meatpacking district

January 6, 2025January 7, 2025, by Melissa Stern

Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson: Character Studies, Curator: Character Studies at Fort Gansvoort

A framed piece of art Description automatically generated — Dad’s Journey. 2003. Pen, ink, colored pencil, fabric, thread, buttons, on paper. 15 x 11

“She was weird,” said the Columbus Museum of Art curator affectionately of artist Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson at the press preview celebrating the late artist’s work. She went on to explain that Robinson made her own art supplies, lived an unconventional and rich life, making art in many mediums and acted as an informal archivist and raconteur of her community. “Weird,” in this context is a high compliment. Fort Gansevoort, an eccentric gallery in New York’s Meatpacking District announced its representation of Robinson’s estate (1940-2015) in collaboration with the Columbus Museum, to which Robinson bequeathed her work and archives. It’s a perfect match between artist and gallery.

July 25, 2023July 25, 2023, by Melissa Stern

A Garden Grows in the Meatpacking District

photo story

A group of objects made out of wood

Description automatically generated — Specimens.- 2018. 287 pieces of wood with powdered graphite, 42” x 35” x 6” approx

Sculptor Loren Eiferman has brought a veritable garden of strange to Ivy Brown Gallery this summer. Her meticulously fabricated wood sculptures create a fantastical garden of forms that are both biomorphic and often anthropomorphic at the same time.

February 17, 2023February 17, 2023, by Melissa Stern

Myrlande Constant: Drapo at Fort Gansevoort

:HAITI:Constant Morts piece.jpg — Reincarnation Des Morts 110 x 111 inchex. Beads, sequins, tassels on fabric. 2022.

Fort Gansevoort Gallery in New York’s Meatpacking District has long been one of my favorite galleries. Housed in an old three-story building, they have been presenting some of the freshest and most original shows in the city. The current exhibition, Myrlande Constant: Drapo is one of their best. Constant is a Haitian artist who works in textiles, taking a traditional form called “drapo” and rocketing it into the realm of contemporary art. Drapo is based on a 19^th century embroidery technique developed in France, called tambour. Fabric is stretched tautly over a wooden frame and embroidery, using sequins and beads done from the reverse side.