Trying to add a payment method? You can do this on the 
QuickTake
Sarah Finlay recently kicked off the first exhibit of her new art gallery, RecRoom, which is in a renovated portion of her Eugene home.
A previous version of this story misstated the contents of Finlay’s art collection and the date of the opening reception. The collection is painting, some framed works on paper, and photographs; the opening reception was Saturday, June 28. A photo caption accompanying the original version of this story also misstated who designed the RecRoom posters. They were designed by Danielle Davis. The story and caption have been corrected. Lookout Eugene-Springfield regrets the errors.
Sarah Finlay’s house looks like a gallery, with framed photographs and tasteful pieces she’s curated for its walls and corridors.
Now, the house is actually becoming an art gallery. Or, at least, part of it: Finlay’s new project is RecRoom, a 300-square-foot gallery in the lower level of her home in Eugene’s south hills.
Finlay and her husband, Patrick Murcia, originally renovated the space to house their personal art collection. Then they decided it would be perfect for an intimate, public-facing gallery instead. Seeing art in a home would make it easier for collectors to visualize it in their own homes, went Finlay’s thinking.
However, the gallery didn’t just arise from a savvy floor plan. Back in 2001, Finlay and Murcia launched their buzzy Washington, D.C., gallery, Fusebox, two weeks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. That was a time when people sought community through the arts in a difficult moment. Finlay thinks that RecRoom can fill the same need in 2025.
“We’re in a difficult time right now, and I thought I should just do what I know how to do,” she said. “It’s better than doomscrolling.”
Returning to gallery life — minus 1,400 square feet
With Fusebox, Finlay and Murcia made stops at major art fairs, including at Art Basel in Miami and ARCO in Madrid. They focused on up-and-coming artists, launching over 60 exhibitions during Fusebox’s run and commissioning essays by notable critics, academics and curators to discuss the work. The Washington Post covered the gallery multiple times.
Fusebox closed in 2006 when as their “gallery baby” Jasper, now a university student, was getting older. Murcia’s career, in affordable housing and community development, took them out West, including stints in San Francisco and Oakland, before moving to Eugene in 2018.
Finlay said she wasn’t pining for another gallery space after the move to Eugene. But, she was dipping her toes into art consulting, including for businesses like the Eastern European restaurant Domek, and serving on the board at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art.
Now, RecRoom is her first gallery launch in nearly 25 years. The difference in scale is significant. Fusebox was 1,700 square feet, in contrast to RecRoom’s 300.
“This is a little more sustainable, because obviously we’re not paying for a brick-and-mortar separate space,” Murcia said. Murcia is less involved with RecRoom than he was with Fusebox. He described Finlay as the driving creative force behind RecRoom, while she described Murcia as her “angel investor.”
That sustainability means being less caught up in the gallery’s bottom line. That was important for Finlay, who said she was looking forward to participating in the intellectual and community parts of RecRoom instead.
“I can do a lot from this little platform,” she said. “I feel like I can really make an impact here with this. You know, ‘small but mighty.’”
A beautiful room, no longer empty
RecRoom’s inaugural exhibition, “The Beautiful Room Is Empty,” is being shown in tandem with works by the same artists at New York City’s Freight+Volume gallery.
The works, though on opposite sides of the country, are complementary. The artist Peter Gronquist’s piece at RecRoom is a photograph of light reflected from a sculpture of twisted metal; the statue is on display in New York.
Finlay is determined for RecRoom to not just have local relevance. In addition to hosting artists from other cities, she pitched the gallery to ArtForum and similar high-profile arts publications.
Sylvan Lionni, an artist with work in the exhibition, is an example of the kind of artist Finlay looks forward to including in RecRoom. Lionni, who teaches at the University of Oregon, also showed his work at Fusebox. He’s not a lifelong Eugene artist, but an artist with interesting work, a notable reputation and connection to the area.
“They’re here because of the university or for other reasons, but they are internationally recognized,” she said. “They show internationally. They just happen to be here.”
Finlay said the goal is to raise the bar for visual arts in Eugene, to complement downtown offerings from Karin Clarke Gallery and White Lotus Gallery, with a different approach to sourcing artists.
She sees RecRoom as a place to exchange ideas with academics, collectors and art lovers, in a salon à la Gertrude Stein or 17th century French literati. “There are a lot of intellectuals in this town,” Finlay said.
An opening reception on Saturday, June 28, welcomed more than 100 visitors, Finlay said. But no matter how much it grows, the homey setting will remain obvious to anyone who walks into RecRoom. Literally. Visitors enter through the garage.
How to visit RecRoom
RecRoom is at 4415 Hilyard St., Eugene. Visitors are advised to park on the street on 44th Avenue. The gallery is open noon to 4 p.m. Sundays, or by appointment. It is free to attend.
The current exhibit, “The Beautiful Room Is Empty,” will be on view through Aug. 31.
