It only started showing art earlier this year, and it's unusual because it's left open and unattended all day. It's an old warehouse space (11th Ave. btwn 21st & 22nd St.) whose owner has simply been letting artists use for free for a few years. Artist Thomas Beale was using it as his studio before he decided to start this "no-profit" gallery space. He simply opens the security gates in the morning and closes them at night, leaving it completely open to the public to walk through.
At the latest opening, I walked in to discover no art on the walls. But...there was a hole in the floor. (Tom discovered it when he removed the bolted-down piece of wood covering it.) So you have to climb down the hole to find the art, like a secret treasure...
The secret treasure is a piece by renowned street artist Swoon. She creates these lifesize figurative wheatpaste prints and paper cutouts that you see on walls all over the city. I love how the holes in the paper show the often-decaying wall behind it...so instead of merely sticking an artwork over a wall her work is interacting with it. It's a unique combination of edgy yet poetic. This particular piece was a tribute to a women (Silvia Elena) who was murdered in Mexico, so the crypt-like space was the perfect setting.
Here are some other examples of Swoon's work...
And finally, here's a pic of Mr. Honey Space Tom (with the accordion) with Mickey Western at a previous reception:
I can't wait to see what's in store at the next show...
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