OCNY's Henry Stambler checked out Lucien Smith's newest show.
There was a strong feeling of nostalgia in the air at The Suzanne Geiss Company last Wednesday night. A Clean Sweep, Lucien Smith's latest show since last November's Good Vibrations at Half Gallery, is one part ready-made installation, one part washed-out photo series, and entirely evocative of a gritty pre-Giuliani New York City.
The first part consists of 43 sets of nine Polaroid snapshots organized in baseball card sleeves. Each set documents a different cultural artifact, from public trash cans and park entrances to late-night pizza spots with all-too-similar décors. With each meticulously organized group of photos, Smith pinpointed a variety of areas destined to be altered, developed, or perhaps erased, as NYC grows older. Throughout the hundreds of Polaroids, Smith manages to create the illusion of a fondly nostalgic energy within the room, although all of the objects documented are modern, fully functional, and haven't been swept up by time quite yet.
Upon opening a frosted-glass door and stepping into the second room within the gallery, the viewer is confronted with dozens of brooms surrounded by four large two-dimensional mixed media works. Just as Ashland Mines filled the same space with avant-garde sonic atmospheres as part of his Blasting Voice series last year, Smith filled the space with a sea of brooms found on the streets of NYC––a signifier of gentrification and a call to appreciate downtown's remaining cultural artifacts. Check out the photos and be sure to check out A Clean Sweep before it closes on June 22nd.
THE SUZANNE GEISS COMPANY
76 Grand Street
New York, NY 10013
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Jonathan and Connor, Lucien's assistants
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There was a strong feeling of nostalgia in the air at The Suzanne Geiss Company last Wednesday night. A Clean Sweep, Lucien Smith's latest show since last November's Good Vibrations at Half Gallery, is one part ready-made installation, one part washed-out photo series, and entirely evocative of a gritty pre-Giuliani New York City.
The first part consists of 43 sets of nine Polaroid snapshots organized in baseball card sleeves. Each set documents a different cultural artifact, from public trash cans and park entrances to late-night pizza spots with all-too-similar décors. With each meticulously organized group of photos, Smith pinpointed a variety of areas destined to be altered, developed, or perhaps erased, as NYC grows older. Throughout the hundreds of Polaroids, Smith manages to create the illusion of a fondly nostalgic energy within the room, although all of the objects documented are modern, fully functional, and haven't been swept up by time quite yet.
Upon opening a frosted-glass door and stepping into the second room within the gallery, the viewer is confronted with dozens of brooms surrounded by four large two-dimensional mixed media works. Just as Ashland Mines filled the same space with avant-garde sonic atmospheres as part of his Blasting Voice series last year, Smith filled the space with a sea of brooms found on the streets of NYC––a signifier of gentrification and a call to appreciate downtown's remaining cultural artifacts. Check out the photos and be sure to check out A Clean Sweep before it closes on June 22nd.
THE SUZANNE GEISS COMPANY
76 Grand Street
New York, NY 10013
MAP
Jonathan and Connor, Lucien's assistants
