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WASHINGTON FLYER
House of Blues
On U Street, five guys dream a little about D.C.’s alternative arts scene
By Margaret Foster
September/October 2001

Jose Ruiz and his buddies aren't trying to fool anyone. They're local artists. But they're also young. So when the guys launched the gallery and studio Decatur Blue (919 Florida Ave. NW, 202-518-8969) last year, it was assumed the place would have more than a few party-house tendencies. That's why you'll see gallery couches slouching like old mares and cigarette butts dotting the floors. But unlike fraternity row in College Park, you'll also see original paintings and photographs stacked along the walls—reminders of D.C.'s vibrant arts scene.

"We try to keep the gallery humble," says Ruiz, 25. "Anyone who likes art and wants to know more about it can come in and not have [the experience] be an art-history thing."

Decatur Blue's origins are a combination of artistic serendipity and guts. Last year, Ruiz spied a 2,000-square-foot studio near the U Street Metro. He needed help with the rent, so he called a few friends and found four—fellow artists Stoff Smulson, Ryan Hackett, Javier Cuellar and Champ Taylor—willing to pitch in. The five met and, unlike an episode of MTV's "Real World," got along. As they painted, ripped up carpets and installed track lighting, the young artists decided to become curators. A few months later, Decatur Blue held its first show. And on September 22, the gallery will host its tenth art opening, a multimedia group show.

"There's a renaissance going on in this neighborhood, and you can feel it," says Smulson. "We've tried to tap into that."

The gallery has helped that urban renaissance. On opening nights, about 400 people flock to Decatur Blue—gallery owners, art collectors and families with kids—for the open bar, the live music and, of course, the art. The low-key ambiance works. Art sells at every opening, and people keep coming back. "We're showing art in a way that allows you to enjoy it," says Smulson. "Art doesn't happen in some pristine gallery. It happens in a raw manner, with music, sweat and dirt."

In some exhibits, the gallery has displayed photographs of a birth, multimedia paintings and a walk-in installation of a girl's pink bedroom, its walls covered with heavy-metal posters. Though the Decatur Blue brothers may seem revolutionary, they have studied the masters in art school and are plugged into D.C.'s well-heeled galleries (Taylor even works at the Phillips Collection). While they work with established artists, they seek out emerging ones. "Our main concern is to promote young artists," says Ruiz.

The gallery is breaking even, but its curators aren't in it for the cash. "We're not the most business-savvy, money-making kind of place," Smulson says. "We're all living the lives of starving artists."

Still, it doesn't take much to figure out that the boys are having a good time. At their exhibits, you can catch a little music, a little art and a lot of atmosphere. "I've been in galleries and, all of a sudden, the lights go down at nine o'clock," Smulson says. "Our lights don't go off until two or three."