands along the gallery's long, main wall, projecting Psycho over them to add to the Halloween theme.

While there is a definite do-it-yourself atmosphere to the space, Stanley said he will treat other artists' work professionally, making sure it is clean, well-lit and safe.

"Although we're young and we're experimenting and we're playing, we're really quite serious."

- Kate Wallace, Telegraph-Journal

Editor's note: Floor Five Hundred is open by chance or appointment. To get there, go up the metal staircase at 380 Mazucca's Lane, above Jack's Pizza, and ring the doorbell. Make an appointment with Stanley by calling 440-9712 or emailing aidan@thesilverline.net.