WOODSTOCK ART EXCHANGE Glass and Art on Route 28

By Georganne Chapin

Intriguing” is one word that comes to mind, as one travels along Route 28 between Kingston and Oneonta. “Diverse” is another. Spared from the fate of being pre-empted by an interstate highway, thanks to the Ashokan Reservoir to the road’s south, “28” sports a dizzying array of homes, retail locations, and an occasional industrial site.

“What IS this place? I’ve driven by it a hundred times, and always have been meaning to stop.”

Paul (Pablo) Weinschenk, founder and proprietor of Woodstock Art Exchange and his glassblowing studio next door, says he hears some version of this question and comment almost every day. “What do you mean ‘exchange’?”

I experienced these questions myself when I worked in the gallery and gift shop for several years. I used to ponder, “I wonder if they ask the same question of a retailer branding itself as— say—Trader Joe. Do they ask, “What are you trading?”

No matter! Let me tell you about this intriguing and unique business, located at 1396 State Route 28, halfway between the entrance to the Ashokan Rail Trail near Zena Road and the turnoff to Woodstock (Rt. 375).

Woodstock Art Exchange occupies what used to be a dilapidated three-car garage next to a two-story red house. “I had a vision,” says owner Paul (Pablo) Weinschenk. “The property was mostly gray rock and brush, but I knew it could be beautiful.”

Even after discovering snakes living in the walls of what was to become the gallery, Weinschenk—who owned a photo lab on 20th Street in Manhattan for 25 years—pressed forward. He trucked in dirt for flower beds and a lawn, leveled and graveled a large parking lot, and—two years after opening the gallery in 2016—erected a 1500 sq. ft. glassblowing workshop (called Pablo Glass) on the eastern-most part of the property.

“We see a lot on Route 28,” Weinschenk says, “from the bear who occasionally passes through and the woodchuck who makes his home under our shed, to the truck towing a small helicopter that parked out front one day so its pilot/owner could shop for an anniversary present for his wife.”

Now celebrating its eighth year and having survived the pains of being a start-up (as well as the Covid pandemic and at least one terrible ice storm), Woodstock Art Exchange has stayed true to its original mission: promoting the art of glassblowing and original paintings, sculptures, and other handmade gift items made by fine local artists. Prices range from just a few dollars into the hundreds. “We have something for nearly everyone,” Weinschenk smiles.

So come on by! We’ll “exchange” your time for a beautiful browsing experience in our gallery. On days when our glass artists are working in “the studio,” you can watch the magic of transforming molten glass (2100+ degrees Fahrenheit) into colorful vases, bowls, and drinking glasses, including our famous “pinch cups.” And, if you’re so inclined, you can “exchange” your dollars for our merchandise!

Woodstock Art Exchange and the Pablo Glass studio are located at 1396 Route 28 in West Hurley, and is open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm. For more information, check out our Facebook pages, or call 646 256 9688.