People poured into the Finch Gallery’s small building in Logan Square late in the evening. The visitors were crammed tightly into the inviting art gallery, but the solid mass of people stuck around for hours until the performing band took the spotlight to help the gallery say goodbye.

After two successful years in Chicago, owner Nicholas Freeman hosted his last exhibition Jan. 31 at the Finch Gallery, 2747 W. Armitage Ave. In an effort to advance his knowledge of art, he’s headed east to New York. Although Freeman is currently annoyed with certain aspects of the Chicago art scene, there are times he will always remember.

“The idea of the gallery is really an extension of my own personal work. I’ve always tried to change my approach, the shape of the frame and get people to pay more attention to what I thought was slipping past,” Freeman said. “This project of the gallery was just another experimentation with presenting information and interaction with the public.”

The Jan. 31 exhibition showcased art that was very diverse, ranging from poetry to contemporary art pieces.

Freeman a former political cartoonist, painter and performance artist said he feels he has learned all there is to learn in Chicago.

“Last week I was reading an art review in the paper and the reviewer begins his piece on the Mapplethorpe show with the line, ‘Remember Robert Mapplethorpe,’” Freeman said. “I kind of lost my s–t. Remember Mapplethorpe? This is a vibrant big-time city, not Sioux Falls. It kills me—the lack of cultural awareness or knowledge or simply care for the arts that I run up against here sometimes.”

The art gallery was established as an effort to combat the current market-driven practice in the art world.

The owners prided themselves on having a humble and socialist approach to exhibiting and discussing the arts.

The gallery transcended itself with the ideal that art should not be commercialized and overpriced, but friendly and obtainable to the common person. Throughout its existence, the gallery has shown many diverse works of art.

“I think that Finch was a great place for artists and art lovers to see good new work in a really friendly environment,” said Jill Summers, who attended the gallery’s closing event. “I am disappointed that they won’t be in Chicago anymore, for sure. It will be a real loss for the neighborhood, but New York is lucky to have them.”

Matt Arbogast, secretary of the Finch said he really understands the impact the gallery has made on the community and anticipates its return to Chicago someday.

“I think it was a fun way of sharing everyone’s company and making sure that efforts will continue,” Arbogast said.

Freeman said he could envision returning to Chicago when he feels it is appropriate. He said he hopes that he can obtain enough knowledge to propel the art culture here into a higher gear.

“Instead of having a static location that you try to get people to come into, I would like to set up on the streets and deal with the public directly,” Freeman said. “I plan to operate a mobile ‘gallery’ presenting work specifically tuned to the world around us and presented not in a sterilized cube or too cool for school alt-space, but as direct communication with others.”

Freeman and Arbogast said they really wanted to try and bridge the divide between esoteric contemporary arts and the public.

“[The Finch Gallery] managed to become a very popular presence in the city in a very short time. I think their potential is limitless,” Summers said. “They are nice people with great taste, and they respect the artists they work with and provide a great place for people to come see exciting new work.”

Summers said the gallery has helped highlight many local artists who feel fortunate the institution was there to help them. Arbogast said he was pleased with what the gallery achieved while in Chicago.

“When he approached me with the idea of opening the gallery, I was enthused and wanted to help however I could,” Arbogast said. “I’m pleased to say that I’ve done what I can to help someone supply an honest, creative outlet to the city.”

This has been the mantra the owners wanted to convey while they showed art. The evidence of support from the community is clear, exemplified in an incident on a very hot summer day when a “cracked out” woman walked into the gallery.

“She looks around at the work for a minute and we talk for a while. She then notices a little alms jar that we keep on the bar, saying, ‘Oh, you guys are taking donations? I always like to give to the arts,” Freeman said. “She then digs out a crumpled five dollar bill, tosses it in, thanks me and splits.”