Inside Logan’s New ReadyMade Gallery

Utah State University’s Department of Art + Design has opened the ReadyMade Gallery in downtown Logan, giving students, alumni, faculty and community members a space to show their work off campus. 

The gallery is inside the historic Caine Lyric Theatre at 28 W. Center St. Kathy Puzey, head of the Department of Art + Design and a professor of printmaking, said the gallery came about through the theater’s recent renovation. It held a soft launch over the summer. 

The building has been part of downtown Logan for more than a century. According to USU, the Thatcher family opened the Lyric Theatre in 1913 to replace the Thatcher Opera House, which burned down April 15, 1912. The Lyric closed after World War II and fell into disrepair. Heirs of the Thatcher family donated the building to Utah State in 1959, and it reopened in the spring of 1961 with a production of “Hamlet.” 

The Lyric Repertory Company has performed there since 1967, and the building was renamed the Caine Lyric Theatre in 2001. Now it is home to the art department’s gallery as well. 

“There are several galleries downtown, but I think this one’s pretty unique because it’s downtown and it’s actually facilitated by the university,” Puzey said. “So it’s nice to have theater, which also has that connection to the theater department, and then now us to have a presence down here as well.” 

Puzey came up with the gallery’s name, inspired by a former art magazine. 

“It used to be an old magazine, an art magazine where artists would just take whatever they find and make things, really cool things,” Puzey said. “So, to me, the ReadyMade means it was a space available to us that didn’t need much work and is now really ready-made for all of us.” 

The gallery hosts a new exhibition each month. Work can include drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking and mixed media. 

“It’s everything. Everything’s possible,” Puzey said. “Every month it’s something new and fresh.” 

Exhibitions rotate between faculty, students, alumni and community members. 

“It’ll be kind of a curated space too,” Puzey said. “But definitely, there’ll be opportunities for students to exhibit.” 

The first exhibition featured faculty work alongside an invited alum, including pieces by Puzey. The gallery is run with help from a gallery coordinator and student workers. Puzey said exhibitors sometimes curate and install their own shows as part of their learning.

Lola Probasco

Readymade gallery opening on main street, Logan Utah. Students and USU faculty gather to celebrate.

The gallery’s current exhibition is the “Latinx Art Exhibition/Exposición de Arte Latínx 2026,” which features work by students, alumni and community members. Puzey said the show was curated and overseen by Álvaro Ibarra, an assistant professor of art history. 

Lilli Fuller, a freshman majoring in wildlife ecology, said the gallery gives students a way to share their work. 

“I thought that it was a very great way to showcase the students at Utah State’s artwork to the community,” Fuller said. She said she appreciated “all the cultural aspects of all the paintings and how much awareness they were bringing.” 

Ella Johnson, a freshman studying general studies, said the exhibition “expressed a lot of cultures, and it was really cool to see.” 

The next exhibition will feature visiting artists Zora Murff and Rana Young, who are coming as part of a department lecture series, Puzey said. In January, the gallery plans to host a show of work by alumni. 

According to the Art + Design website, ReadyMade is open Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 7 p.m. Admission is free. 

Puzey said the gallery is meant to bring the community closer to the arts, not just students closer to the community. 

“We want them to feel welcome,” Puzey said. “Sometimes going up to campus seems a little distant, and like, do I belong here? But they definitely belong down here in this space for sure.”