ICON: Why initiate the conTEMPorary exhibition space, which runs counter to your past transient curatorial credentials?
Kenny Schachter: The last thing I ever envisioned was opening a gallery. It was the last thing I ever wanted to do. However, I felt compelled to create a conceptual counterpart to the numbing monotony of exhibition venues. Building a space is probably a once in a lifetime opportunity for most, however more often than not the same designs by the same designers are all too familiar. The most glaring example in Chelsea is Luhring Augustine and Andrea Rosen galleries that shared an architect who is largely responsible for the sterile environment that pervades the district and simply built a wall to divide the uniform space into two. The conscious surrendering of the opportunity for making two distinctive galleries is remarkable.
With the rise of modern art, galleries changed from a salon setting to stark white walls in an effort to achieve neutrality and perhaps confer legitimacy to the nascent world of new art. The model prior to the white cube was the interior of a wealthy patron’s living room. However, gallery interiors became weighted down and loaded with a whole new set of preexisting meanings that were anything but neutral. The aim of conTEMPorary was to stand the conventional notion of displaying art on its head and to create a fluid, morphing space in which to exhibit art. The idea was to radicalize the interior to open a dialogue about how venues can function now and in the future.
ICON: What is the idea behind mixing fashion, architecture, music and dance along with more conventional content of art spaces such as painting, sculpture, and video?
KS: With regard to the program, the intent was also to move away from the convention of exclusively representing a small stable of artists and guarding the exposure of those few as though they were protected species. Without a fixed group of artists to represent, the programming of the gallery can remain as nimble and changeable as the gallery walls (which adjust according to showing requirements). Lip- service is always being paid to broadening the spectrum of what is shown within contemporary art galleries, though we live in a world strictly defined by niche specialization. Rarely do venues or audiences hazard beyond parameters having to do with content, though much is said about cross-pollinating with other art forms in the contemporary art world. It is the mission of conTEMPorary to work with architects, fashion designers, dance groups, musicians and others to experiment in an eclectic showing space. In the process, new audiences are exposed to art forms they would not ordinarily witness. Artists will benefit as well as gallery-goers from interacting with unexpected pairings in the arts
ICON: Why did you choose to work with Vito Acconci in the role of architect rather than artist?
KS: I have always admired the work of Vito Acconci due to his utilitarian, non-conformist, chameleon manner in his approach to art and architecture. I use the word chameleon to describe the ever changing body of work pursued by Acconci from early body based photo and video pieces to installation, sculpture, outdoor art and presently architecture. In fact, at present, Acconci has eschewed art production altogether largely due to the exclusionary limited reach of the fine art world. Acconci has never paid heed to the art market, a driving force that obsesses so many artists today, and has always sought to address challenging conceptual issues usually at the expense of materialistic needs. When a renegade comes upon a field from outside the entrenched establishment he/she is usually met with scorn, as is the case with Acconci and his decade old studio, and similarly, such is the response I have met while curating, making art, writing, and dealing. The art world, like the architecture world, closes ranks and tries to erect barriers to those whose only intent is to create unique approaches. With his art background and deviant approach to architecture, Acconci was the ideal person sympathetic to the concerns of an unorthodox gallery. ConTEMPorary was Acconci’s first private commission and first built interior.
ICON: What is your general approach to curating in the past and at present?
KS: For me curating is an art form similar in nature to painting, sculpture, video, and installation. It is a form of installation comprised of pairing disparate artists, while giving room for the individual participants and artworks to exist independently of the group. For me the key is to bring artists and artworks to the fore that would not otherwise gain a foothold into the system, and to establish complimentary relations between different works. Also, an abiding interest is to bring to light work bypassed, forgotten or underrated by general consensus. Some artists approach their art making process oblivious to new art being made, while others find it exhilarating to actively support the art of their time. I am inextricably drawn to exhibit and promote artists as part and parcel of my own art doings.
ICON: What role do art fairs, such as the upcoming Armory in which you will participate, play in your efforts?
KS: Art fairs in general are strictly commercial matters and the Armory is no different. I find them generally disheartening and practically depressing as a means to see and purchase art. For me, fairs are not to view art but to view collectors! As a small purposefully marginal enterprise, I am not exposed to the usual group of collectors that lend support to galleries on a regular basis. As a result, I have no recourse but to participate in order to expose the artists I work with at any given time and the gallery itself. In an attempt to differentiate myself from the pack of purely commercially minded participants, Vito Acconci will design my booth in an attempt to undermine the normative quality of such affairs.