Saturday, in the park

In the entry, Brian Kenny’s banners hang from the ceiling, while his hand-made, one-of-one garments dangle from a clothesline, fostering the experience of being inside the artist's urban studio. In a hidden room off the entry, ​Bill Bernstein’s nightlife photography has been transformed into floor-to-ceiling installations, alluding to hazy disco nights from a distant memory... or of a night soon to come as the ‘day in the park’ transforms into nighttime debauchery.

Our largest gallery, the ‘morning’ room, has been transformed into a ‘park’ featuring wall-to-wall grass, live foliage and trees, soundscapes, and park benches. Along the way you will see sights such as ​Derrick Adams’ ​experiences of black life, love, and family, with glimpses of ​Andy Warhol’s ​pop art interpretation of taking a second to ‘smell the flowers.’ The playful howls not too far down the garden path come from the eponymous wolf of ​Beth Cavener’s ​In Bocca al Lupo.​ As the winding path approaches the next gallery room, ​Erika Keck ​challenges the conventions of painterliness through her wall-works, which utilize acrylic paint as a sculptural medium, enabling each painting to fully inhabit three-dimensional space.

The park trails off into the ‘afternoon’ room, featuring a picturesque picnic setting. Enjoy a light snack while the works of ​Jack Tworkov, Wolfgang Tillmans, Ida Ekblad, ​Tanya Minhas, and Jacolby Satterwhite ​evoke memories of the Fourth of July. As the afternoon comes to an end, it's time to head to the ‘evening’ soiree before heading off for a night in clubland.

The ‘evening’ room emanates perceptions of sunset skies and 70s glamour through the large-scale prints of ​Bill Bernstein’s ​contact sheets on the walls, visually telling the story of nights in New York City. Overhead, a disco ball sets the mood as the warm tones of funk guitars and bass entice you to walk towards the velvet rope of the ‘nightlife’ room.

Beyond the velvet rope, multicolored lights and disco music beckons you. This is the decadent after party you heard whispers of. Large scale, highly limited edition prints of work by ​Bill Bernstein, depicting late-70s club-life in New York, bring about a whirlwind sensation. In the video interview accompanying these works, Bill’s words take viewers on a journey back to iconic clubs including Studio 54, Paradise Garage, Xenon, and The Mudd Club. ​Todd Pavlisko’s work “Cocaine” occupies the back wall, encouraging the party to last all night long.