Due to a late problem with my accomodations in NY for the Armory Fair weekend, I reached out to Peter Reginato (One Word Project here), an artist and friend living in the city, for any advice on where to stay on such late notice. Peter did one thing better... he offered up his loft in SoHo for me and my girlfriend to stay for the weekend. Let me provide a hint as to what I thought about the art in NY - Peter's loft was by far the coolest thing I saw all weekend.
I wrote once before about a visit I had with Peter in his loft and I talked about how incredible his loft was. Unfortunately, I didn't have any images to share at the time but I do now. Let me describe first. Peter moved to SoHo from California in 1966, before SoHo was SoHo. He moved into a large loft and began his NY art career. In 1969, Peter was featured in an article in Vogue magazine talking about his beautiful wife (now ex-wife), art and loft. In the early 70's his sculpture was included in the Whitney Annual. I don't want to belabor the point, but Peter has had a long, wonderful career and he continues to churn out great sculptures.
The loft Peter moved into is on the fifth and top floor of an old building near Greene and Spring St. The loft measures a large 4500 sq ft, approximately 3000 sq ft worth is his studio. This is the studio I only imagined NY artists having. Large and airy workplaces where artists could churn out ambitious work. It turns out that Peter is one of the last SoHo artists with such a studio. Time and expense have caused artists to quit producing art or to move away. I can only imagine what that area was like three to four decades ago. Big time artists such as Donald Judd had a store front studio just a block away.
Over the course of the weekend, I was able to meet the founder of Spring Street Bar - a beloved and famous artist hangout. I met Dennis Elliot, the Director/Founder of the International Studio and Curator Program in NYC. I saw Charlie Finch, the hilarious and opinionated writer for artnet.com, at the opening of Tibor's new space uptown. I sat with Peter has he talked with Ronald "Ron" Davis for over an hour about the art of today and the good ol' days.
There were many more great experiences I had in NYC but I don't want to bore you to tears (did I fly by that point already?). I learned something valuable that doesn't just apply to art, though it is particularly relevant here. When you make the acquaintance of a successful, long-time artist who has been around the block several times, do all that you can to listen to his/her stories. These people have insight and advice that are invaluable. On top of that, their stories make for incredible feelings and ideas. It's not a profound relevation, but it was one that struck me this weekend. I can't describe in enough detail how great of a weekend I had in NYC. Armory and Scope were fine, but it should tell you something that I write about this first.
The last time I discussed Peter's studio I received a lot of interest for pictures of the space. The artists I know in DC have tiny spaces where they produce their art. The following pictures will show you where talent, success, and luck, can get you if you continue to follow your dreams.
To give a sense of scale, the piece in the back right corner of the second picture measures 12' x 11' x 2'. The ceilings are about 13' tall. It's a huge space that perfectly suits the making of large steel sculpture. What I wouldn't give for just a tenth of that amount of space as my own studio!!
I'd like to extend a hearty, public thank you to Peter for allowing me to stay with him. I look forward to the next time!
Peter's studio is way better than mine, but I did score by talking my wife (my lovely wife) into letting me have the master bedroom in our house. A double-vanity bathroom! A walk-in closet!
Posted by: wwc | Tuesday, March 15, 2005 at 04:43 PM