A Brief Appearance by a SoHo Star Draws Mixed Reviews
By HANNAH M. WALLACE (NYT) 560 words
Published: November 25, 2001 THE CITY WEEKLY DESK
When Joe Amrhein, a Conceptual painter, moved to Williamsburg 13 years ago, the neighborhood was teeming with artists but there were few galleries. A handful of alternative spaces like Brand Name Damages, Minor Injury and Test-Site, came and went. Other galleries like Pierogi, which Mr. Amrhein opened in 1994, stuck around. Today, Williamsburg has about 30 galleries, many of them artist-run.
But no one expected a major Manhattan gallery to set up shop. Then, on Sept. 7, the dealer Jeffrey Deitch, who has shown such high-profile artists as Vanessa Beecroft, Damian Loeb and Cecily Brown at his SoHo gallery, Deitch Projects, opened a 4,000-square-foot space on North 11th Street.
The opening work, a multimedia installation by the online collective Fakeshop, attracted a large crowd and created a buzz in the New York art world. But before Deitch Brooklyn could make much of an impression, it abruptly closed its doors three weeks after it opened.
Mr. Deitch said he closed the gallery because of what he described as ''problems with the leaseholder'' and uncertainty after the Sept. 11 attack.
''I was planning an experimental program that I would've had to subsidize,'' he said. ''After the 11th, I said, 'Let's try this again when we're more confident about the economic environment.' ''
Jeff Gompertz, the founder of Fakeshop and the former tenant, said the original plan was for Deitch to rent most of the space. ''We had a gentleman's agreement that Deitch would eventually take over the lease,'' said Mr. Gompertz. ''It's still very open for him to do that.''
Deitch's brief star turn in Williamsburg highlights an important local divide. Some artists, proud of Williamsburg's reputation as an alternative art community, saw his arrival as the start of the neighborhood's ''Chelseafication,'' a reference to the sleek galleries that have transformed western Chelsea. Others welcomed Deitch, knowing it would attract important collectors and dealers to smaller, lesser-known spaces.
''Williamsburg galleries serve as cultural centers where artists come to exchange ideas,'' said Gregory Volk, a critic for Art in America who has lived in Williamsburg since 1987. ''The blue-chip Chelsea galleries -- and galleries like Deitch -- use a completely different model. They're focused on selling the art. If that model were to come here, it would be a disaster for Williamsburg.''
Others expressed less concern about the arrival of Manhattan galleries. Christian Viveros-Fauné, an owner of the Williamsburg gallery Roebling Hall, said he hoped Deitch returned to the neighborhood.
''The more serious galleries around, the better,'' Mr. Viveros-Fauné said. ''The neighborhood is changing, but I'd much rather Jeffrey Deitch than Warsaw,'' he added, referring to a new local nightclub.
And some artists suggested that Deitch Brooklyn did, at least briefly, bring a new audience to the neighborhood. ''It was much more the Chelsea crowd,'' said Eric Heist, a founder of Momenta Art, another Williamsburg gallery. ''People we didn't recognize.''
HANNAH M. WALLACE
Photo: Joe Amrhein's gallery, Pierogi, is one of about 30 small spaces for showing art in Williamsburg. Would larger newcomers help or hurt?