"Boston’s Panopticon Gallery might have an unusual, and unusually small, footprint – it’s little more than a hallway that connects the lobby of the stately Hotel Commonwealth to the hotel’s award-winning restaurant, Eastern Standard. Within that lush carpeted expanse, however, you’ll find all the wall space you could want: four deep-set, well-lit bays housing an average of 30 works per show. (In the Garden, on view March 1 through April 30, includes work by eight contemporary photographers.) Kat Kiernan, Panopticon’s director since 2017, finds potential in that narrow footprint. 'Hundreds of people come through every day. And when I’m not here there are bellhops, valets – a whole staff who are like my eyes and ears and love to talk about the work. A first-floor gallery space in Chelsea may seem accessible, but in reality there’s that mental lock on opening the door. Here, no one is talking in hushed tones. If you only want to reach people who already consider themselves collectors in this business, you’re going to be pretty lonely.'”
Read the article by Sarah Schmerler here.
