Emerging Together: How Povos Gallery is Building a Cultural Space for Young Artists
by Ben Kim Paplham (MFA 2021)
If you find yourself visiting Povos Gallery, you’ll be welcomed to a pure, unfiltered artistic experience.
You’ll find white walls, expansive floor space, no titling or artist statements, artwork set in constructed niches and corners and sectional walls—like kerning on a page—to invite you to give your time to each individual piece.
Installation view of Fights by William Schaeuble (BFA 2022). Image courtesy of Povos
Installation view of Fights by William Schaeuble (BFA 2022). Image courtesy of Povos
The neutrality of presentation is by design—a chance to enter a relationship with the art without distraction or preconception. If you feel uninformed or afraid of not “getting it,” you’re invited to learn through whatever raw emotions you stumble across.
“Facilitating that congregation is the deeper philosophy of the project,” explained Lucca Colombelli (SAIC 2017–18), founder of Povos, which is the Portuguese word for people. “Our approach is that this is a very cultural space. The cultural engagement comes with the work. It’s all built on the foundation of congregation and celebration as opposed to exclusivity.”
What began as an online gallery in 2020, and pop-up locations in restaurants and friends’ apartments, has blossomed in 2024 with an expansion into two permanent locations: the old West Town gallery on West Chicago Avenue, and the addition of Povos Downtown on West Van Buren. Povos Downtown (previously the W. Gallery) is the result of a partnership between Colombelli and Winston Guo (BFA 2023), who exhibited Colombelli’s paintings in 2023.
Image courtesy of Povos
Image courtesy of Povos
“[Our partnership] came pretty organically,” said Guo. “I went to the opening of Lucca’s parent location, the West Town location, and we talked a little bit. Throughout 2023, we got closer as we talked about this industry a little bit more, and realized we complemented each other.”
After a renovation of both spaces, Povos Gallery held a hard launch in April of this year with exhibitions in both spaces. They’ve already programmed six of their 10 scheduled events for the year, with a special interest in young artists without much exposure yet. “There’s no shortage of good artists,” Colombelli said. “But there is a shortage of emerging exhibition spaces, foot-in-the-door galleries that are uninvolved in the commercial art world.”
Among their showcased artists, they’ve also included several familiar faces to SAIC over the past year:
Te Diré Quien Eres by Isabella Mellado (MFA 2023) was held at the West Town location, which featured large, mythic paintings that combined traditional Catholic symbolism with characters of queer surrealist humor.
Isabella Mellado, The Hierophant, gouache on paper
Isabella Mellado, The Hierophant, gouache on paper
Fights by William Schaeuble (BFA 2022), one of the seminal artists in establishing Povos, was also held on West Chicago and featured paintings of people in epic physical confrontations in absurd locations and situations.
William Schaeuble, Apple Thief, 2024, oil on canvas, 40 x 32 inches
William Schaeuble, Apple Thief, 2024, oil on canvas, 40 x 32 inches
Birds of No Feather by Julia Signe (BFA 2022) was held at Povos Downtown, and showcased a series of graphite drawings thematically connected together by an anthropomorphic bird person journeying through folkloric garden-esque landscapes.
Julia Signe, Cookie Jar, graphite on paper, 8 x 9 inches
Julia Signe, Cookie Jar, graphite on paper, 8 x 9 inches
Their current shows are Breaking Bread at Povos West Town, featuring paintings by Thérèse Mulgrew and her mother Wendy S. Rolfe, and 繁阴" "繁阴 (fán yīn), a group exhibition of Chinese artists, at Povos Downtown. Their gallery designer, Wei Wei (BFA 2023), is also an SAIC alum.
Thérèse Mulgrew, H’ors D’oeuvres, 2024, oil on canvas, 48 x 72 inches
Thérèse Mulgrew, H’ors D’oeuvres, 2024, oil on canvas, 48 x 72 inches
In part, the success of Povos comes from its desire to diminish the barrier between artist, curator, and consumer. Both Colombelli and Guo emphasize the vision for Povos to become “a third space, a meeting place, a cultural space” where artists and viewers can engage with one another. For Povos, it starts with building a strong relationship with the artists and allowing them to realize their exhibition as their own creation.
“There’s no shortage of good artists,” Colombelli said. “But there is a shortage of emerging exhibition spaces, foot-in-the-door galleries that are uninvolved in the commercial art world.”
“Collaboration is built into the exhibitions,” said Colombelli. “We allow the artist to be very involved in everything that we do. They’re involved in the writing, they’re involved in the installation, they’re involved in the photography, and the positioning to the press. I’m more interested in delivering the message from the artist to the public, and when we include them at every intersection, then there’s always room for their vision to be brought into the exhibition.”
This new partnership has barely begun, but Colombelli and Guo are confident that the whirlwind of the past several months has laid the foundation for Povos to continue investing in their growing community of artists and visitors. ■
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