Under the influence of proximity, Never a Dull Moment on Grand Street features two artists with very different practices who both call Grand Street home. Stephanie Loveless and Victoria van der Laan are engaged in deep work in their respective media. Serendipitously, they are also among the first neighbors that Phat and I met when we moved into this grand old house about one year ago. Living in proximity means more than simply brushing elbows. Given time and attention, quotidian closeness can also mean coming home. That practice of awareness and consideration is the common thread that runs through the location, sounds and textures of this exhibition.
Our home was built in 1874 and its light filled rooms have held many community gatherings. I know this because our neighbors have often paused me on the sidewalk to share their memories of participating. If there is a haunt in this house, it’s most likely Liz Pearson, a peace activist, who raised her children here, in the company of community activists from around the world. I heard she was a saint and I believe it. Phat and I knew that this building would need lots of maintenance, but sustaining it as a home feels more like prayer than work.
Never a Dull Moment on Grand Street moves towards a nuanced sense of belonging through recognition of the connections that converge on this street that we call home. You’re invited to sit a spell and join us.
Never a Dull Moment
on Grand Street
Victoria van der Laan
Weaves history and rebellion into her minimalist textile artworks, which are rooted in her ancestral quilt-making techniques. The bold hues and meticulous craftsmanship of her work is simply irresistible. But Victoria’s artworks are not just labors of love, they are also labors of sustenance. As a self-taught artist with an innovative pay-what-you-can weekly offering on social media, her art practice wholly supports her family while subverting the dominant art economy.
Stephanie Loveless
Scan the QR codes or click the poster images & listen to the sound essays.
This Street is a Song features six sound essays written and recorded in Gabi’s Garden, a rogue community space on Grand Street. There, what began as an forgotten urban lot has become a verdant oasis where her partner plants flowers, she notes quietly, “with unflappable optimism”. Loveless’ smooth voice, with hints of ASMR whisper, floats within a variable hiss of background noise as she quietly calls attention to the sounds and nuances of life on Grand Street.
