Out and About

by David Beers

107 Main Street in Falls Village is a large, stately white building across the green from the Falls Village Inn and directly across the street from the Canaan Town Hall. It has been a post office, plumbing shop and grocery store. Just prior to the town acquiring the building in the early 1960s, it was a bank. The town located its offices and senior center there until 1999, when National Iron Bank donated its building across the street to Falls Village. As this structure provided more room for offices and a larger vault for records, the town hall moved in, while the senior center stayed on the second floor of 107 Main.

For 21 years, the Canaan Board of Selectmen rented the first floor of 107 Main to artists for their studios. In 2021, with an eye on bringing more business activity to the downtown, they decided to rent the downstairs to two new businesses that are just beginning their time to shine in downtown Falls Village.

Local resident Kathleen Kucka has a background as an artist and an art center director/curator. A recent transplant from New York City, she has always loved Northwest Connecticut. During a winter walk downtown, Kucka met the economic development director for Falls Village, Felicia Jones, and asked about the 107 Main Street property. She found out about the available space and was soon meeting with the Board of Selectmen to finalize renting it for an art gallery. 

Her new business, Furnace—Art on Paper Archive, takes its name from the red-hot stone blast furnaces that spewed molten iron in Falls Village in the 19th century. Like a blast furnace, this gallery will be creating energy of its own kind. The main gallery space is dedicated to a different artist each month. Along one wall, large map drawers, called the paper archive, are filled with the works of previous and future exhibitors. While the gallery shows primarily works on paper, it does plan to exhibit some sculpture in the future. Kucka is focused on presenting the highest quality art she can find, saying that “Art is an experience to be shared.”

A stroll out the back door of the main gallery leads through the future dining area of the adjacent Falls Village Café to the old walk-in bank vault. Once, it safeguarded property deeds or safe deposit boxes. Now it fortifies a variety of art from past and future exhibits. The café space in between, currently under construction, will offer visitors a beautiful southern view onto the town green and the Falls Village Inn. The café plans on serving Irving Farm coffee, baked goods and lunch. Outdoor seating on the green will be available.

At Furnace, prices range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars for the works of highly regarded artists from near and far. Every six weeks or so, Kucka will host a public reception for a new artist, on Saturdays from 4 to 6 p.m. The current featured artist is Stephen Maine of West Cornwall, to be followed by Marilla Palmer of Lakeville starting on June 12.  Furnace is open Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more details about the artists and future events, visit their website: furnace-artonpaperarchive.com.