Every week, Artnet News brings you Wet Paint, a gossip column of original scoops. If you have a tip, email Annie Armstrong at aarmstrong@artnet.com.
DOWNTOWN SHAKES UP
As we’re now more than two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, and finally seeing how the dust is settling on the corresponding economic fallout in every industry, a new trend is arising among New York’s scrappy downtown galleries.
This winter, three downtown outfits are all moving onwards and upwards into new spaces, most of which are larger and more tricked-out than the ones they came from.
Neighbors Marinaro and Jack Barrett Gallery are both ending their leases in deep Chinatown (on Henry Street and Oliver Street, respectively) for Tribeca/NoHo, which has been the trendy neighborhood for smaller spaces for quite some time now.
“I contemplated opening a second space in Los Angeles, but decided to double down on New York,” Barrett told Artnet News. “The space also allows us to continue collaborative projects with galleries outside of New York.”
Barrett’s new space boasts 3,500 square feet (and TWO bathrooms—”perfect for openings!” he noted), compared to his previous space, which was about 1,300 square feet.
Marinaro had been in its Olive Street for four and a half years, and just signed a lease on Bond Street this month. “I really wanted a space that would give our artists room to grow and give us the opportunity to stage larger and more ambitious projects,” said founder Lauren Marinaro.
“The classic loft architecture at our new space on Broadway and Bond will give us an opportunity for an expansive footprint for a good value, and puts us in conversation with an interesting group of established galleries,” she added.
Queer Thoughts group show, “Devastation,” at their new location.
Meanwhile, Queer Thoughts, which has held its space in Tribeca since 2015, is upgrading from a windowless, 12-by-12 office into another, larger space in the same building at 373 Broadway on the second floor, which is double the size of their space.
The space opened this past Tuesday with a group show titled “Devastation”, with critic David Velasco, artists Kayode Ojo, Jacolby Satterwhite, and Jade Kuriki-Olivo (aka Puppies Puppies) in attendance.
“A unit on the second floor of our building became available with street facing windows onto Broadway, above the former Ricky’s store,” said co-owners Miguel Bendaña and Sam Lipp in a joint statement. “We will continue presenting work that is truly je ne sais quoi.”
MAEZAWA LIFTS OFF—ALL ALONE
The ongoing space race of the summer has finally come to its logical conclusion, with a billionaire art collector sitting cross-legged in zero gravity.
This week, Japanese business mogul Yusaku Maezawa arrived at the International Space Station for A 12-day stay through Elon Musk‘s commercial space travel program operated by SpaceX.
Many of us back on Earth feel disappointed not to join the Basquiat collector up there with Major Tom—especially the visual artists among us who campaigned to be taken with him back in the summer, only to learn that zero—zero!—of them would go.
Among those who campaigned to go into space were Avery Singer, and predictably, Tom Sachs, who recently launched a rocket of his own into space from Miami (with an accompanying NFT, of course). No such race was won though; even after Maezawa kiboshed that campaign, he tried to find a new “life partner” to go into space with (and also neglected to find that).
So Maezawa went into space solo. We hope you enjoy it up there, buddy. We’ll all be seething from our view in the peanut gallery (or as it was formerly known, Planet Earth.)
SPOTTED
Jeremy O. Harris dining outdoors at Dimes despite an outdoor temperature of 36 degrees, before heading uptown to meet up with Antwaun Sargent at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the annual Acquisitions Fund gala, hosted by Amy Griffin, Dasha Zhukova, Ann Tenenbaum, and Dr. Samantha Boardman *** Hari Nef gushing over Sam McKinniss‘s new painting of her swimming in the ocean *** Gray Sorrenti at her brother Arsun‘s concert at Nublu, where he was accompanied by Faena hotel-heir Sebastian Faena *** Moses Sumney debuting his new film, Blackalachia, at Metrograph on the Lower East Side *** Project Runway filming its latest episode at The Shed ***The funeral for Mr. Big appears to have been held at Greene Naftali in the “Sex and the City” spinoff-series “And Just Like That“***
WE HEAR
Ultra-hip early-aughts party photographer The Cobrasnake is “coming back strong for 2022,” according to TikTok (If you’re reading this, Mr. Cobrasnake… collab with Wet Paint In The Wild?) … Beloved Dimes Square furniture store Coming Soon, home to more than a few Gaetano Pesce pieces that Wet Paint is dutifully saving up for, is set to carry Seth Rogen’s high-end marijuana accessories … Jay Z has started a lifestyle magazine called Edition that has its own dedicated art section, which Nathaniel Mary Quinn is involved with …
WET PAINT IN THE WILD
Hello it’s me, the ghost of Art Basel Miami Beach past, here to haunt you with some photos from one long night out at Mac’s Club Deuce last week.
I’ll even admit that when I got these photos back from the developer, I looked at them from behind my own hands, fearful of what my camera might have caught that night. I was pleased to find images of art-world camaraderie, with artists and dealers letting off some steam during one of their most stress-inducing weeks of the year.
For that, we have you to thank, Mac’s Club Deuce!
Artist Diedrick Brackens.
Owner of Theta, Jordan Barse, and art advisor Dan Oglander size up the scene.
One overworked bartender among the art world hordes on a Wednesday night in Miami.
Noah Horowitz, Worldwide Head of Gallery and Private Dealer Services with Sotheby’s, throws up the “I love you” sign in ASL, which I am not sure he was meaning to do.
Matthew Brown works his way to the bar for another beer.
Artist Alex Valls takes advantage of the ability to smoke inside at one of the last establishments in the US where you can do so.
Journal Gallery’s Michael Nevin.
When I returned to New York, I craved a calm night of intellectualism and natural wine, so I ambled over to Honey’s in Brooklyn, where Nicodim Gallery and Autre Magazine were hosting artist/writer Brad Phillips and writer Gideon Jacobs for a reading of their new book, Murder Suey.
Mihai Nicodim steps out for a quick smoke.
Artist Polly Borland beneath the disco ball.
Brad Phillips and his wife, artist Christine Brache.
Nicodim’s global director, Ben Lee Ritchie Handler, spun punk records into the night, from The Clash to Black Flag and back again.