When in Manhattan

Deitch Projects

With Oliver Peterson

When it comes to the Hamptons art scene, one could easily conclude that there isn’t much to complain about. We have a long, rich history of creative people making work that has, at times, broken convention, inspired movements, and brought about change. Some of the biggest names in art have been associated with our towns and shores. Great thinkers and visionaries have brushed elbows here. We have provided the setting for a community that rivals those in Paris, New York, and any number of artistic hot spots. Manhattan is most well known for galleries and art these days, but we still have our fair share. The problem is, for all our galleries, only a small handful show work that mimics the progressive precedent set by the Pollocks and deKoonings of that bygone era. We are steeped in the venerable tradition of the trappings of abstract expressionism, William Merritt Chase, and the others so entrenched in our East End lineage. There’s a lot happening out in the art world there today and it’s just not represented here. I’ve been looking at Los Angeles a lot lately and have concluded that our western counterparts are quickly moving ahead of us when it comes to recognizing new talent. Magazines like Juxtapoz and Shepard Fairey’s Swindle are featuring work that’s young and fresh and noticeably missing on a consistent basis here on the East Coast. I’m sad to say that LA is where it’s at right now.

Manhattan does have one saving grace. To be fair, the city has a few, but the gallery that’s grabbing my attention (and that of quite a few likeminded individuals) is the Deitch Projects.

The Deitch states that they specialize in producing ambitious projects by contemporary artists. They opened in 1996 and have since presented more than one hundred and twenty solo shows, twelve thematic exhibitions, and a number of public events. Artists at Deitch have come from thirty-three countries, they represent the estates of the late Eighties legends Kieth Haring and Jean Michel Basquiat, and work with huge up-and-comers like Barry McGee and Ryan McGinniss. They have championed avant-garde performance art like the 1997 Oleg Kulik “I Bite America and America Bites Me” show, where the artist lived in the space as a dog for two weeks, as well as productions by Fischerspooner, Kembra Pfahler (of the Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black), and Yoko Ono.

I’m actually not a big fan of performance art. The traditionalist in me believes in art as the creation of beautiful, challenging, and attainable objects versus the expression of ideas in a transient, ethereal form. I’ve always wrestled with my feelings over work like the video installations of Bill Viola, where what the collector can purchase is not necessarily of the same quality of that which is presented in a museum or gallery setting. This is not to say I discredit the folks that create these immersive and often memorable productions. The Deitch seems to find a healthy balance between the two. It’s a good sign that in my recent searches on eBay for some of my favorite new artists, I’m finding Deitch among keyword lists that include Bansky, Shepard Fairey, Obey, KAWS, and Ed Templeton. If you know these names, you understand. If you don’t, it would do you some good to type them into your favorite search engine. Their kind of work is missing from galleries here in the Hamptons. I haven’t seen it in almost any of our galleries or the many homes that feature collections most can only dream of owning, and it’s a shame. We are not as progressive as we would like to believe.

Do yourself a favor and get into New York and the Deitch Projects as soon as you can. Open your eyes to what’s really happening in the art world. Actually be the progressive collector or admirer that you consider yourself to be. The Deitch Projects are located at 79 Grand Street and 18 Wooster Street in Soho, (212) 343-7300 and you can visit www.deitch.com. Maybe this will start you on a new path and we can spearhead a new artistic revolution in what has become the stuffy Hamptons.