THE STREET ARE HER CANVAS

I was immediately struck by Colette’s style when she walked into the door for our interview. She was wearing a top hat and a billowing, draped black dress, which made her look half witch, half Charlie Chaplin impersonator. We met the morning after Halloween, which Colette claims is the only day of the year that she doesn’t wear a costume. An artist famous for changing the character she impersonates frequently, she is a ubiquitous presence on the streets of the Meatpacking district. I have always been a big fan of her art, and I couldn’t wait to learn more about Colette Maison Lumiere, the name of the guise that she adopted after September 11, 2001.

Colette is something of a neighborhood legend. Best known for using anonymous urban spaces in her pioneering work, she claims that the streets are her canvas. She’s occupied her crowded basement atelier, which she refers to as her laboratory, in the Meatpacking District for more than 30 years. Her paintings, sculptures, photographs, mixed media works and installation pieces have been featured in most major exhibition spaces in New York, including the Guggenheim and the Museum of Modern Art. Although her success has allowed her to live and work around the world, she is grateful that she still has her space on Washington Street. In a city that has made her famous, she still finds joy in the neighborhood where she first began to make her celebrated street paintings in the 1970s.

Colette’s favorite part of the Meat Market is its proximity to the water. Being able to walk down to the Hudson River brings her a lot of peace. She thinks that the opening of the High Line, which adds an element of wilderness to the water views, will make a huge impact on the cultural importance of the neighborhood.

In 1978, Colette staged her own death in an installation performance at the Downtown Whitney, entitled "The Last Stitch". The opening of the Whitney Museum on Gansevoort Street therefore seems particularly relevant to her career. I think it’s safe to say that I’m not the only one who hopes that they open with a retrospective of Colette on her home turf.
For more information about Colette please visit: www.colettetheartist.com.
To purchase her works, contact hpgrp gallery NY: www. hpgrpgallery.com

IVY BROWN GALLERY

Ivy Brown Gallery is located in an old civil war hospital on Hudson Street between 13th and 14th Streets, right in the heart of the Meatpacking District. The gallery shows an eclectic group of artists working with a range of mediums including photography and mixed media.

675 HUDSON STREET #4N
between WEST 14TH STREET & WEST 13TH STREET
TEL: 212-925-1111
HOURS: 11AM-6PM (MON-SAT) / CLOSED (SUN)

HPGRPGALLERY NEW YORK

PHOTO: “Helen and George Segal” ©1990 by Donald Lokuta

hpgrp Gallery NY exhibits artworks in a broad range of mediums that bring the art world into the real world. The works exhibited not only have an effect in terms of aesthetics, they also change the way that both art enthusiasts and novices view the world around them.

32-36 LITTLE WEST 12TH STREET, 2ND FLOOR between NINTH AVENUE & WASHINGTON STREET
TEL: 212-727-2491
HOURS: 11AM-6PM (TUE-SUN) / CLOSED (MON)

WHITNEY MUSEUM

Last year, the Whitney Museum announced the opening of a new, six-floor, 185,000 square-foot building in downtown Manhattan. Located on Gansevoort Street between West Street and the High Line, the building will be designed by Renzo Piano, the Pritzer-Prize winning architect best known for constructing the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France. His strongly asymmetrical design responds to the industrial character of the loft buildings that surround the site and the majesty of the Hudson River visible from the top floors of the building.

Although the two projects are not related, there will be a clear dialogue between the Whitney building and the High Line. The plans of the museum include over 15,000 square feet of rooftop galleries that will interact and compliment the park along the High Line. A large outdoor plaza at the front of the building will create a public space at the entrance on Washington Street, inviting local residents, tourists, artists, students, educators and gallerists to gather together for public events.

The Whitney Museum will add a completely new dimension to the already blossoming Meatpacking district. We can’t wait for the construction to begin sometime in the next year.