Opening in January 2000 in our first location in South Portland, Maine, Zero Station was born quite literally the same month that our first child was born.  Y2K was upon us and the future was unwritten. Twenty-four years later, we are still offering thoughtfully curated exhibitions highlighting artists from Maine and beyond, placing work with collectors, and professional framing artwork of all kinds. 

We set out to make an independent arts space that also provided quality handmade frames to artists and collectors. Intentionally seeking ways to not be an alienating ‘white cube’ gallery, we cultivate a warm and welcoming environment for artists, visitors, and collectors. Some of the artists whose work we exhibited back in 2000 are among our good friends today and we feature their work in the current Zero Station flat files.

Zero Station has been an incubator hub and home to numerous non-profits and creative souls in need of space. Past collaborators include CitizenSalon, Curious City (the seed organization of I’m Your Neighbor books), The Resilience Hub, The Sunrise Movement, Hi Tiger, Prism Analog, and many more. 

The richness that has come from the people that walk through our doors, we do not take for granted. We are so thankful for our customers, artists, and especially our community. 

ABOUT KEITH FITZGERALD AND J.E. PATERAK

Keith Fitzgerald is an artist in all that he does, especially when it comes to presentation of art work. Highly detail oriented, Keith assists artists many artists with professionally presentation of their work in galleries and museums across the country. He is generous with his time for installations and an innovative problem solver. His PSBL light installations were reviewed by Jorge Arrango in the Portland Press Herald which can still be read here.

J.E Paterak (a.k.a Jeanne), has had numerous roles at Zero Station since the start, many of these roles have behind the scenes at ZS. In 2001, while the gallery was still located in South Portland, she curated her first exhibition of PRIMARY featuring both international and nationally known colorful work by studio jewelers and textile artisans. Shortly thereafter 2004-07, she was a co-founder of Citizan Salon at ZS and was responsible for managing events and creating content for the blog formerly citizensalon.org (for those who remember).

During that same period, J.E. was also working full-time exhibiting throughout the country as a studio jeweler. After we relocated Zero Station to 222 Anderson Street, she had her hands full with family, a new home in need of work, working in business administration and marketing for an architecture firm, as well as studying native plants and horticulture. After returning to art and jewelry in 2019 she moved her studio into the Zero Station space at 222 Anderson Street, combining her multiple practices into the same space.

Since then she has resumed the role of gallery director and curator. Curating essentially means ‘to care’ for the work, for the artists, and the community it represents and caters to. J.E’s and Keith’s work at the gallery are a manifestation of their love for the arts. 

In their spare time, they wrangle a much too large vegetable garden and a couple bee-hives here in Portland. When time allows they escape to the mountains/lakes and their two children are semi-launched creative entrepreneurs, both living in Portland.