First came the blogs, then the magazine features and finally a mention in the International Herald Tribune. You can find a listing for Recession Art’s second show, opening this Saturday, in Time Out New York.
The economy has grown since April and so has Recession Art, an organization composed largely of recent Yale and Wesleyan graduates, dedicated to bringing emerging artists and thrifty collectors together for the reciprocal exchange of cash and collectibles.
Since their debut exhibition six months ago, the group has expanded, with 15 new artists presenting their work Oct. 3 to 10 in a converted mid-century Brooklyn belt factory, including Lisbeth Kaufman ’08, Liana Moskowitz ’09, David Muenzer ’09, Danielle McDonnough ’09 and Jason Mones ART ’09.
Although the $500 price limit remains the same, Recession Art has evolved: more press, more space, more art and more words in the show’s title, “Introducing Money No Problems: A Recession Art Show.”
The Invisible Dog Gallery in Cobble Hill will open its doors at noon this Saturday for a Press and Patron First Look Brunch, where press credentials or a $25 donation buys you a first glimpse at the photography, painting, installation and sculpture on display. Over mimosas and croissants, VIPs can see the output of an up-and-coming generation of New York artists, including Lydia Bell’s new performance piece, “Work for Pay,” in which online job searching meets dance.
The choreography is intended to demonstrate Bell and her collaborators’ marketable skills. Here the Recession Art premise is writ large: The artist suffers in hard economic times, but the creative soul does not.
“Historically, great art has flourished in bad times, from the photographs of the Great Depression to the graffiti and hip-hop of destitute 1970s New York City,” Recession Art states on its Web site, advertising its “art stimulus plan” for a withering market. Recession Art’s shows are innovative and complex, but their message is simple: “When the brokers and bankers are gone, the artists are still here, making work.”