2nd Story currently has two exhibitions on view: 1) DOPA MINE DOPA MINE brings together paintings by David Kaiser and recent wall hangings by SUBSTUDIO (Hannah Dewhirst and Ingrid A Schmidt). Utilizing different mediums and approaches to making, these artists are aligned in their rigorous commitment to abstraction and experimentation. Transforming their chosen materials through additive or subtractive gestures, they create works that have a call and response relationship to each other, and share formal concerns including shape, line, color, and repetition. 2) CHAINED ROCK Using a post-documentary approach, artist Elijah Howe presents handcrafted objects and photographs exploring the people, places, and cultural traditions of Chained Rock, a fictional town that functions as a composite portrait of life in rural Kentucky. In the artist’s apocryphal telling, Chained Rock is a project about a small community nestled at the foot of Pine Mountain. The residents of Chained Rock live under the shadow of a massive boulder, secured by chains put in place by the town’s forefathers to protect against the threat of it tumbling down. Below, a powerful river flows, often rising high enough to breach flood walls and inundate the town. This exhibition investigates why Chained Rockians remain in a place so fragile, perpetually on the brink of destruction.

2nd Story is a curatorial space for creative risk-taking, artistic collaboration, and innovative thinking within the visual arts. We empower artists to create new work that stretches the conceptual and formal boundaries of their practice, and we present exhibitions, talks, and educational programs that contribute to the cultural vitality of Lexington and beyond. We are committed to a nimble organizational infrastructure that is responsive to artists who are exploring new ideas and evolving processes, and to a rigorous curatorial platform that situates artists' work within current and art historical dialogues.

Tuesday - Friday: 1 to 5 pm Alternative hours, anytime: call 608.334.4049 to pop in