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Art Gallery That Opened in Defiance of Health Orders Closes After Warnings

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A small commercial art gallery that earlier this month reopened in defiance of public health orders has once again closed after receiving warnings from local police in Menlo Park.

Katharina Powers, the owner of Art Ventures Gallery, said in an interview she closed her doors to the public last week after receiving a phone call and visit from Menlo Park police officers.

Powers had decided to reopen with physical distancing precautions on Friday, May 1, reasoning her business posed a low risk of transmitting the disease and that art has therapeutic qualities.

“For me art is essential to the human spirit,” Powers said. “Art has survived everything—during the black plague in Italy, people were running around with paintings under their arms.”

A Menlo Park police commander called Powers to urge her to close, saying it was a “ridiculous” conversation to have about an art gallery, according to Powers. “I didn’t close,” she said.

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Another officer brought her a copy of San Mateo County’s shelter-in-place order, which permits only essential businesses to operate. Powers closed to avoid escalating the conflict, she said.

In Napa, Quent Cordair Fine Art also opened earlier this month in defiance of county shelter-in-place orders. In a letter published in the local newspaper, gallery proprietors Quent and Linda Cordair wrote that they’re “prepared to risk fines, arrest, or jail” to go “back to work.”

Powers voiced support for Tesla head Elon Musk, whose Fremont factory appeared to be resuming production Monday in violation of health orders, the Associated Press reported.

Bay Area health officials have repeatedly warned that easing restrictions too quickly risks a resurgence of cases of COVID-19, exacerbating the disease’s human and economic toll. — Sam Lefebvre (@Lefebvre_Sam)

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