A new art gallery located at a familiar building in Omena aims to open as soon as late May.
Leelanau County natives Matt and Hillary Voight are the founders of “V Gallery” in the heart of Omena. The name is not just a nod to the former Tamarack Gallery owners’ Sally and David Viskochil, but it also represents their own family name, Voight, as they transition into the space and add their own touch to it.
“We wanted to make sure it was a little more modern than what’s been traditional in the gallery spaces up here. So ‘V’ is because of our name Voight, but we also wanted to give big thanks to the Viskochils who created such a lovely and welcoming space, they really helped with the artist community here, but also above and beyond that,” Hillary said.
Tamarack, along with other prominent art galleries like Suttons Bay Galleries and Main Street Gallery in Leland, closed in 2023. With the loss of three established Leelanau galleries that were all in business for over 30 years, the Voight’s hope their business can help build that representation again among the many artists in the area and from across the country.
“We want to be inclusive of area artists for sure, but also expanding into having artists from all over the country and globally,” Hillary said. “We’re excited to have a space for many of these artists that would be without a space… Some of these artists were at Tamarack, some were at Main Street Gallery, and some were not represented at all in any gallery and this will be the first time they are being represented, which is also really exciting because it’s a first for us and a first for them, so we’re in this together.”
A diverse array of art pieces will be featured, including new and past artists added. Hillary explained that a lot of galleries in northern Michigan only focus on having art that features local landscapes or connections, but they want to expand their range and include different forms of art from beyond the state, too.
“The kind of idea for the gallery is we’d like it to be able to be picked up and dropped anywhere in the country and it wouldn’t feel out of place,” she said. “We’re not too rigid on what we’re focusing on, just quality (high end) art… We’ve had a number of the artists walk through and they’ve had a total rush of inspiration and drive and they’re creating a lot specifically for the space, which is exciting to have people have that amount of energy.”
Matt and Hillary both have close ties to the area and Tamarack Gallery starting from when they were young art collectors growing up in the county. Matt’s father, a carpenter, knew the Viskochils and spent years restoring the building, and Hillary would often visit Tamarack in her youth when her aunt had a home in Omena. Additionally, Matt is an artist himself who had his furniture work on display at Tamarack for 15 years.
Hillary will continue her fulltime work in real estate, as well as volunteering, teaching and running Dance Leelanau classes, and Matt, who does carpentry and creates furniture, will be focused more on operating the art gallery. The couple, who have two young toddlers, said their family has already spent much of their time in the gallery while preparing to open these last few months.
“They (the kids) talk about the gallery almost every day and we haven’t hung up anything, but it’s in storage right now, and they’re very curious to see what new stuff and new pieces come through the doors,” she said. “I foresee us all spending a lot of time there (in preparation for solo and group shows) and enjoying the space and the community that we create within.”
In the process of curating art to be featured, Hillary said it’s been great to have in-depth conversations with artists to hone in on what they need, what they see as lacking in the area, what they loved about the galleries they were in that have closed, and what they hope to see continue on.
“It’s been nice to have seasoned artists who are very familiar with the gallery setting and to have those conversations. It’s also great to have these new artists who have yet to show their work other than on their website or Instagram and have a physical space for patrons to go,” she said.
The Voights will hold a large public opening ceremony in June to display their new gallery and artist work. People can sign up for their newsletter via their website www.v-v-v-v.com to follow for more updates on specific dates and times.
