from the Transformer gallery press release:
Here & Now at 1840 14th Street, NW has been closed.
Our exhibition of work by Jennifer Burkley Vasher remains on view at Transformer through May 24, 2008.
Mariah Johnson and Valerie Molnar to continue the Here & Now exhibition at Transformer May 31 - June 14, 2008.
To our great disappointment, Transformer’s Here & Now exhibition at the 1840 14th Street, NW space has been closed (this was also the location of the Pink Line/Meat Market gallery weekend event this winter). Due to issues beyond Transformer’s control, the building site has been closed to the public by the city. See DCist.com for the backstory: City Shutters Art Space, Locks Up Goldfish Inside.
Transformer’s Board and staff thank all of the artists who presented their work at 1840 14th Street, NW this past week as part of the Here & Now exhibition:
Kyan Bishop & Kate Hardy (Washington, DC)
Sonya Blesofsky (Brooklyn, NY)
Mandy Burrow (Arlington, VA)
Graham Childs & Lily deSaussure (Washington,DC)
Derek Cote (Richmond, VA)
Mia Feuer (Richmond, VA)
Lisa Kellner (Hanover, VA)
Jong Sun (Jay) Lee (Baltimore, MD)
Chris Moukarbel (New York, NY)
Amy Rubin (British Columbia, Canada)
Paul Shoemaker (Richmond, VA)
Jiny Ung (Washington, DC)
We are grateful to all of them for sharing their incredible talents, time, and energy with Transformer and the DC community. We had one very successful week of the exhibition that included close to 300 visitors, an opening day performance by Paul Shoemaker, a talk and tour through the exhibition with Kristen Hileman, Associate Curator of the Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, and the DC based artists in the exhibition (Jiny Ung, Mandy Burrow, Graham Childs & Lily deSaussure, Kyan Bishop & Kate Hardy), as well as part one of a guest lecture with visiting artist Matt Mullican. Our thanks to Matt, as well as Nora Halpern and Welmoed Lanstraa of Street Scenes DC, for making Matt’s lecture possible.
As a result of the premature closing of this dynamic exhibition of work, Transformer will be hosting a party at Comet Ping Pong on Saturday, May 31 at 9:30 pm to share images of the artists’ installations, and programming that took place at 1840 14th Street, NW during the week that Here & Now was on view.
Please come join us to celebrate these artists and their work. Transformer Board Member Iona Rozeal Brown will be dj-ing along with special guests.
The party at Comet Ping Pong will follow the opening of site-specific work by Mariah Johnson (Los Angeles, CA) and Valerie Molnar (Richmond, VA) at Transformer Saturday May 31, 2008, 1-7pm. As part of the opening day, the artists will discuss their work at 3:30pm in conversation with Cynthia Connolly, Director of the Ellipse Art Center and Curator of The Thread as the Line.
EXHIBITION HOURS for Here & Now at Transformer: Wednesday - Saturday, 1-7pm & by appointment.
Will be condos in approximately 18 months.
May 21, 2008 at 11:31 amwhat a shame.
whoever gave the anonymous tip about auctions has their panties in such a tight bunch that the huge bug up their ass had no way of getting out.
however, i don’t think you can just shut a place down nor can you issue a summons based on hearsay without proof of these auctions, and they should have just ceased on-site auctions.
it is really too bad that the people who own and/or operate the space couldn’t keep the on top of the fire extinguishers, but isn’t that really just a warning and an order to get them updated (at the most a fine)? they didn’t mention any other fire violations. ?
is there not some exemption for a business permit (or at least some other limited permit) for art galleries (granted there are no auctions)? and why would they need a construction permit?
inspectors told the owner that the incident was seeeeriousss and that the matter would almost certainly lead to a hearing.
oooooooo! prosecute art supporters and never mind the underground clubs that sell alcohol until 5am! f*cking d-bags. DCRA had no record of complaints against the building since 2004.
look at these fire extinguishers!! better evacuate the building during this art lecture, boys! you never know what all of this artsy talk can lead to. pepper spray… now!!
sad
May 21, 2008 at 11:51 amIt’s more serious than the extinguishers… operating without a business permit probably means there’s no active certificate of occupancy for the building, which means they really shouldn’t have been doing anything in there. It’s possible to get away with events at improperly permitted spaces in DC, but if you’re doing repeated events on the ground floor of a building on 14th St you’re sort of asking to get shut down.
May 21, 2008 at 5:32 pmEwww…. certificates of occupancy. Don’t get any of us at byt started on the importance of the C of O.
May 21, 2008 at 5:48 pmbrian - i had asked if there was some limited permit/exemption for art space. occupancy permits are not business permits. do you need a business permit to show art? were they charging to get?
May 22, 2008 at 11:07 am*get in
May 22, 2008 at 11:08 ameddie, you need a certificate of occupancy to be open to the public. I don’t know the details in this situation but as the space hasn’t been open to the public for a while in any capacity there’s probably no active certificate of occupancy. There’s no limited permit/exemption for ANYTHING without at least a temporary C of O, which requires things like an approved life safety plan, use group, and inspections.
May 22, 2008 at 4:27 pmif you read the report, the chief fire inspector never mentions an occupancy permit; he only mentions a business permit and construction permit. hence my questions. i would like to know for sure, not guess, that’s all. i hear what you’re saying and it’s probable, but just an assumption.
May 22, 2008 at 5:02 pm
poor goldfish!
May 21, 2008 at 10:12 am