A 24-hour, 17-day, small-scale life installation performance experience. Taking the historical construct of the diorama as point of departure, the exhibition presents for consideration the very life of the arts- the friendships, struggles, moments of hilarity, spontaneities and mutual support that make up and make strong a creative community.
curated by Thomas Beale and Tora Lopez
An unlikely thing happened recently at the corner of 21st street and 11th avenue. An artist
community- a once common sight in Manhattan; today, increasingly rare- made an unexpected
and vivid appearance. From 2006 until 2012, in the midst of the polished, professional Chelsea
gallery ecosystem, artists, incongruously, established themselves. The real estate climate that
has made New York City ever more forbidding terrain for their kind, paradoxically, shaped the
opportunity: the four-story, 40,000 sq. ft. building at the center of this story was slated for
demolition, and Alf Naman, the building owner, generously offered the space in the interim to
artists, supporting and collaborating with them to create an unlikely habitation, a thriving creative
community. They built studios, anachronistically large communal dining and living areas,
galleries and an improbable “no-profit” exhibition space. An extended family grew around the
building, infamous dinner parties were held, unsuspecting Chelsea visitors would sometimes
wander into the kitchen- “is this an installation?” - and eventually, as with all things, the moment
passed.
In September of 2012, the artists of what came to be known as Cold Castle moved out, as plans
were finally in place to move development forward. The keel of this corner of New York would at
last right itself to the times.
From February 21 through March 9, the family of Cold Castle will retake residence on 21st
street, telegraphing the experience of the life they lived in their 40,000 sq. ft. castle to the 120
sq. ft. jewelbox of Family Business. While the original Cold Castle is in the very process of
demolition, they will recreate in its shadow the dynamic life they lived- making art, cooking,
communing, hosting events and dinner parties, at all hours, amidst the original elements and
materials of Cold Castle.
Taking the historical construct of the diorama as point of departure, the exhibition will present for
consideration the very life of the arts- the friendships, struggles, moments of hilarity,
spontaneities and mutual support that make up and make strong a creative community. Not
simply for the ecstatic experience of reunion (but not not that), but moreover as a formal and
historical celebration of this unique life lived, the exhibition will indulge the perennial avant garde
instinct to dissolve art into life and vice versa– to infect, once again, Chelsea and the New York
City imagination with the turbulent, sexy, genuine life of the artists themselves. Cold Castle will
be open to the public- you can talk to, admire the work of, eat with, and/or feed the artists- and
limited seats will be available at select dinner parties that extend onto 21st street.
Join us for tea, conversation, playtime, suppertime, dance parties, art making, film screenings,
ritual ceremonies, a performative symposium on New York artist communities today, and so
much more!
Please see our schedule of events at www.coldcastle.com
For more information, please contact: info@honey-space.com
Cold Castle is:
Ahmed Alsoudani, Alf Naman, Amy C. Storey, Andrew Poneros, Annysa Ng, Arturo Toulinov, Benjamin
Heller, Carol Schaefer, Claudia Ramirez, Clara Gialdi, Daphane Park, Donnchadh Malone, Dustin
Aksland, Elizabeth Kabler, Graham Gillmore, iona rozeal brown, James Kennedy, John Wells, Julie
Keyes, Katherine Blackburne, Lena Viddo, Lina Bertucci, Linda DiGusta, Lollipoppit, Luis Renaldo, Mark
Wiener, Matilde Alessandra, Maureen Dougherty, Mercedes Head, Midori Harima, Nathan Perkel, Nikki
Hotvedt, Nils Folke Anderson, Phillip Estlund, Phillip Low, Renaud Vuaillat, Robert Molnar, Roz Stone
Morris, Savannah Barrett, Sophie Bréchu-West, Susan Magnus,Thomas Beale,
Tora Lopez, Ujin Lee, Vadis Turner, Valerie Cueto
...and many more!
FAMILY BUSINESS is a new exhibition space initiated by Maurizio Cattelan and Massimiliano Gioni.
Family Business
520 W 21st street New York