Artists Space

Photo by Daniel Pérez

Split Screen:

ARTISTS SPACE

New York, NY

Since its founding in 1972, Artists Space has occupied six different Downtown locations as it shaped its visionary program of exhibition and performance and became a hub for aesthetic experimentation, social engagement and activism. The design of Artists Space’s new 8,000 SF home at the corner of Cortlandt Alley and White Street in Tribeca creates a venue particular to its unique place within the contemporary art world. The new space will support the organization’s program into the next two decades.

Spanning two floors and offering two entrances, the new venue gives Artists Space the capacity to present multiple exhibitions and performance works simultaneously. Critical to the reinvention of the space is the insertion of the substantial new opening on Cortlandt Alley, where a recess shelters a steel door that echoes the utilitarian streetscape. From the double height space within, the visitor can move into three distinct areas that can be programmed in tandem or independently, maximizing flexibility.

The upper floor offers a large open gallery visible from the street. Below, a central space is flanked by vaults under the sidewalk, with high clerestory windows providing daylight. The design enables different sorts of activities throughout, with no space being off limits, no separate staff work areas and no reception desk.

The nineteenth century warehouse recalls the early history of contemporary art in New York. In contrast to the pristine gallery space, the cast iron columns remain unfinished; pipework is exposed and unpainted. The new construction deploys modest materials - sandblasted concrete, unfinished oak - that will register use and occupation as the program of Artists Space evolves.

PROJECT TEAM: Martin Cox, Tim Bade, Jane Stageberg, Saumon Oboudiyat

Photography by Michael Moran except where noted.