It’s a well-known fact that the city of St. Louis has many hidden gems, but what may be lesser known is that several of them are within minutes of our campus. The Bruno David Art Gallery in Grand Center definitely qualifies as one of those gems and a sparkling one at that.

Located at 3721 Washington St., just north of the Fox Theatre, this small gallery is especially appealing to the modern and abstract art lover. Its eclectic and stark atmosphere makes you feel like you are in a posh New York City art gallery, far from our familiar Saint Louis University campus.

Owner and director Bruno L. David has done a tremendous job creating a true gallery feeling of openness in what some would consider an unworkably small space.

Open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., it is a great place to spend a rainy afternoon. Admission is free, and the atmosphere is refreshing and distinct.

Plain white walls and minimalist d?cor serve as a wonderful canvas to the eclectic array of prints, photographs, pop art and abstract conjunctions of any and all types of materials.

Concerning the nature of the works in this particular gallery, it should be noted that if you are looking to spend an afternoon perusing room after room of Monet-esque landscapes and romanticized portraits, this is not the gallery for you. This is not a watered-down, commercialized, “safe” art gallery, and will appeal primarily to the open-minded art lover.

In order to fully appreciate the type of art on display in the Bruno David Gallery, one must set aside all logic, analytical skills and anal-retentive tendencies. The keys to enjoying this type of art are creativity and open-mindedness, for these pieces will undoubtedly get you thinking and implore you to search for a deeper meaning.

The main style of the art in the Bruno David Gallery is contemporary, but it features abstract works also, and boasts a diverse display of mediums.

The first room is titled “The Project Room” and it displays the work of artist Carmon Colangelo. Twelve congruent, square frames house Colangelo’s works, which are messy in contrast to the otherwise orderly layout of the room.

In the back of the building is the new media room, a dark nook lit by only a single television set that plays contemporary media art. Adjacent to this room is a much larger room, which displays a wide variety of artists and styles on its walls-everything from simple panoramic photographs of the St. Louis Arch to wild and vivid collage-style prints.

The main focus of the gallery, which lies in the largest of the rooms, is the featured exhibit. At present, the exhibit is Joan Hall’s “From Whence We Came,” an impressive mastery of the juxtaposition of art and science.

Each of Hall’s works is considerably large in scale and imagination. Hall cleverly uses an unusual and resourceful mix of materials to manipulate the viewer and draw out the deeper meaning of the collection-which is surprisingly profound and personal for such a light atmosphere.

Hall explores the ideas of life and death, healthy and mutinous, and dark and light with an ingenuity that is not necessarily initially apparent.

At first glance, the netting used in each piece appears to be nothing out of the ordinary. Each net is layered and intertwined with different colors, shapes and images and serves as the base for the work.

Upon closer examination, the true nature of the net is revealed; it is not a net at all, but rather, an image of a net. In fact, once you look closely, it is surprising to find that there are several digital images cleverly hidden in the larger scale of the piece.

The resulting sense of order amidst the chaos of muted colors and unexpected patterns is a common thread in Hall’s works, and this feeling continues throughout the entire gallery of the Bruno David Gallery. In turn, patience is required while visiting the Bruno David Gallery.

It may take several viewings of one painting for the deeper meaning to sink in, or the basic idea of a collection to take effect. But if you love getting lost in your imagination and expanding your concept of what art is and how to appreciate it, the gallery holds much opportunity.