With large windows displaying all kinds of photos, paintings and sculptures, the Brookline Arts Center (BAC)’s 1351 Beacon St. Gallery makes people crane their necks and turn their heads when passing by. A great place to visit with a diverse selection of art pieces, the gallery welcomes curious incomers without any fees or reservations.

The gallery is located next to the game store, Eureka and shares an entrance with its other neighbor, the marijuana dispensary Sanctuary. The 1351 Beacon St. Gallery has just the right amount of art to see in one sitting without getting too overwhelmed.

The gallery has been in Brookline since the fall of 2020, and as written on the BAC Gallery web page, its purpose is to display artwork in a manner that is accessible to everyone.

This month’s collection of art pieces featured the local artists Tara Sellios, Kevin Bennett Moore and Caleb Cole. Sellios’s collection had all kinds of dead insects and skeletons with blank backgrounds that projected moods varying from sad to happy to hopeful. The work was very cryptic, and perhaps for people who dislike insects, it would not be the most ideal art to see. However, the message of temporary life and impermanence was enjoyable, even if the pieces themselves weren’t much a favorite. It was hard for me to find a direction or a message that the art created, and frankly, the medium was not my favorite either.

Kevin Bennett Moore’s pieces were edited pictures focused on one specific person. The photos were unnerving at first because of how empty and emotionless the subjects looked in each one. They seemed to convey a seemingly satirical feeling through the portrayal of the person. The small details in the pieces were satisfying, such as the old McDonalds cup in one, or the old movie theater in another, hinting at a setting in the 1980s’.

Out of Moore’s pieces, “Satellite of Love” (2019) personally stood out the most. The edited picture showed an obscured image of a person on an almost completely black screen, which is being watched by the same person through the screen. It seemed like they were not being true to themselves, as if they were seeing someone else.

The last artist was Caleb Cole, and a personal favorite. His art was surprisingly small and various, with many different collage-like pieces that always had one faint silhouette of a person. He also used the same color palette which was repeated within each separate art piece.

Cole’s “Trace (Locker room)” was the most impactful of his pieces. It showed a figure leaning on purple lockers and a jersey hanging off a handle. The “trace” of a figure was the only thing there, which was a slight discoloration and outline of a person. It seemed to symbolize all the young people that feel like they could not freely express themselves. It was something that especially provoked a solemn silence. The way the “traces” posed showed happiness and freedom, contrasting with the fear the art itself depicted.

Overall, visiting the 1351 Beacon St. Gallery was a great experience that did not require much of a time commitment compared to some other galleries that many visit, such as the Museum of Fine Arts.

Not only a perfect gallery for COVID times, this collection specifically touches on topics that are so relevant to modern times- impermanence, identity and being really yourself- which only amplifies the importance of modern art and the idea that art should be available to everyone.

Please take a look while these pieces are still up; they’ll only be on the walls until Apr. 2nd, 2021.

 The gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Mondays through Saturdays, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. The art collection is also rotated every few months.