About the exhibition
THE NATURE OF BUILDING: Artists' Books
Curated by Maddy Rosenberg
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 7, 4 - 6pm
Curator's Talk: Saturday, November 21, 4 pm
Curated by Maddy Rosenberg
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 7, 4 - 6pm
Curator's Talk: Saturday, November 21, 4 pm
ARTISTS: Monique Allain/MALA, Desiree Alvarez, Islam Aly, Rosaire Appel, Cynthia Back, C Bangs, Susan Bee, Sabra Booth, Brandstifter, Hugh Bryden, Don Burmeister, Margaret Craig, Donna Maria de Creeft, Gerhild Ebel, Anne Gilman, Susan Happersett, Heide Hatry, Art Hazelwood, Eunkang Koh, Kumi Korf, Max Marek, Despo Magoni, Agnes Murray, Florence Neal, Sumi Perera, Marianne R. Petit, Maddy Rosenberg, Marilyn R. Rosenberg, Alan Rosner, Miriam Schaer, Ilse Schreiber-Noll, Sarah Stengle, Lynn Sures, Mary Ting, April Vollmer, Ellen Weiner
With book selections from the Kentler Flatfiles
Curator's Statement:
The Sandstone Steps project was conceived as a transatlantic collaboration between Maddy Rosenberg (CENTRAL BOOKING) and Hugh Bryden (Roncadora Press), inspired by the story of the prized Corsehill sandstone from Annan, Scotland and its journey to New York. It is a story of commerce, migration, but most of all art and the sometimes grandiose visions behind the making. Though the often repeated story of local Scottish folklore that the sandstone was transported as ballast from the port of Annan to form part of the base of the Statue of Liberty has been laid to rest, it turns out the reality is much more interesting. Due to its particular qualities when exposed to the air of hardening slowly but feeling like polished wood once hardened, the Corsehiil sandstone was used externally for fine details in the brownstones in New York City. It would also be used extensively in the construction of the grand Great Western Staircase, also known as the Million Dollar Staircase due to its eventual cost, in the New York State Capitol building in Albany.
The sandstone may have traveled from the other side of the Atlantic and up the Hudson, but New York Harbor was an important stop along the way. It was a literal building block in the balance of the integration and coexistence of the human made with natural environments. Kentler International Drawing Space, situated in Red Hook, is a perfect venue to explore this natural harbor life with the dynamics that build communities and the arts through the influx of immigration.
