Thursday, February 16, 2012
Art Maurizio Cattelan and New Museum Curator Massimiliano Gioni Opening Chelsea Gallery Tonight
Posted by Benjamin Sutton on Thu, Feb 16, 2012 at 9:47 AM
Between 2002 and 2005, now-New Museum associate director (and incoming Venice Biennale director) Massimiliano Gioni and now-retired Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan (along with Ali Subotnik) ran the tiny Chelsea art space Wrong Gallery, and tonight Cattelan and Gioni will open that project's "big brother," the slightly less tiny art space, Family Business, in a storefront space carved out of the front of Anna Kustera gallery on 21st Street.
The new gallery opens tonight with an exhibition curated by Marilyn Minter and titled The Virgins, featuring a set of young artists who've never exhibited in New York before—including Jayson Musson, aka Hennessey Youngman—and a few "born-again virgins," including Kate Gilmore, Laurel Nakadate and Mika Rottenberg.
In a recent interview, Minter explained how the project came about:
I was sitting next to Maurizio at a dinner, and since he was "retiring,” I suggested he might want to start teaching. A month later he asked me to curate a show. I think they expect artists to use the space as a laboratory, to go with the flow—it’s a place right next to Gagosian gallery to experiment.
Tonight's opening from 6-8pm, which is sure to quickly fill the tiny storefront pop-up and spill onto the street, will also feature a performance by the band The Virgins.
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