Fresh Out of Storage
October 13th – 22st, 2016
Opening Reception October 13 6-8pm
645 W 44th Street, New York, NY 10036 (Near the West Side Highway)
No Longer Empty and Manhattan Mini Storage are pleased to present Fresh Out of Storage, a unique project that brings to life and to light some of the many artworks that are kept in storage in New York City .
The project, which was open to all artists who have stored their work at a Manhattan Mini Storage Facility, will be presented in three separate formats: An online presentation (www.freshoutofstorage.com) will showcase the work of all 35 artists who submitted their work for consideration; a video documentary, which will present interviews with 19 artists who were selected for Open Storage Visits; and the physical exhibition, featuring the works of ten of those artists, which will be held at the Manhattan Mini Storage facility at 645 West 44th Street, in Manhattan, from Oct. 13th through 22st, 2016.
Artists selected include: Barbara Burger, Calvin Lom, Elaine Defibaugh, Eliot LeBow, Gabriel J. Shuldiner, Mike Jacobs, Rita Barros, Ralph Toporoff, Steve Danielson and Susan Natale.
Included in this group are: two self-taught artists; an old-school photographer with thousands of negatives documenting a changing New York; a large-scale mixed media painter who collapses personal and environmental concerns; an abstract painter who began his practice at six years old; a Punk-Minimalist working with materials that made and make the city; a photo-journalist and film maker reinterpreting his archives through contemporary technology; an artist coping with eviction by creating memories of place and possessions; a portraitist of emotions and a mixed media artist creating socially conscious narratives by re-purposing personal archives. What do these ten artists have in common? They are all New York based artists dealing with the chronic shortage of affordable space in the city for both living and creating their work. As Blake Malouf said during her interview, "I moved to New York in 2011, and since then, not only has my art been in storage but my artistic life has been in storage as well." Storage therefore, becomes a way of coping but, whether it be the storage of these individual artists' works or the storage of collections of art patrons or museums, storage, nevertheless, removes work from public view and circulation. Fresh Out of Storage, allows some of that work to be seen again.
An artist’s storage unit is a time capsule of both the creator and his or her works, holding years and sometimes decades worth of material. The interviews made clear that the storage rooms contained not just works but intimate recollections of their making and the artists’ lives at the time, and often, mining the depths of the unit became like a journey into the past.
The increasing need for storage (MMS has 17 storage facilities in Manhattan) provides a path into the challenges many artists continually face, particularly in a city like New York. The lack of affordable living and studio space has a deep impact on the kind of work an artist can produce. Moving work into storage, if the scale of the work permits, is perhaps one of the best ways to keep a studio free for new production. The artist, of course, has to be willing to have a long-distance relationship with the artworks that they decide to store and, on the side of benefits, some of the artists revealed during the interviews that putting their work into storage removed the temptation to continue working on a “finished” piece!
One of the darker aspects of art storage is that works created for the public are removed from circulation – particularly in the case of museums, galleries and collectors, where storage can become a large black box of invisibility. This project hopes to make a dent in this problem. Indeed, project curator, Ariela Kader, was deeply moved when she saw how artists have their own “retrospectives” stored in the hope that the work will one day be shown.
Fresh Out of Storage started from a very personal place for Ms. Kader. As both an artist who has been living and making art in New York for the past seven years and a Manhattan Mini Storage tenant herself, she found the issues addressed by the exhibition immensely pertinent. She was curious as to what other artists were storing as well as what she had been accumulating herself… and why. Says Kader, “I really think I should schedule an Open Storage visit with myself so I can commit to it, make my way there and find out what artworks and stories I have stored. This project has also made me think about how an artwork in storage might feel. From the back of the storage unit, where unfinished or damaged works will never see the light of day, to the stars of the storage, who enjoy a respite from being on view, to those hopeful ones who, every time the storage doors are opened, still believe that this could be their time to see the light and shine.”
The storage company has long been aware that its units are frequently used by local artists to create and store their works. “We’re frankly honored and proud that so many talented New York City artists trust us with their precious work,” said Lenny Lazzarino of Manhattan Mini Storage. “In fact, many of them regard their storage rooms as private galleries or studios. We’re so excited to see the amazing works of art on view.”
Fresh Out of Storage is a partnership between Manhattan Mini Storage and No Longer Empty.
Project and exhibition conceived and curated by Ariela Kader.
