Plum Contemporary Gallery

Plum Contemporary Gallery has long held a place among the small cluster of independent galleries on Aviles Street, presenting contemporary painting and sculpture in a setting that emphasizes serious, gallery grade presentation over souvenir style retail. Located directly across from several of the street’s historic house museums, including the Ximenez-Fatio House and the Spanish Military Hospital Museum, the gallery sits within a stretch of downtown St. Augustine where colonial era architecture and contemporary artistic practice exist side by side, a juxtaposition that has become one of Aviles Street’s defining characteristics. Unlike galleries focused primarily on regional coastal or historical scenes, Plum Contemporary has built its identity around more forward looking, non representational and sculptural work, giving visitors interested in current artistic trends an alternative to the landscape and seascape paintings that dominate much of the rest of the historic district’s commercial gallery inventory. Sculpture in particular receives significant attention here, with three dimensional works often displayed both inside the gallery and in adjacent outdoor space, taking advantage of Aviles Street’s narrow, pedestrian friendly layout to give larger pieces room to be viewed from multiple angles in natural light, an advantage that indoor only galleries elsewhere in the city cannot easily replicate. The gallery participates actively in the monthly First Friday Art Walk, when Aviles Street becomes one of the focal points of the citywide event, with galleries along the block staying open late, artists frequently on hand to discuss their work, and a steady flow of visitors moving from one storefront to the next over the course of the evening. That evening energy stands in contrast to the gallery’s quieter daytime atmosphere, when visitors can take more time with individual pieces without the crowds that build during the monthly art walk. Because the gallery focuses on contemporary work rather than historically themed art, its inventory tends to appeal particularly to collectors and design conscious visitors looking for pieces that would fit comfortably in a modern home or office setting, distinct from the more traditional, historically inspired art favored by many souvenir minded tourists. Positioned within a two minute walk of the Spanish Military Hospital Museum, the Ximenez-Fatio House, and several smaller galleries and boutiques, Plum Contemporary Gallery remains one of the anchor stops for anyone specifically seeking out contemporary, rather than colonial themed, visual art during a visit to St. Augustine’s historic Aviles Street district, and its steady presence over the years has helped cement the street’s identity as a genuine, working home for artists rather than a purely decorative backdrop for photographs.