by erin rosita
| Alleged, the best (and only) art gallery on the Lower East Side. |
The Lower East Side of Manhattan is not a fashionable destination. Populated primarily by dive bars, nodding junkies, and boarded-up storefronts, the thought of anything even remotely related to trendiness, fancy clothes, or art happening down here would be pretty hard to believe. In fact, the only reason anyone from another neighborhood would even set foot on the LES in 1994 would be if they were looking for illicit substances, of which there are plenty.
Yet a beacon of culture shines. On Ludlow Street just below Houston, nestled between two vacant storefronts and a few doors down from a locals-only kind of bar called Max Fish and a dinky sandwich shop called Pink Pony, lies a small hub of underground culture. Last week on a chilly Thursday night, denizens of both the fashion and art worlds came out in force to brave the hinterlands of the LES. Alleged Gallery, a little-known art space recently opened by some guy named Aaron Rose, and TG-170, a cool fashion boutique for girls, came together as one for a cultural event that left the Puerto Rican neighbors scratching their heads. In the grand historical scheme of the history of art, this will constitute no more than a ripple. But at least we had fun.
Alleged is a modest space that seems more like a living room than a business. In fact, from the looks of it, most days the clientele comprises exclusively cretins, criminals, and dirty skateboarders. Last week, however, the walls of the space were covered almost floor to ceiling with artworks, transforming the space into a massive, colorful, and visually stimulating collage. The various artists included in the exhibition are almost completely unknown, but most offerings show much promise. Take the simple drawings by a young artist named Tom Sachs. In his works, the Japanese cartoon character Hello Kitty is rendered in Sharpie marker on small scraps of paper stamped with the statement, “Made in Switzerland.” Another young artist, Phil Frost, has wheat-pasted one side of the gallery with photocopied drawings and found objects. On top of this he has hung canvases of various sizes depicting creepy cartoon faces and graphic renderings of hearts, all executed in correction fluid. Mike Mills, an emerging graphic designer who creates album cover art for many local downtown bands (as well as graphics for X-Girl and TG-170 next door) shows a series of 1960s-inspired posters in neon colors. West Coast-based artist and skater Mark Gonzales displays a series of ink drawings on different-colored typing paper. Some feature characters and others are just text.
See all articles by this contributor Anonymous, on Oct 22, 2009 wrote:
you mean nashville pussy? | | Anonymous, on Oct 20, 2009 wrote:
go back to tennessee pussy | |
| hi fructose, on Oct 20, 2009 wrote:
damn, how old is harmony korine in this photo? he looks like he’s cutting fourth grade. | | Anonymous, on Oct 20, 2009 wrote:
That’s an art gallery?? Looks like a private club for Homies characters. | | Anonymous, on Oct 17, 2009 wrote:
In 2009, LES is filled with trendy fancy clothes wearing yuppy hipster artist types. | | Anonymous, on Oct 17, 2009 wrote:
Aww, Harmony Korine. What a little runt.
Guess his parents fucked listening to goodbye yellow brick road? | | |
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