CARDIFF, Calif. (KGTV) — It's a rising from the ashes story. An art gallery is celebrating its reopening after a midnight fire destroyed its previous location back in 2019. Now, the artist is excited to showcase his photography and paintings, ready to start again.
Flames engulfed what used to be Greg Cali's gallery, a devastating blow to the artist's work, but Saturday marked the start to a different story.
"Overwhelmed, tired, happy," said Cali, describing his emotions Saturday. "No sadness, so very very much all the positives."
Cali lost his gallery that night in Leucadia in 2019, but he didn't lose hope. He worked hard to find a new home for his photography and paintings, finally landing in Cardiff.
"Reassures my own confidence, my focus and my path that I have," Cali said.
Friends, like the Brada's, admired Cali's art during the reopening on Saturday. Their admiration extends further than his individual pieces. They know that his hard work brought him here to where he is today.
"I mean when tragedy happens like that, there's really no way to expect that, it's hard to prepare for that, it's hard to come back from that," Brada said.
Hard, but not impossible. Despite the devastation, Cali is developing a new path.
"I've only had that feeling twice in my life, and they were two of the worst days of my life," Cali said. "But nonetheless, like you said, rising from the ashes. I feel like I have."
