Published April 1, 2021

Updated April 19, 2021

By CAMBIA DAVIS

BOSTON — Cibeline The Art Gallery is a new venture by North Reading resident Cibeline Sariano. Located at 460C Harrison Avenue in Boston, Cibeline The Art Gallery celebrated its initial opening on the “First Friday” April 2, 2021. Many galleries at 450-460 Harrison Avenue have art exhibit events on First Fridays.

The inaugural exhibit, called “Crowd Me, I’m Alone,” features the whimsical, colorful and masterfully crafted gouache paintings by Jean Sariano, Cibeline’s father, and will be on display until Saturday, May 1. 

Jean Sariano started creating his signature characters in the ’60s when he moved from Paris, France to New York City. He filled hundreds of sketch books with his drawings which he gradually developed into full-color prints and paintings. At first, he printed small etchings using a technique he developed employing mini rollers to apply bright colors onto deeply-etched zinc plates. 

Sometime in the early ’70s, he began making much larger prints of things such as a personified executive-chair called “The Chairman” with the same embossed technique. By the early ’80s, he stopped printing and instead painted in gouache, a saturated water-based paint in vivid colors. Most of the paintings in this exhibit are the gouache characters that date from the 1980s to 2019. 

Cibeline has organized Jean’s work by themes and will be showing approximately 45 paintings, both large and small. “Alone/Lonely” and “It’s Crowded” are the themes in this first exhibit called “Crowd Me, I’m Alone.” Of the hundreds of paintings Jean produced, Cibeline intends to have different themed shows each month for at least the first six months of the gallery. 

A COLORFUL, whimsical gouache painting, “The Tenants of 315 West 61st St.,” by Jean Sariano, father of North Reading’s Cibeline Sariano, is on display at her new art gallery in SoWa, Boston. The show runs through May 1. (Courtesy Photo)

Reserved timed tickets through Eventbrite are suggested during the Opening Weekend. Fifteen people at a time can visit the gallery on April 2 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. or on Saturday, April 3 from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. under COVID guidelines.

ARTIST Jean Sariano named this gouache “Bonne Chance Cibeline.” It’s on display April 2 – May 1 at 460C Harrison Ave., Boston. (Courtesy Photo)

For appointments, look for “Crowd Me, I’m Alone, Contemporary Art Exhibit” at Eventbrite. Walk-ins will be welcome at other times when the gallery is open: Wednesday by appointment only; Thursday and Friday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m; Saturday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday 12 p.m to 4 p.m.; Monday and Tuesday the Gallery is closed. 

Further information can be found at cibelinetheartgallery.com or on Facebook and Instagram at the same name.