107 Norfolk, formerly music venue Tonic (photo via boweryboogie.com)
This week’s announcement that Lisa Cooley will move from her 700-square-foot gallery on Orchard Street to a 4,800-square-foot space at 107 Norfolk this February was of no surprise to most New Yorkers following the emerging scene. Since opening her doors in 2008, Cooley’s artists have consistently appeared in prestigious group shows, museum exhibitions, publications, and have been added to several major museums’ public collections. J. Parker Valentine showed at Taka Ishii, Frank Haines performed at PS1, and Erin Shirreff exhibited in Greater New York and at the Met, to name just a few.
When asked whether she would be taking on new artists who make larger work, Cooley told us that, for the time being, the gallery would focus on its current artists. Erin Shirreff and Andy Coolquitt in particular were cited amongst those who would benefit from the expansion.
The gallery will occupy the space formerly home to the music venue Tonic, a single-level ground floor exhibition space with 14-foot-tall wood beam ceilings and concrete floors. The block is seeing an influx of significant art spaces: 103 Norfolk now houses Thierry Goldberg, and 109 Norfolk will soon be Site/109, an event space headed by Helen Allen, the former Executive Director of The Pulse Art Fair and Ramsay Art Fairs. The street is not one gallery goers can skip.
According to Cooley’s announcement, the main space will be 25 by 50 square feet, with a second room for flexible programming and film screenings. Designed by Reinaldo Leandro, of Ashe + Leandro, who previously designed Bortolami and Renwick Galleries, we expect the gallery space will be transformed into a suitable art temple.
The exact date for the launch has not yet been announced, but a first show of the gallery’s artists, titled “Today,” will open early February. In 2012, we can expect a series of solo exhibitions of represented artists, as well as talks, readings, and music events.
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