Blueprint
exhibition organized by Silo
&
Counter Culture
exhibition organized by curator Melanie Cohn
New Museum of Contemporary Art
New York City (June 21, 2004) – Silo, a new contemporary art space on the Lower East Side, located at 1 Freeman Alley off Rivington Street between Bowery and Chrystie Street, opens its doors to the public on July 10 with concurrent exhibitions. The gallery’s premier exhibition titled Blueprint introduces Silo as a work in progress along with 14 artists from its upcoming 2004/2005 lineup. In concert with the New Museum of Contemporary Art, Silo also co-presents Counter Culture, an exhibition featuring six site-specific interventions in and around the Bowery by contemporary New York artists, one of whom creates an installation using structural elements in the space. The building housing Silo is a typical product of the city’s regenerative drive—built as a stable in 1890, it became a marble tile plant, an artist residency and, most recently, a chocolate factory. The New Museum’s Counter Culture celebrates the renaissance of the Bowery as a cultural thoroughfare in which Silo and other venues are taking part, and heralds the Museum’s future home on the Bowery. Both exhibitions run through August 14, 2004.
Blueprint celebrates process by previewing the art exhibitions and gallery space yet to take shape. The exhibition responds to the gallery’s present reliance on architectural drawings and construction plans and the need for phased renovation. Correspondingly, each artist scheduled to be featured in the months ahead was invited to contribute an image of either a completed work or one emblematic of their artistic process. Intermediary B&W prints of each image were created on vellum, from which blueprints were produced. Like Silo’s present incarnation, the cyanotypes are ephemeral and not fully realized, yet signify creative inspiration, commitment to action and unknown potential. Participating artists are: Douglas Boatwright, Cammi Climaco, Warren Corbitt, Patrick Grenier, Pam Lins, Sarah Millman, Laura Moss, Christine Osinski, and Kristi Ryba.
Blueprint consists of 14 elegantly straightforward blueprints of varying size and format displayed on sawhorse tables arranged in a studio configuration within the gallery. The original mediums include works on paper, painting, photography, sculpture, installation, video and new media, while artistic approaches range from figurative abstraction to conceptual portraiture to clay modeling for painting, among others. The cool cyan palette, technical uniformity and simple display method lend a quiet precision to the ensemble, to which the gallery plans and architectural model provide central reference points. Blueprint’s fleeting images imply a readiness to yield to process and potential and reflect the creative spark motivating not only the art works, but the gallery and ongoing renewal of one of New York’s most storied streets.
For more information, please contact Tia Shin at info@silonyc.com or (212) 505-9156.
