Exit Art

Exit Art was a non-profit cultural center that ran from 1982 to 2012 that exhibited contemporary visual art, installation, video, theater, and performance in New York City. In its last located in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, it was a two-story gallery.

Jeanette Ingberman and Papo Colo founded Exit Art as an alternative exhibition space. Beginning with “Illegal America,” the very first show, and continuing through to 2012, the gallery focused on representing the underdog, dedicating shows to the exploration of ideas and people outside the political, social, sexual, and aesthetic mainstreams.[1] Throughout its history, Exit Art has taken on many homes. It was one of the first galleries to move to SoHo, setting up a space in 1982. In 2002, the gallery moved to last current location in Hell’s Kitchen.

The gallery was lauded for its diverse and daring programming. The 1992 show “Fever” was declared to be one of the ten most important shows of the decade by Peter Plagens from Newsweek,[2] and the gallery’s 18-year retrospective, The End, won the Association of International Art Critics Award for Best Show in an Alternative Space in 2000.[3]

Artists who have exhibited at Exit Art include Chakaia Booker, Patty Chang, COOPER, Jimmie Durham, Nicole Eisenman, Inka Essenhigh, Jane Hammond, David Hammons, Tehching Hsieh, Steve Giovinco, Julie Mehretu, Shirin Neshat, Roxy Paine, Adrian Piper, Ursula von Rydingsvard, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Fred Tomaselli, Cecilia Vicuña, Cynthia von Buhler, Krzysztof Wodiczko, David Wojnarowicz, Martin Wong and World War 3 Illustrated.

Exit Art co-founder Jeanette Ingberman died August 24, 2011 from complications of leukemia.[4] The gallery closed in May 2012.[5]

References

  1. ↑ “Every Exit is an Entrance” Village Voice http://www.villagevoice.com/2003-03-11/news/every-exit-is-an-entrance/
  2. ↑ “Summing Up Doom and Gloom” Newsweek http://www.newsweek.com/id/116047
  3. ↑ "AICA Picks Top Shows – International Association of Art Critics" by Stephanie Cash and David Ebony, Art in America, January 2001
  4. ↑ NY Times Obituary
  5. ↑ http://www.exitart.org/

Coordinates: 40°45′22.22″N 73°59′54.27″W / 40.7561722°N 73.9984083°W