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WHEELING -- When Dr. David Kappel saw the available space on the third floor of Center Wheeling's Antiques on the Market, he found inspiration.
Sure, it was just some empty floor space at the time, but Kappel saw beyond the emptiness. He saw a place where local artists can be showcased, where their works can reach eyes never before available and the Ohio Valley can learn more about the immensely talented people who live among them.
Those opportunities begin Saturday, when The Gallery at 2265 opens with its inaugural art exhibit "New Beginnings." That exhibit will feature two local artists, and Kappel hopes that's just the first step in presenting even more artists from around the area.
Kappel said the seeds for the gallery began germinating before the COVID-19 pandemic but, as with many aspects of life, the pandemic put things on hold. Once things began to subside, he and Dr. E. Phillips Polack started gearing back up to make the idea a reality.
"We have been involved with the arts -- the (Wheeling) Symphony, creative arts, Stifel, all those things -- for 40-plus years, as we've lived and worked here," Kappel said, "so I thought it was time to really showcase some of the artists, painters, and some of the three-dimensional folk from Wheeling, initially, and then hopefully expanded to regional artists.
"And it's sort of a give-back to the community for all that we have lived and enjoyed here and raised our families with here," he added.
The gallery's name comes from its address, 2265 Market Street in Centre Wheeling.
The neighborhood already is home to many of Wheeling's artists. Their works have been shown in Centre Market, Towngate Theatre and other spots. Kappel feels The Gallery at 2265 will be a great companion to those established sites and a way to introduce the public to even more gifted people.
There are more than even they already assume, he said.
"There's a hidden treasure in Wheeling," Kappel said. "Centre Market, as you well know, attracts a lot of tourists that come to Wheeling because of the stuff that's there -- Coleman's Fish Market, the antique stores, et cetera. So it's sort of an ideal place for people to suddenly wander into and go, 'Wow, this is pretty good stuff.'"
The first two artists who will make up the "New Beginnings" exhibit are Clare McDonald and Cheryl Ryan Harshman. McDonald works with more realistic themes -- portraits and still life among them. Harshman works more in abstracts and uses several different methods such as acrylics, watercolors, clay prints and more.
The long-term plan for the gallery is to showcase the Ohio Valley's artists at the start, then branch out regionally. Harshman and McDonald's works will be on display until Aug. 9. Entry into the gallery is free and the building is open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
"There's been a steady arts community in Wheeling," Kappel said. "In terms of exposure, it's getting better, and this is another way to do that."