Galleries make Paoli a destination
A funny thing happens to Theresa Abel at Madison cocktail parties.
Abel manages Artisan Gallery in Paoli, a 5,000-square-foot gallery showcasing more than 140 artists from around the country. When she tells people what she does, she receives one of two responses: “Either they say, ‘Oh, I love it there, I go all the time,'” Abel said. “Or they’ve never heard of it.”
Abel has worked at the Artisan for about 12 years, six of them as the owner and gallery manager. Artisan has become a destination for art lovers in Wisconsin and Illinois, especially during the beautiful autumn color change. Abel said she’s constantly surprised at how many people at art shows across the country know Paoli, and know the Artisan.
“People who travel to Madison, who have kids in school there … they come back every year,” Abel said. “It’s a biking destination, a place people love.”
With a main street lined with galleries and small shops, tiny, unincorporated Paoli is becoming a full-on destination in its own right. Though summer is the busy season, a cool day in fall is prime time to make the short 15-mile drive (or bike ride) to this rural community south of Madison.
“The town itself has been growing,” said Christian Andrew (“Andy”) Grooms, an artist who runs the Paoli House Gallery with his parents, Beverly and Michael Thom. The Gallery opened in May 2007 and hosts four to six shows a year.
