190 Bowery Art Show Was Closed to the Public to ‘Protect the Space and the Art’
The art opening at 190 Bowery took social media by storm a couple weekends ago when hundreds of people (who were likely more eager to get a look inside the iconic building than to peruse the art) lined up outside and were then promptly turned away when the event was changed from public to private. As The Lo-Down notes, curator and art dealer Vito Schnabel, who hosted the event with the building’s developer Aby Rosen, has now spoken out in the New York Times about the last-minute change of plans, saying that his main concern was “protecting the space and the art.”
The Times takes a look inside the exhibit, First Show/Last Show, and in reference to the admittance debacle says: “Mr. Schnabel and his staff decided the crowd was too large, and had security guards and hostesses turn many of them away, while friend-of-Schnabel guests were welcomed, including the art patron Agnes Gund, the actress Dakota Johnson and Heidi Klum, Mr. Schnabel’s girlfriend. Mr. Schnabel said his concern was only protecting the space and the art; to help regulate the crowds, the exhibition has since been open by appointment through Mr. Schnabel’s website.”
Though this makes it seem like Schnabel cancelled the public event at the moment he saw the crowds, it actually happened the day before, leading many to believe it was all a PR stunt from the beginning. The show’s last day is tomorrow, for any optimists who want to make a last-ditch effort to get on the RSVP list.
[Via NYT and The Lo-Down]
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