For further information [email protected]
#freshoutofstorage
October 13th – 22st, 2016
Opening Reception October 13 6-8pm
645 W 44th Street, New York, NY 10036 (Near the West Side Highway)
No Longer Empty and Manhattan Mini Storage are pleased to present Fresh Out of Storage, a unique project that brings to life and to light some of the many artworks that are kept in storage in New York City .
The project, which was open to all artists who have stored their work at a Manhattan Mini Storage Facility, will be presented in three separate formats: An online presentation (www.freshoutofstorage.com) will showcase the work of all 35 artists who submitted their work for consideration; a video documentary, which will present interviews with 19 artists who were selected for Open Storage Visits; and the physical exhibition, featuring the works of ten of those artists, which will be held at the Manhattan Mini Storage facility at 645 West 44th Street, in Manhattan, from Oct. 13th through 22st, 2016.
Artists selected include: Barbara Burger, Calvin Lom, Elaine Defibaugh, Eliot LeBow, Gabriel J. Shuldiner, Mike Jacobs, Rita Barros, Ralph Toporoff, Steve Danielson and Susan Natale.
Included in this group are: two self-taught artists; an old-school photographer with thousands of negatives documenting a changing New York; a large-scale mixed media painter who collapses personal and environmental concerns; an abstract painter who began his practice at six years old; a Punk-Minimalist working with materials that made and make the city; a photo-journalist and film maker reinterpreting his archives through contemporary technology; an artist coping with eviction by creating memories of place and possessions; a portraitist of emotions and a mixed media artist creating socially conscious narratives by re-purposing personal archives. What do these ten artists have in common? They are all New York based artists dealing with the chronic shortage of affordable space in the city for both living and creating their work. As Blake Malouf said during her interview, "I moved to New York in 2011, and since then, not only has my art been in storage but my artistic life has been in storage as well." Storage therefore, becomes a way of coping but, whether it be the storage of these individual artists' works or the storage of collections of art patrons or museums, storage, nevertheless, removes work from public view and circulation. Fresh Out of Storage, allows some of that work to be seen again.
An artist’s storage unit is a time capsule of both the creator and his or her works, holding years and sometimes decades worth of material. The interviews made clear that the storage rooms contained not just works but intimate recollections of their making and the artists’ lives at the time, and often, mining the depths of the unit became like a journey into the past.
The increasing need for storage (MMS has 17 storage facilities in Manhattan) provides a path into the challenges many artists continually face, particularly in a city like New York. The lack of affordable living and studio space has a deep impact on the kind of work an artist can produce. Moving work into storage, if the scale of the work permits, is perhaps one of the best ways to keep a studio free for new production. The artist, of course, has to be willing to have a long-distance relationship with the artworks that they decide to store and, on the side of benefits, some of the artists revealed during the interviews that putting their work into storage removed the temptation to continue working on a “finished” piece!
One of the darker aspects of art storage is that works created for the public are removed from circulation – particularly in the case of museums, galleries and collectors, where storage can become a large black box of invisibility. This project hopes to make a dent in this problem. Indeed, project curator, Ariela Kader, was deeply moved when she saw how artists have their own “retrospectives” stored in the hope that the work will one day be shown.
Fresh Out of Storage started from a very personal place for Ms. Kader. As both an artist who has been living and making art in New York for the past seven years and a Manhattan Mini Storage tenant herself, she found the issues addressed by the exhibition immensely pertinent. She was curious as to what other artists were storing as well as what she had been accumulating herself… and why. Says Kader, “I really think I should schedule an Open Storage visit with myself so I can commit to it, make my way there and find out what artworks and stories I have stored. This project has also made me think about how an artwork in storage might feel. From the back of the storage unit, where unfinished or damaged works will never see the light of day, to the stars of the storage, who enjoy a respite from being on view, to those hopeful ones who, every time the storage doors are opened, still believe that this could be their time to see the light and shine.”
The storage company has long been aware that its units are frequently used by local artists to create and store their works. “We’re frankly honored and proud that so many talented New York City artists trust us with their precious work,” said Lenny Lazzarino of Manhattan Mini Storage. “In fact, many of them regard their storage rooms as private galleries or studios. We’re so excited to see the amazing works of art on view.”
Fresh Out of Storage is a partnership between Manhattan Mini Storage and No Longer Empty.
Project and exhibition conceived and curated by Ariela Kader.
For further information [email protected]
#freshoutofstorage
