Tired of seeing art in galleries? Wish you could slouch on the couch while contemplating a painting? Organizers Denise Kupferschmidt and Joshua Smith explained their role in the new and wildly popular Apartment Show NY as that of enabler; they do not seek to curate, only to share and create a positive experience. Their process is uniquely uncomplicated: The two select a few artists’ whose work they want exposed to a larger public, secure an empty, available space wherever they can find it, and set up shop for one night only. Their “gallery” is ephemeral and constantly changing. There is never a premise for the show, and a checklist is rarely offered. If it is made available, it might be found dangling from a magnet on the fridge. Truly a departure from the white-box norm, the Apartment Show NY series offers a refreshing approach to viewing art, drawing from a creative community for a creative community.
Last Sunday, the Apartment Show NY series presented “SINGLE VISION,” a modest four-person show held in a quaint, recently vacated apartment in Clinton Hill. Noting the relaxed comings and goings of friends and the quickly waning supply of beer, I wondered if the general hang didn’t trump the art being exhibited. But perhaps that’s for you to decide. Catch them if you can at their next TBD location. Kupferschmidt, making her way through the crowd as I made my way out the door, shouted out to no one in particular, “Someone just offered me our next apartment!”—Amanda Simms Hunt
