Bedford street in downtown Stamford is known for its bars, restaurants and shops. Right in the middle of the bars and restaurants there is a 7,000-pound metallic "charging" bull located right in front of the Fernando Luis Alvarez Art Gallery
Fernando Luis Alvarez was born in Greenwich Connecticut. He was raised in Colombia from 3 months old to age 12, he came back to America and went to school in England. He quit school to become an entrepreneur, and that’s what he’s been doing since the 90’s until now. His latest project has been the gallery, which has been open since December of 2009, right in the middle of the economic meltdown.
Fernando's logo with the word gallery upside down, was actually an accident by the sign company they noticed 15 minutes before the gallery opening back in 2009. Of course everyone was panicking and thought Fernando, the owner, was going to be very upset, but he just said "leave it like that" and they put it up. Little did he know that he was making history as the logo's gallery makes it the only art gallery in the world that has its name upside down.
Fernando's idea of opening a gallery was to do something more creative but mainly something that would also help him build community. His mission is "to build artists careers from the doors in and build community from the doors out". He is the chairman of the Yerwood Center and is also involved in after school programs for unprivileged children in community centers. He is part of the board of Stamford downtown and committees where he can get involved and donate his experience and expertise in areas such as branding, marketing, strategy and business development. Community has always been very important to him and he knew a gallery would help him do that. "the arts could serve us a tremendous platform to build community".
One of the most recognized artists from the FLA gallery is Arturo Di Modica. Di Modica shocked the worlds of art and finance when in 1989, he planted the now famous "Charging Bull" in front of the New York Stock Exchange. The once controversial sculpture; a symbol of aggressive financial optimism and prosperity, has since become a popular tourist destination, drawing thousands of people every day. He is the creator of the 7,000-pound bull in Bedford street (in downtown Stamford). The bull is a replica of the wall street charging bull that's located in NYC. There are smaller versions of the "charging bull" and they can be purchased through the FLA art gallery or through Arturo Di Modica's website.
Every 4-5 weeks the FLA art gallery has showings for the artists that the gallery represents, which are open to the public at no charge, usually on Fridays from 3pm - 9pm. They have music, food and wine for people so they can have a great time and enjoy the art being displayed. The gallery is open Tuesdays- Saturdays from 11am to 6pm and Mondays through appointment. They are closed on Sundays. Overall, this has been a great addition to the city of Stamford and the people really seem to enjoy having a gallery in their town.
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