Literally translated, “folk art” is “art of the people” and refers to the type of painting done in various countries of the world by self-taught common folk.

These folk artists were by no means professional artists – they were artisans who decorated their furniture, household objects, doors and even walls of their homes using very basic equipment such as a brush they made themselves using squirrel hair and primary colours they made using natural pigments. As such folk art began as a very simple form of decoration where much of the painting was done using a round brush and the motifs mainly simply-stroked flowers, leaves, birds and scrolls which could be completed fairly quickly.

Almost all countries have some kind of traditional folk art associated with their culture and many are hundreds of years old. The major ones that have captured the attention of and influenced the work of modern day decorative painters include Germany, Austria and Switzerland’s bauernmalerei, England’s canalboat painting, France’s tole painting, the Netherlands’ hindeloopen, Norway’s rosemaling and Russia’s zhostovo, among others.

As with other things, traditional folk art spread from one region of the world to another through travel and migration. The folk arts mentioned above have many similarities with each other and it is not surprising that the early practitioners of American folk art inherited their tradition from German, Swiss and French immigrants who brought their art with them in the 17th century.

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A week after Allston Skirt Gallery got two of its artists named among the four finalists for the Institute of Contemporary Art’s 2008 Foster Prize, word began to spread that the nine-year-old gallery would be closing at the end of its next show.

The news turned out to be the first sign of a major gallery shake-up involving a number of Boston’s most prestigious venues. Three galleries are closing, several are moving, and others are restructuring. Are these changes just the start of a contraction as the tanking economy begins to affect the local art market?

The three-year-old Space Other gallery at 63 Wareham Street will close after its April 4-26 show, but it’s planning a series of “Space Other at other spaces” exhibits in Amsterdam, Berlin, New York, San Juan, and Mexico City in 2008 and ’09. Judy Ann Goldman at 14 Newbury Street plans to close, at least temporarily, at the end of June and “use the summer to reassess my next move.” There are widespread rumors that Rhys Gallery at 401 Harrison Avenue may leave town; owner Colin Rhys declined to comment. At least three additional galleries seem to be on the bubble and may close in the coming months.