10
Aug/10

NOT QUITE OPEN FOR BUSINESS

10
Aug/10

Visitors enter the Hole’s group show through a hole in the wall (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

The Hole
104 Greene St.
Tuesday – Saturday through August 21, 12 noon – 6:00 pm
Admission: free
www.theholenyc.com

When Jeffrey Deitch closed his two SoHo galleries upon accepting the directorship at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art earlier this year, his Deitch Projects executive staff set out on their own, looking for just the right venue and show to announce their next venture. But curators Kathy Grayson and Meghan Coleman and collaborator Suzanne Geiss were quickly faced with a series of problems, including a corporate sponsor pulling out, losing a desired space, and having the artist for their first show tell them that he wouldn’t be ready in time. Ever creative, they decided to take another angle, presenting “Not Quite Open for Business,” a group show featuring unfinished painting, sculpture, drawing, video, and installation by more than two dozen artists, including Terence Koh, Barry McGee, Kembra Pfahler, Steve Powers, Robert Lazzarini, Matt Leines, Rosson Crow, Erik Foss, and Jules de Balincourt. Be careful where you step, because there’s art everywhere, from floor to ceiling. The cool space, named the Hole because Grayson and Coleman are intent on “filling a hole in the downtown community,” a favorite phrase of Deitch’s, was designed by Taylor McKimens, inviting visitors to literally enter through a hole in a wall. There’s also a groovy room in the back called Holey Books, designed by Rafael de Cardenas, which sells music, hats, shirts, books, and other merch. Grayson and Coleman are off to a fun start; up next for them is Mat Brinkman’s “Phantasmatgoria,” opening September 18.