Jan. 5—This story has been updated from its original version to clarify the circumstances of the lease termination payment.

Ray von Wandruszka, a University of Idaho chemistry professor, said it was a difficult decision to terminate Moscow Contemporary’s lease, but a necessary one.

“We’re one of their largest contributors,” he said of the downtown art gallery. “But at the end of the day, we can’t be a charitable organization. We just aren’t that rich.”

Moscow Contemporary will leave its location on Fifth and Main streets in search of a new space at the end of the month. The gallery has occupied the facility since August 2021, and will soon vacate after unsuccessful negotiations on a new lease with its landlord, Rootforest LLC.

Von Wandruszka and his wife, Brenda von Wandruszka, along with business partner Rob Davis, own the local company. He added the organization is more of a financial vehicle, while the von Wandruszkas and their partner are the caretakers of the property.

The space has served as an art gallery for nearly 40 years. Von Wandruszka said it was originally fixed up by retired UI architecture professor Bill Bowler with colleagues and students in the 1980s. Soon after it was remodeled, UI’s Prichard Art Gallery occupied the building until 2021, when the institution terminated its lease.

Von Wandruszka said he and his partners didn’t want Moscow to lose its downtown gallery, and decided to allow Moscow Contemporary to use the space without paying rent.

“The sole reason to have that gallery there was to have the heart of the arts’ character maintained in the center of the town,” he said. “We couldn’t let that be lost.”

The University of Idaho paid Rootforest a lease termination of $52,500 in 2021. The company then donated a separate equivalent of the amount to the Moscow Contemporary.

Roger Rowley, the gallery’s executive director, said Moscow Contemporary would not exist if it weren’t for the company’s generosity. He added donations and support from Rootforest, along with help from the community, were critical to getting the gallery off the ground.

“There’s no doubt they have been the most generous supporters of the organization — I’ll continue to say that,” Rowley said. “What they’re doing to us now … all this stuff garnished what we did for the first two years, what they did for us early on. It’s really sad to see how this has evolved.”

Von Wandruszka said the company isn’t prejudiced toward Moscow Contemporary, and thinks it’s important to support the arts, especially in Moscow. It all boiled down to not having enough funds to support the gallery.

“We wouldn’t have supported them if we didn’t think the arts were important,” von Wandruszka said. “We did our best and helped as long as we could. We gave it to them for free and it’s not something that we can carry on forever. We aren’t paid enough to do that.”

Although Moscow Contemporary is moving, downtown won’t be without a gallery. A new incarnation of the UI Prichard Gallery will move into the former Moscow Police Station on Fourth and Washington streets.

“We are happy with the Prichard going in,” von Wandruszka said. “It’s a good thing and I hope it keeps that character in the center of town.”

Pearce can be reached at epearce@dnews.com