Group Exhibition: Press Release (Cycle XIII), Storage Gallery /  by Carolyn Oberst

November 9th - January 2025

Storage
52 Walker Street
4th Floor
Tribeca, New York 10013

Checklist

Press Release

Storage is pleased to present Press Release (Cycle XIII), a group exhibition featuring the works of Rick Lowe (b. 1961), Leasho Johnson (b. 1984), Jeff Way (b. 1942), Hugo McCloud (b. 1980), Michael Igwe (b. 1994), and Carolyn Oberst (b. 1946). Blending abstraction and figuration, this exhibition brings together a diverse assemblage of voices that collectively explore the multifaceted nature of identity, culture, and social observation. Press Release (Cycle XIII) will be on view from November 9th, 2024 through January 2025 at Storage.

The works in Press Release (Cycle XIII) engage with personal and shared experiences, offering a rich tapestry of perspectives that reflect the complexities of contemporary identity. Each artist employs a unique take on narrative, social critique, and material exploration. 

Rick Lowe’s interdisciplinary practice maps the connections between culture and community, revealing how these elements influence and inform one another. In tandem, Hugo McCloud’s focus on materiality challenges viewers to consider the intersections of class, race, and identity through the lens of the environment and economy, emphasizing how our surroundings shape our experiences.

Michael Igwe’s storytelling, deeply rooted in folklore, offers a framework through which to explore personal and communal identities. In contrast, Leasho Johnson’s sharp commentary on post-colonial culture prompts critical reflections on the visible and invisible aspects of identity formation.

Carolyn Oberst balances lived experiences with imagined worlds, encouraging reflection on the boundaries between reality and perception. Meanwhile, Jeff Way’s exploration of shamanism and meditation introduces a spiritual perspective, inviting contemplation on the relationship between the personal and the collective.

Together the artists of Press Release (Cycle XIII) create a rich conversation that not only underscores the diversity of contemporary identity but also invites viewers to engage with the inevitable questions arising from their interconnected narratives. The shared contexts of these varied backgrounds reveal universal themes that transcend geographical boundaries, emphasizing the mutual human experiences that connect us all.

Westwood Gallery presents Loft Law: Photographs by Joshua Charow /  by Carolyn Oberst

WESTWOOD GALLERY NYC presents Loft Law: Photographs by Joshua Charow, the first solo exhibition for New York-based documentary photographer and filmmaker Joshua Charow (b. 1998), curated by James Cavello. This is Charow’s premiere exhibition of his photographs and short documentary films on New York artists. The exhibition includes forty photographs by Charow and eighteen works of art by eleven of the artists featured in the photographs: Carmen Cicero, Loretta Dunkelman, Betsy Kaufman, Kimiko Fujimura, Joseph Marioni, Carolyn Oberst, Marsha Pels, Gilda Pervin, Steve Silver, Mike Sullivan, and Jeff Way. The exhibition will be on view May 16 – July 13, 2024.

Loft Law: The Last of New York City's Original Artist Lofts /  by Carolyn Oberst

Joshua Charow spent three years creating his first photography book titled 'Loft Law. The Last of New York City's Original Artist Lofts' about artists living under the protection of the Loft Law. The law, enacted in 1982 (Article 7-C of the Multiple Dwelling Law), granted protection and rent stabilization to thousands of artists who were living illegally in commercial and manufacturing zoned lofts in neighborhoods like Soho, Tribeca, and the Bowery after the manufacturing industry predominantly left Manhattan.

In 2021, he found a map of the remaining protected buildings, rang thousands of doorbells, and photographed and interviewed over 75 artists who are still living in these incredible lofts to this day. The photographs explore some of the most unique beautiful, and hidden artist studios across New York City. The book includes writing and personal stories from the incredible group of artists featured in the book.

Featured Artists: Ken Jacobs, Flo Jacobs, Loretta Dunkelman, Katherine Liberovskaya, Phill Niblock, Gerald Marks, Martine Mallary, Michael Sullivan, Carmen Cicero, Joseph Marioni, Carolyn Oberst, Jeff Way, Chuck DeLaney, Joe Haske, Kimiko Fujimura, Steve Silver, Noah Jemison, Sumayyah Samaha, Bob Petrucci, Claire Fergusson, Gilda Pervin, Curtis Mitchell, Ellen Christine, Marsha Pels, Betsy Kaufman, Jennifer Charles, JG Thirlwell, Alex Locadia, Winkel, Anne Mason remembering artist Frank Mason.

Book Credits: Photography & Text by Joshua Charow, Design by Alexander Paterson-Jones, Text Edited by Czar Van Gaal and Kala Herh

To purchase the book: https://www.amazon.com/Joshua-Charow-Citys-Original-Artist/dp/8862088159

Artist Talk led by Charlotte Meyer, Director of Rema Hort Mann Foundation in celebration of the Two-Person Exhibition by Jeff Way & Carolyn Oberst at Storage Gallery /  by Carolyn Oberst

Artist talk led by Charlotte Meyer, Director of the Rema Hort Mann Foundation discussing the history of Downtown New York art scene 1960’s-2000’s. Notions of space making, economics, and intellectual movements would be explored in celebration of Press Release, Cycle VI, Jeff Way and Carolyn Oberst, two-person exhibition at Storage Gallery.

Storage Gallery, Press Release (Cycle VI): Jeff Way & Carolyn Oberst Two-Person Exhibition /  by Carolyn Oberst

September 27th - October 18th, 2023

Storage
52 Walker Street
4th Floor
Tribeca, New York 10013

Checklist

Press Release

On this occasion, we celebrate the ambitious, communal, and build-it-yourself nature of the founding of Storage with Press Release (Cycle VI), a presentation by Jeff Way (b. 1942) and Carolyn Oberst (b. 1946), two Tribeca-based artists who share a similar ethos.

In Press Release (Cycle VI), archival and recent works by Jeff Way and Carolyn Oberst are curated to examine modalities of labor and transcendence within the historical canon of painting. The exhibition also explores 50+ years of camaraderie between Oberst and Way, who have cohabited in their Walker St loft since the 1970s, but have found disparate modes of artistic exploration.  Similar in the practices of Oberst and Way are references to a blue-collar ideology of making, as they both experiment with the notion of the ‘frame’. Oberst restores discarded frames before painting in and on them, while Way utilizes the explosive gesture of a chalk line tool, often found in carpenters’ work boxes. 

Press Release (Cycle VI) demonstrates Storage’s commitment to centering archival and contemporary works by intergenerational artists pushing the boundaries of artistic traditions. As we celebrate one year since our gallery's opening at 52 Walker St. in September 2022, Storage has held an ongoing, inaugural survey exhibition called Press Release with an organic rotation of artworks.