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Art gallery is a labor of love for Chappel House owners
GURRY AND JEAN CHAPPEL are living a dream by owning a gallery in Florissant–the only one in town. The new art gallery is located at 4560 Washington Avenue near Dunn Road, between Johnny Londoff and the new Lindenwood campus.
STORY AND PHOTO BY CAROL ARNETT
Florissant’s newest business is truly one of a kind. Gurry and Jean Chappel have opened Chappel House, the first art gallery in the city in a former home at 4560 Washington Street. The art gallery is near Interstate 270, next to the old Our Lady of Fatima site which is now a campus of Lindenwood University.
The work of over 45 artists is exhibited at Chappel House. The artists include painters as well as artists who work in jewelry, wood, photography, textiles, and glass. “Everything is handmade,” Jean Chappel said, “and all but two of our artists are from the area.”
Jean Chappel is a research scientist at Washington University. She manages a research lab, which she said is high pressure work. “I’m almost old enough to retire, and I thought ‘if I could do anything I wanted, what would it be,’” Chappel said. Her answer was the art gallery. “I wanted to do something fun,” she said.
The Chappels bought the house in April of 2005. Jean described the process of changing the house from a home to a business as very challenging. “It sometimes got frustrating,” she said, “we had to get the property rezoned and get all of our changes approved.” They worked with both the city of Florissant and St. Louis County to get approval for changes to the property and the entrance from Washington Street.
Several of the artists featured have biographies and photos displayed near their work. Jean Chappel said she is trying to get the information for all the artists. “I know them all,” she said, adding that one of the benefits of owning the gallery has been getting to know the artists who display their work there.
The first floor of the house contains the gallery space and a small classroom. Currently, a jewelry class and a knitting class are offered. The Chappels have also hosted a few book signings at the house and more are planned.
Jean Chappel said she would like to eventually offer more classes and she has some ideas for children’s programs. The back porch of the house could be used as a class space in the summer, she said. “Kids could be messy, and we’d just hose it off after class,” she said.
The Chappels use part of the upstairs of the house for their office. A local artist uses an upstairs room as a studio. “She works here for us in the gallery, and in exchange, she uses the space for her studio,” Jean said. “It’s worked out well for both of us.”
Chappel said the gallery has been doing well. “We’ve sold a lot of jewelry and glass, along with handmade greeting cards,” she said. “We have customers who think of us when they want to buy a gift.”
Both Jean and Gurry are themselves artists. Gurry Chappel has several of his photographs exhibited at the house, and Jean has some knitted items. Jean also teaches the knitting class the house offers.
The Chappels are happy with their decision to open the house. Jean says she looks forward to the day she retires from her job at Washington University and works full-time at the house. “I just love coming in here,” she said. “I love to turn on the lights in the morning and see all the art come to life – what could be better than that?”
