Exhibit: “No City is an Island” @ The Lodge Gallery, NYC
April 10th, 2014 – May 11th, 2014
non-curated by Keith Schweitzer & Jason Patrick Voegele with the following artists:
John Ahearn, Charlie Ahearn, Jody Culkin, Jane Dickson, Stefan Eins, Peter Fend, Coleen Fitzgibbon, Bobby G, Mike Glier, Becky Howland, Lisa Kahane, Christof Kohlhofer, Justen Ladda, Joe Lewis, Ann Messner, Richard Miller, Tom Otterness, Cara Perlman, Judy Rifka,Walter Robinson, Christy Rupp, Teri Slotkin, Kiki Smith, Seton Smith
On Dec 31st, 1979, a group of artists in downtown Manhattan mounted a now historic exhibition, “The Real Estate Show,” in response to grim economic conditions facing tenants in New York. It was a confrontational and illegal exhibition, held without permission in a vacant city-owned building, with aggressive political messages that ignited controversy and galvanized city officials, news media and artists alike.
This group, Collaborative Projects Inc (Colab), focused on theme-centered exhibitions with a spirit of openness, experimentation, and minimal curatorial interference. Within this context, “No City is an Island” asked former members of Colab to respond to the exhibition’s title as a theme around which to contribute work. Dialogues were rekindled and themes were revisited or reinterpreted. As each artist has evolved over time, so has the city itself. With a range of works transversing 35 years, “No City is an Island” revisits the zeitgeist of a New York City long bygone, compares and contrasts the artists and urban realities of then with now, and honors one of the most influential art organizations in New York City’s history.
The exhibition is part of a multi-venue celebration of Colab and revisitation of “The Real Estate Show” with “The Real Estate Show, Was Then: 1980″ at James Fuentes Gallery (April 4 – 27), “RESx” at ABC No Rio (April 9 – May 8), “No City Is An Island” at The Lodge Gallery (April 10 – May 11), and “The Real Estate Show, What Next: 2014″ at Cuchifritos Gallery (April 19 – May 18). It is also a component of May 2014’s inaugural Lower East Side History Month, which will now be observed each May with over 60 Lower East Side organizations currently participating.