Everyone wanted a chance to get see the inside of 190 Bowery. Few did.
190 Bowery, covered in graffiti and seemingly vacant, has long been somewhat of an enigma on the now posh strip surrounding the New Museum. In the 1960s, photographer Jay Maisel bought the former bank as an enormous private residence/studio (it’s hard to remember that such things were once possible in lower Manhattan) and over the subsequent decades its exterior accumulated the patina of grime and spray paint that characterized the neighborhood in pre-Giuliani New York. Remarkably, it maintained that appearance long into the years of otherwise unrelenting gentrification—an oddity as Whole Foods moved in and Chinese restaurant supply stores gave way to blue-chip galleries and upscale boutiques.
Last year, Maisel sold the building for $55 million to developer Aby Rosen. As a truly groan-inducing sign of the times, the office tenants planning to move into the soon-to-be-redeveloped 190 Bowery have announced that they want to keep the facade’s graffiti because they are “literally at the intersection of chic and gritty.”
Before renovations start, Vito Schnabel (son of Julian Schnabel) is hosting an art exhibition titled First Show/Last Show. The opening was announced with much fanfare, as thousands of curious New Yorkers were offered their first peek inside the mysterious building. Apparently, Schnabel and the new owners were overwhelmed by the prospect of the general public streaming into the show and decided last minute to make the event invite-only.
It was a shit show.
Below: some photos of the scene outside the aborted May 16 opening as well as photos of the interior I was able take after scheduling a private viewing. If you want to see First Show/Last Show yourself, hurry; the exhibition (and building) closes tomorrow, but you still need to make an appointment.
Such line! Much disappointment.
Why is it that seeing a lady with an iPad is always somehow more intimidating than security guards?? Sure sign that you are NOT getting in.
FINALLY, the wonders of the interior REVEALED.
It looks like…a bank.
I was kinda hoping it would be like the bathrooms at CBGB or something.
But this painting by Dan Colen, which includes “trash” on its materials list, is the closest thing to ruin porn in the whole place.
This other Dan Colen is nice too. It seems appropriate for the context, referencing temporary habitation of a space and a voyeuristic peek into someone else’s home (?).
Jeff Elrod
This Mark Grotjahn is way cooler in real life. The texture of the canvas is built up with cardboard. The quality of the lighting in 190 Bowery makes every photograph lose something in translation—an odd oversight for a show that seemed made for Instagram.
This tiny room is dedicated to Harmony Korine’s work. I wasn’t crazy about these.
They’re kinda like blankets I don’t want to touch.
Speaking of touching, I almost leaned against these Joe Bradley paintings because, in this context, I didn’t realize they were art. At first glance, they look like some kind of provisional casing for temporary wiring or something. I think I like that surprise.
And of course, Julian Schnabel. Maybe he’s relevant again as brushless painting has become the new trend? Mostly, I couldn’t help but think of his bizarre Palazzo Chupi development in the West Village—when pastel colors and the strange realities of the New York real-estate world collide it seems like Schnabel is always decorating Barbie’s Dream Loft.
The highlight of the show is this room, tucked away in a tiny mezzanine. These are Ron Gorchov paintings on shaped canvases from the 1960s. As if the notion that one artist could own a huge building in SoHo wasn’t enough to make me pine for “the good old days” before I was born, these reminded me that there was a time when abstraction still had teeth.
Or are they eyes? Chocolatey red on mint green. Be still my heart.
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