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PeepSpace, a contemporary art gallery in Tarrytown, was founded in 2020 by artists Monica Carrier and Jane Kang Lawrence, who set out with a clear idea: artists creating space for other artists. They signed the lease on March 1, just as COVID-19 gripped New York, and by June, they were masked up and hosting their first show PlusOne—pushing forward when most things had come to a halt. Five years and 21 exhibitions later, PeepSpace has held its ground and grown. Now under the co-leadership of Jess Blaustein, Monica Carrier, Ian Etter, Kristen Jordan, Jacquelyn Strycker, and Rachel Sydlowski, the gallery has become a steady fixture for artists and their work.
In this interview, we catch up with Monica Carrier to talk about how PeepSpace has evolved since those uncertain beginnings and what’s in store for its fourth Flat File program, featuring 22 artists’ small works, available through early fall next year. The program includes a stellar lineup this year including the artists Andrea Sanders, Anne-Marie McIntyre, Árón Ó Maolagáin, Beth Sutherland, Catie Dillon, Celeste Fichter, Diane Bertolo, Dustin London, Eleanor Conover, Elissa Swanger, Elizabeth Meggs, Jennifer Tazewell Mawby, Kassandra Palmer, Kelly Clare, Kim Sheridan, Kristen Heritage, Lynette Therese Sauer, Sara Osebold, Steven Dana, Talia Shulze, Vivek Sebastian and Yasemin Kacker-Demirel. I’m so happy to have work by this fantastic cohort on hand in the gallery.
You mentioned an upcoming Open Call at PeepSpace – what can you tell us about it and your selection process?
Since 2020, we have been sure to continue to have regular open calls. It is one of the most rewarding and fun parts of running PeepSpace. Getting to see so many incredible proposals and works of art by the many, many artists submitting ideas to us is an uplifting reminder of the incredible work consistently being created by all kinds of wonderful contemporary artists. I absolutely love our open calls. I’m always reminded of the reality of the seemingly infinite depth of interesting, ambitious artists who I have yet to learn about their work. Being a part of PeepSpace has introduced me to so many incredible artists I might not have otherwise seen.
We are currently working on the selection for one open call, and I’m really excited to present an exhibition from that later in the spring. We will have another soon for an exhibition in the gallery, another for inclusion in a group show, and another to be included in next year’s Flat File Program. Depending on the open call, the selection can vary. Some are the other PeepSpace Directors, and I decided together. Sometimes, it is more about one person’s curatorial decisions, whether that person is one of us or a guest curator.
We’ve had so many wonderful shows that have come from our open call process, including solo, two-person, big thematic group shows, and, of course, our flat file program and show. So, I encourage interested artists and curators to keep an eye on our Instagram and join our mailing list for regular updates on deadlines. We do frequent open calls and to me they are a highlight of our programming.
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What would you like to share about your co-directors, and how do you collaborate?
I’m thrilled that PeepSpace is now even more of a collective! We have become a collaborative group of six Co-Directors. Over the past summer, I joined forces with five other artists/curators.
PeepSpace’s co-directors—Ian Etter, Jess Blaustein, Kristen Jordan, Jacquelyn Strycker, Rachel Sydlowski, and myself—are all artists who have curated and organized exhibitions in various capacities, and we’re all excited about continuing to create opportunities for artists. Everyone brings different strengths and perspectives based on experience and personality.
Ian’s current work involves beautiful drawings with geometric precision related to classical Greek vases. He has curated at Spring/Break and written for White Hot Magazine. Jess is a conceptual artist who works under the name B-PLOT. She works by transforming found, often discarded materials into objects, and there’s a really fun description of the background of the name B-PLOT on her website.
Kristen is an interdisciplinary artist who creates installations and dioramic scenes in a variety of media. She just built a beautiful exhibition space in Hawaii where she curates contemporary art exhibitions and hopes to host a residency program there in the future. Jacquelyn works with risographs and sewing to create these surprising pieces that link the handcrafted with the machine-made. She was recently a MAD Museum Artist in Residence and a NYFA Painting Finalist, and Rachel works with printmaking to create fantastical installations within which she becomes a mythmaker. Her recent installations include The Bronx Children’s Museum and the Hudson River Museum, which is up through early March and definitely worth a visit.
I could go on and on about how amazing they are, but you’ll see as Peep continues to develop our upcoming programming. Since we all have varied interests and insights, we meet regularly and bring our individual prowesses to the table. Already, we have awesome plans for an upcoming open call, two other exhibitions, and some other fun, unique opportunities for collaboration and exchange. I don’t want to give too much away about these just yet – but the new directors have brought such great ideas on board and we have some exciting programming in the works.
You recently exhibited at the Matriarch show, which featured 55 artists. You mentioned it was an interesting installation in the tradition of apartment shows taking over an entire house. What can you tell us about it?
The Matriarch show was so special and a thrill to explore and be a part of. Uniquely curated by the artist Erin Perrazzelli, an old family home was filled with work, both in empty floors appearing more gallery-esque as well as among a lived-in space where the works of art mingled with her mother-in-law’s collectibles. Upon arrival at the house, viewers were greeted with teardrop paintings by Erin Perrazzelli hanging from the windows, anthropomorphizing the building itself and setting the tone of the show.
Upon entering the first kitchen space on the ground floor, there was a clever installation of godzilla drawings by Heather Garland on the usable refrigerator (full of drinks for the show) hung with homemade magnets. The style of the drawings, along with the handmade magnets that the artist’s children assisted her with, added a layer of comedy to the reality of domestic life.
There was a fun and also somehow refreshing moment that took the art way out of the white cube—during an artists’ talk in the space, the curator Erin was speaking to the artist Steven Mykietyn about his work Mother and Child, painted on a towel hung in a small bathroom. They were both in the bathroom, and no one else could really fit. The audience had to gather outside the door to listen. I don’t generally think of bathrooms as elevating spaces for art, but this somehow did, and it was great!
Finally, tell us about your upcoming show and your program for 2025.
Speaking of open calls, our next show was selected from our last open call from the Spring of 2024. I’m so happy to present The Great Indoors, a group show that explores topics related to the psyche and landscape, along with the vast endlessness of both. Prior to Rachel Sydlowski joining PeepSpace as a Director, she and co-curator Yeon Ji Yoo proposed this exploration of internal landscapes, including the work of artists Elizabeth Castaldo, Matthew Robinson, Erin Treacy, Krista Dragomer, Natalie Colette Wood, along with the curators’ own works of art.
The Great Indoors will run from January 4th through February 8th, 2025, with an opening reception on Saturday, January 18th, from 2-5 pm. Later this spring will be a social event as well as another exhibition selected from our latest open call. We will then have some fun shows and events we’re working on for this summer and fall. Stay tuned for the announcements via our website, mailing list, and Instagram.
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PeepSpace is a contemporary art gallery located in beautiful Tarrytown, NY. Founded in 2020 by artists Monica Carrier and Jane Kang Lawrence with the ideal of artists making space for other artists. PeepSpace continues to produce in the tradition of artist-run spaces with the co-leadership of its current directors: Jess Blaustein, Monica Carrier, Ian Etter, Kristen Jordan, Jacquelyn Strycker, and Rachel Sydlowski. PeepSpace is located just north of NYC, 40 minutes by train along the mighty Hudson River and less than a 10-minute walk from the Tarrytown Train Station. @peep_space