It's quite well known in the art world that Michael Goldberg took over Mark Rothko's Bowery studio back in the 1960's, but until now we had never seen what it actually looked like when Rothko had it. The recent off Broadway Play - RED is set in the studio and way back then it was where Rothko painted the Four Seasons commissions. The red paint that he used remains scattered over the original studio floor. It was a sacred part of the history of the studio and Michael Goldberg avoided (for the most part) dropping his own paint over the areas splattered with what we referred to as the Rothko Red. Stanford University just happens to have images of the studio back then, with Rothko's paintings stacked up around the studio. We had to share them:    

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American painting has long embraced the philosophy that bigger is better. From Jackson Pollock to contemporary artists like Mark Bradford, large scale works have been a consistent part of the modern American tradition. [caption id="attachment_8091" align="alignleft" width="301"] © JAMES SIENA, Untitled 2009
19-1/4" x 15-1/8"
Courtesy PaceWildenstein, New York[/caption] Lately though, there has been a shift. I noticed it first in the younger artists studios and then in the work of well known contemporary artists like James Siena. Instead of making epically scaled paintings, these artists are making work that is smaller, painterly, intimate and inviting. It was through my interest in James Siena's painting that I discovered the work of Ben Pritchard, a Brooklyn based artist creating small, heavily labored drawings and paintings. Siena included Pritchard in two exhibitions that he curated, first at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in 2009 and again at DC Moore Gallery in New York City in 2010. The surfaces of Pritchard's paintings are quite heavy and evidence layers of under painting. Gone is the grand format and familiar clean canvas edge. Instead, Pritchard's paintings are human scale and sit on awkwardly shaped surfaces where the forms appear to wrestle with the uneven edges. The intense workmanship and elegant simplicity of the final image combine to make Pritchard's work both charming and compelling. Ben's drawings are also intimate labors of love. Although in his drawing there is no layering or masking of the work involved. The detail sits on the surface and the finished image is an intricate concoction of marks that conform to a set of rules established by the artist at the outset of the drawing. All this work is squeezed onto a piece of paper not much larger than your average A3 sheet. Again the forms appear to wrestle within the asymmetrical edges of the paper to create intriguing, dynamic compositions. Pritchard's work represents a beautiful shift towards intimacy. He has stepped away from the massive, bold 'look at me paintings' of the past while skillfully preserving that certain something in painting that compels the viewer to take notice - only this time, it is not from a distance. To view more of Ben's work, visit his website or his TWFineArt print portfolio. [caption id="attachment_8138" align="aligncenter" width="494"] Oscar Fate, Ben Pritchard 2009-14, Oil on canvas, 24/28"[/caption] [caption id="attachment_8135" align="aligncenter" width="542"] Title Unknown, Ben Pritchard[/caption] [caption id="attachment_8093" align="aligncenter" width="405"] Santa Theresa, Ben Pritchard Ink on Paper, 2011,48/65cm[/caption] [caption id="attachment_8094" align="aligncenter" width="429"] Potatoe (Rhizome) Ben Pritchard Ink on paper, 25.5/19.5, 2012[/caption]          

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New York City in the 1950’s was a pretty remarkable place. After WWII the city was a relative shell comprised of dilapidated buildings and neglected neighborhoods, with most people opting to live in the suburbs far away from the potential military target. Living and working amongst the derelict buildings was a group of young pioneer artists, bursting with intellect and creativity, yet struggling to have a voice in the art world. In 1951, art dealer Leo Castelli and a group of these young New York City artists joined forces to create the infamous 9^Th St Show, a self-funded exhibition that in many ways changed the course of art history forever. Europe was losing its edge and what was relevant, current and exciting was happening in America’s own back yard, despite being overlooked by the local art scene. At that time, there was only a small number of galleries in Manhattan, all were clustered around 57^th street and all dealed primarily in European art. The collective rented an abandoned antique store at 60, East 9^th Street for $40 and together put on a ground-breaking exhibition that ‘appropriated a visibility that American Society had denied them for so long’. The Abstract Expressionist Movement burst onto the scene and caught the attention of not only critics but the culture at large. These artists ultimately became some of the most celebrated and valued of all time. One of the youngest exhibitors in the 9^th Street show was TW Fine Art’s Michael Goldberg. At that time Michael Goldberg had changed his name to Michael Stuart to avoid the association with his aristocratic family and his father. Goldberg told stories of taxis lining up down the street with crowds of people amassing outside the space on opening night. The New York Times labeled it an ‘uncommon exhibit of the New York avant-garde spectacularly coming together’. Over the next 50 years the focus of the art world would shift from Europe to America and today there are over 1500 galleries in Manhattan alone. People have returned to the city. The end of the Cold War boosted people’s confidence in the safety of the metropolis and slowly but surely people began to gentrify the forgotten neighborhoods to create the New York City of today. It’s unheard of for artists to be able to rent an exhibition space for $40 anymore – the thought makes today’s artists green with envy! The creative community that existed in those days is now geographically dispersed since Manhattan is for the most part unaffordable for the young avant-garde - the artist interested in the art and not the sale. Goldberg used to loathe walking through Chelsea (the modern art hub) “I fucking hate Chelsea, the content of the work is money no matter what it masquerades as”. In many ways, what he said is true – Mike was about art, not the money that came from today’s art celebrity culture. “I consider myself an old-fashioned modernist in that I think painting can change the world. And the desperation is about the fact that I know it can’t.” Our own artist collective now lives all across the world although our roots are in New York City, where we all gathered as students, mentors and young artists. The Internet serves as our club and although separated by geographical distance, our bonds are strong and our art has been globalized in a manner that in many ways may now represent the future trajectory of the art world.      

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190 Bowery is the renegade of the neighborhood. It sits perched at the junction of Spring St and The Bowery on New York's Lower East Side and has been a legitimate canvas for street artists for decades. It is a record of urban identity. Tags from 1960 sit side by side with works from today, mingling with soot stains and the markings of age. There is a respect that street artists have for their environment and their fellow artists. Not only do they consider the aesthetics of the building's facade and it's surroundings when adding their work, they consider the art of the person that has gone before. There is an unspoken law, if it's good it stays, if it's passe' it'll be painted over. These walls are a collaboration between artists, the city and nature. New York City is an urban jungle and within it, there is an inherent respect for an art culture that is derived from city life. What some of us call vandalism others call art. Real street art works in harmony with it's environment and compliments the beauty of the city that serves as its canvas. New Yorkers embrace 190 Bowery and despite the disneylandification of Manhattan, this building stands strong - an evolving cultural icon and one of those things that makes New York City the city of all cities. Spot the Tony DePew piece in the third image.

       

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Built in 1884, 222 Bowery in SoHo was New York City’s original YMCA, complete with an indoor swimming pool and basketball court. TWFA artist Michael Goldberg was one of the legendary tenants who called this landmarked building home before his death in 2007. Goldberg inherited the space from the infamous abstract expressionist Mark  Rothko - whose red paint from the Four Season's commissions still smears the studio floor. William S Burroughs also called 222 home and artists Lynda Benglis, Lynn Umlauf and John Giorno still have studios in the building. Cavernous spaces like those within 222 Bowery are becoming things of the past as New York City evolves. Buildings like 222 Bowery that preserve the history of the city and its artists, are sadly being renovated and the studios replaced with luxury condos. Progress will be progress, and I wanted to share some photographs of Mike's studio at 222 Bowery with you, since it too, has been scheduled for renovation.      

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