By Aaron Short
Don’t sleep in on these exhibits!
Two Bushwick galleries, Storefront and Norte Maar, are reopening on New Year’s Day with new shows — and they’re both serving brunch to curb your hangover.
Storefront’s Deborah Brown, the den mother of the Bushwick art scene, renamed her Wilson Avenue space, “Storefront Bushwick,” and welcomes minimalist abstract painters Gary Petersen and Halsey Hathaway, whose colorful geometric canvases will grace its narrow walls come 2012.
“I’m going to show a lot of painting and sculpture, with an emphasis on Bushwick artists and older artists who haven’t been shown recently,” said Brown.
Just up the road on Wyckoff Avenue, Norte Maar’s Jason Andrew will be hosting a new show, “Guilty/ (Not) Guilty,” featuring the work of artists Francesco Masci, Alfred Steiner, Pablo Tauler, and Famous Accountants gallery’s Ellen Lechter inside his cozy apartment-gallery.
Andrew has been working with Brown for the past two years at Storefront — an experience he called “remarkable” — but said he will focus on introducing Bushwick’s artists to the art world beyond the neighborhood’s borders.
“It is time for me to focus on promoting artists beyond Flushing Avenue and the do-it-yourself world that has come to define Bushwick,” said Andrew. “Our artists need and deserve recognition and discussion, and it’s my role to deliver it.”
Both Brown and Andrew want to get more attention for their favorite artists, while also using their spaces as performance venues.
Brown is planning a performance series with Bushwick author Paul Rome and Diane Cluck on Feb. 6, and Andrew is organizing a tribute to composer John Cage beginning on Jan. 24 with music, dance, and readings.
So pull yourself together on Sunday morning and head over to Bushwick to see some new art — it’s good for your headache.
“Gary Petersen and Halsey Hathaway: New Paintings” at Storefront Bushwick. (16 Wilson Ave. at Noll Street, Bushwick). Jan. 1. 1 pm. For info, www.storefrontbk.com.
“Guilty/ (Not) Guilty” at Norte Maar. [83 Wyckoff Ave. at Suydam Street (646) 361-8512] Jan. 1. 11 am. For info, www.nortemaar.org.
Reach reporter Aaron Short at ashort@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-2547.
