Rugosa Gallery is the passion project of Joey Rugo, restaurateur, inn proprietor, and burgeoning steward in this community. Joey arrived on Cape Cod in 2010, took in his surroundings—and without any roots—decided to plant his own. Joey’s endeavors have long been a tradeoff between his resources and what he could “pull off”. Much of what he has created on the Outer Cape has flourished due to setting an intention and following through with grit and ambition. A taco truck evolved into a fleet of trucks, and eventually into a brick and mortar. When he, like many on Cape, faced a housing crisis, an opportunity to take over and inhabit a faltering inn was presented to him. The Rugosa is a living reflection of Joey’s internal palette, a conduit through which he has channeled his frenetic creativity into an eclectic yet refined environment. If you spend a day with Joey, you’d witness him buzzing around his properties, reevaluating minute details of his space, scaling ladders to shift the placement of a huge painting but not neglecting to rotate a feather or weightless air plant to a more appealing angle. The details matter. It’s all executed to enhance the experience of his guests and those whom he shares his space with. It is a no-brainer that such an aesthetically inclined individual would shift into the role of gallery owner and curator. The Rugosa was attracting a bohemian crowd of artists who were initially drawn to the space, but ultimately drawn to Joey, and they coalesced into a new creative inner circle. The merging of these dynamic, inspired minds birthed the Rugosa Artist Residency in 2021, wherein a group of artists came together to not only create new work but found themselves experiencing profound collaborative and individual transitions along their respective trajectories. The gallery is the next natural step; a chance to harness this energy in a format this community can enjoy, experience, and patron.