Making art accessible Bethesda woman opens art gallery in her home

by Aaron Leibel

Arts Editor

Sharon Fine hopes that her new art gallery will encourage people to buy original pieces of art. "I believe that buying art is a very personal decision, and it requires highly personalized attention and service," says Bethesda's Fine, who believes hers is the only area home gallery open to the public.

"The biggest thing is I want to make it accessible," she says of her appointment-only gallery. "Many people want to have art, and they go and buy a print. But most would like an original piece of art, and I want to make it accessible for them," by setting up appointments convenient to visitors.

Not an artist herself, Fine has more than 50 pieces of art to display by 13 artists, most of whom are local -- a practice she hopes to continue. "There is enormous talent here," she says, "and people are looking for another venue to display their art."

Among the artists whose works will be exhibited in the collector's gallery are Tom Block of Silver Spring, Linda Cafritz who lives in Bethesda, Miriam Rylands from Rockville and Ellyn Weiss of Bethesda.

One of the pieces in her opening exhibit will be from Tom Block's Ba'al Shem Tov series. She plans to have more Judaica in the future, including works by sculptress Linda Gissen.

Prices will range from $350 to $7,000.

Her home, which was once owned by Jewish philanthropist Norman Diamond, has a dedicated gallery space, but the works -- abstract, figurative, still life, landscapes, expressionist and pop art -- also will be exhibited in other parts of the house.

Born in 1967 in Norfolk, Fine says she has always been drawn to art -- from her love of drawing as a child to spending her first paycheck as a college student on a painting. A graduate of Emory University in Atlanta, she studied art history for a semester at the University of London. She later spent three months as a volunteer on Kibbutz Ein Hashofet in Israel.

A member of Congregation Beth El of Montgomery County, she spent 13 years as a lobbyist, quitting her job in April to get ready to open her gallery.

"I had always wanted to open a gallery, and we [her husband and she] knew we would open one at some time," she says.

"My daughter was born, and I wanted to spend more time at home. It was good timing due to a number of factors," she says of her decision to open the gallery this year.

The Sharon Fine Gallery will open with a cocktail party next Thursday featuring many of the artists whose work she will display. There also will be a viewing the following Sunday. To make reservations for either event or to make an appointment to visit the gallery, call 301-913-0082 or e-mail sharonfinekatz@aol.com.