"The Facade" as an Institution

By Storefront for Art and Architecture Archive

Storefront for Art and Arcihtecture

Since the establishment of Storefront for Art and
Architecture, the facade of the gallery had framed each exhibition, show and event. After the
gallery was relocated to the current location, the co-directors at the time
decided to renovate the facade. This exhibition is about the current facade and
the narrative behind its design and fabrication, coming after another
exhibition about the hisotry of the facade since the birth of the
institution.

3D Visualization of The Facade ("1993") by Steven Holl, Vitto AcconciStorefront for Art and Architecture Archive

A Collaborative Building Project

The new facade came together as a result of a collaborative project between two designers and the Storefront team. 

Vito Acconci, Kyong Park, Steven Holl, and Claudia Gould ("1993") by Storefront for Art and ArchitectureStorefront for Art and Architecture Archive

“Although the old facade has served us well, time has arrived for change. There is no reason why this new facade would not create a participatory history of its own. The resistance to the facade changing is identical people Storefront itself changing. People often say how much they like us the way we are, and that usually meant stay small and grass root. This rhetoric of ‘we like you to stay small’ us like telling children to never grow so we can forever adore them, Storefront is now old enough to grow into a size proportion to the age, will and potential. The notion of staying same is contrary to experiment, and one must always look for new and another things.”
- Kyong Park, “Violence in Collaboration”, 1991

Steven Holl, Shirin Neshat, Claudia Gould ("1993") by Storefront for Art and ArchitectureStorefront for Art and Architecture Archive

In the early 1990s, then co-directors Kyong Park and Shirin Neshat initiated a bi-annual pubic art project to redesign the facade. Curated by Claudia Gould, The Facade project initiated in 1993 as a collaboration between Vito Acconci and Steven Holl. The project became the pivotal point in history of the institution.

Steven Holl and Vito Acconci ("1993") by Storefront for Art and ArchitectureStorefront for Art and Architecture Archive

“By Bringing Vito Acconci and Steven Holl to work together, Storefront encourages an effort in contrast to the tradition of collaboration. A tradition that is typically a partnership of compatibility here combines two different perspectives, one that disrupts and one that anchors. The two will work together from the beginning, from the conceptual design to the construction of the installation. Equal input and responsibility will produce a project that is neither art nor architecture, but its hybrid..”
- “Extended Narrative; Steven Holl and Vito Acconci”, 1993

Conceptual Sketch of The Facade ("1993") by Steven HollStorefront for Art and Architecture Archive

Design and Construction 

Both designers saw the exploration of built forms as being the highest cultural expression. According to them, The Facade has a two-fold design concept: forming the interior exhibition and the exterior installation.

Conceptual Sketch, Steven Holl, "1993", From the collection of: Storefront for Art and Architecture Archive
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Conceptual sketch, Steven Holl, "1993", From the collection of: Storefront for Art and Architecture Archive
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Steven Holl working on The Facade ("1993") by Storefront for Art and ArchitectureStorefront for Art and Architecture Archive

In pursuit of cultural advocacy for art and architecture, the premise was to establish a place for “media architecture, mental architecture and virtual architecture.”

Original Drawing (1993) by Vito AcconciStorefront for Art and Architecture Archive

Model of the Facade (1993-11) by Steven Holl, Vito AcconciStorefront for Art and Architecture Archive

Acting as doors, benches, tables, and apertures, the hinged openings in the new facade provide multi-functional space for pedestrian and users of the gallery.

How Panels Function, Steven Holl, 1993-11, From the collection of: Storefront for Art and Architecture Archive
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Sketch of Door Handle, Vito Acconci, "1993", From the collection of: Storefront for Art and Architecture Archive
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Model of The Facade (1993-11) by Steven Holl, Vito AcconciStorefront for Art and Architecture Archive

“By blurring the distinction between the art object and the architectural space and structure, The Acconci/Holl Project will also directly address Storefront’s concern with inter-disciplinary collaboration.”
-Shirin Neshat, “Lower Manhattan Buildings to Become Site of Major Public Art Project by Vito Acconci and Steven Holl”, 1993

