Man, sometimes I get down on Brooklyn as an art scene, and
then bam, Adam Parker Smith and Storefront completely reinvigorate my faith in
things. If it was ever in doubt, not only can Brooklyn put on shows that give
opportunities to up and comers but it can also completely challenge the quality
of art in Chelsea.
I love Adam Parker Smith’s choice to lay down wall-to-wall
black carpeting. It produces a great environment, which makes Storefront feel
like walking into an affluent living room in the 1970’s. Complete with a
middling landscape painting with a very self-aware old frame that doesn’t match
the carpet, it’s the kind of thing that screams art, without a tad of taste. The
carpet and painting both serve to set up the giant rectangular glass tomb
covered in condensation, as if the soulless surrounding had been designed
particularly for hyperventilating idolaters. The space is just stunning and is nicely
accented in its otherworldliness by a black and white checkered flag in a frame
on the wall of the back room. The unrecognizable origin of the flag is not only
disorienting but somehow a convincing detail that flushes out the space into a
complete world onto itself, where 1970’s housewives might ecstatically fawn
over giant glass rectangles in their living rooms.
As good as this is, it is great that this is at Storefront
and in Brooklyn. Storefront in
many ways is a flagship gallery for Brooklyn, and scene that has received
constant and not unfounded criticism that the art lacks ambition, that it is
small, often conservative and lost in uneven group shows. Adam Parker Smith’s
show is certainly none of those things. It is a downright grandiose use of an
otherwise humble space. It is a sterling example of what Brooklyn can and
should be. And hats off to Storefront for turning their entire space over to
Adam Parker Smith’s vision. It’s a great job on their part and certainly raises
the bar for Brooklyn for the rest of the year in Brooklyn.
Through February 3rd
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