"Sweet Emotion": A Small but Lovely Exhibit Inside Photographer Jeremiah Jenner's Home/Studio/Gallery

Many artists long to have their own galleries. Broward-based photographer Jeremiah Jenner made it happen. First he applied for a space at the Sailboat Bend Artist Lofts, on the fringes of downtown Fort Lauderdale. Then he transformed that space into a combination residence, studio, and gallery. The latter, Galerie Jenner, has been open for about four months and is now on its second group exhibition, "Sweet Emotion." The show includes about 50 works by a dozen artists — amazing, given that the space is so tiny. It's worth noting that this is not some mere vanity project — Jenner includes only one of his own photos, keeping the focus on the other, relatively unknown artists. Among the standouts are a quartet of acrylics by Robert Felthaus, whose gaunt, angular male nudes vaguely echo the work of Egon Schiele; and Veronica Furno's oil of racehorses and jockeys, rendered in highly gestural brushwork that conveys a jolt of earthy energy. But Jenner's real discovery is Elaine Laureno Evans, represented here by a handful of mixed-media installations that come across as altars, combining found objects with clay items to form little tableaux that are like devotional displays for some arcane faith. At a time when commercial galleries struggle to get by, Jenner has hit on an ingenious solution. I hope his little gallery thrives.