Construction in Process, Storefront for Art and Architecture, "1993", From the collection of: Storefront for Art and Architecture Archive
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A Fragment of The Old Facade, Steven Holl, Vito Acconci, Face Fabrication, "1993", From the collection of: Storefront for Art and Architecture Archive
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Under Construction ("1993") by Steven Holl, Vito Acconci, Face FabricationStorefront for Art and Architecture Archive

The Facade finished project (1993-11) by Steven Holl, Vito AcconciStorefront for Art and Architecture Archive

“And while the practice of architecture coerced, profitably, with the neo-Disneyesque renditions of Robert Venturi’s decorated sheds, which ranged from the glossed headquarters of post-industrial corporations to rarefied postmodern theme parks—a built collection of virtual reality in nostalgias—StoreFront, instead and impetuously, carried on a serial of ideals on the future of environment.”
- Kyong Park, “Facade”, 1994

The Inaugural of The Facade ("1993") by Storefront for Art and ArchitectureStorefront for Art and Architecture Archive

The New Facade of 97 Kenmare Street ("1993") by Storefront for Art and ArchitectureStorefront for Art and Architecture Archive

The 100-foot long windowless facade, which figuratively spelled out the mission of the organization, has housed various exhibitions and installation since its establishment in 1993. Through this collaborative project, the name of the institution came to the fore. Thereupon this hybrid interface between art and architecture, the southern edge of the gallery manifests the umbilical ties between the physical space and the exhibition content. The Holl-Acconci’s collaborative project functionally activated the facade—a solid architectural element—and turned it into a commonplace for the art and the public.

The 100-foot long windowless facade, which figuratively spelled out the mission of the organization, has housed various exhibitions and installation since its establishment in 1993. Through this collaborative project, the name of the institution came to the fore. Thereupon this hybrid interface between art and architecture, the southern edge of the gallery manifests the umbilical ties between the physical space and the exhibition content. The Holl-Acconci’s collaborative project functionally activated the facade—a solid architectural element—and turned it into a commonplace for the art and the public.

The 100-foot long windowless facade, which literally spelled out the mission of the organization, has housed various exhibitions and installation since the establishment in 1993. Through this collaborative project, the name of the institution came to the fore. Thereupon this hybrid interface between art and architecture, the southern edge of the gallery manifests the umbilical ties between the physical space and the exhibition content. The Holl-Acconci’s collaborative project functionally activated the facade—a solid architectural element—and turned it into a commonplace for the art and the public.

David: Iinspired by Michelangelo) (2012-03-06) by Serkan OzkayaStorefront for Art and Architecture Archive

After The Facade

A Visitor of "Queer Space" (1994-06-18/1994-07-30) by Beatriz Colomina, Dennis Dollens, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Cindi Patton, Henry Urbach and Mark Wigley; featuring works by Jay Critchley, Michelle Fornabai, Rocco Giannetti, Benjamin Gianni, Blake Goble, Paul Haslhofer, Gordon Brent Ingram, Mark WatkinsStorefront for Art and Architecture Archive

Through various exhibitions, the facade functioned as a mediator to tie the exhibition with the urban body of New York in different scales. An example of the small scale weaving of the exhibition with the pavement life is Queer Space (1994); the co-curated exhibition, in which pedestrians could engage with the audio projects placed on the pivotal panels.

The Bone Wall (2006-03-07/2006-04-15) by Joe MacDonald/Urban A&O Architecture LLCStorefront for Art and Architecture Archive

The Bonewall (2006) is another example in which the facade amplifies the content and interlocks it with the bigger urban scale. In this exhibition the panels of the facade were removed, therefore the spectator could grasp the main exhibited structure even from the other side of street.

Blueprint (2015-01-04/2015-03-22) by Sebastiaan Bremer, Florian Idenburg, and Jing Liu of SO-ILStorefront for Art and Architecture Archive

Given the evolution of the facade—from the utterly transparent display in Prince Street, to the wooden modest facade of Kenmare Street—the recent concrete surface with the volatile openings resonates an inside out gallery space. The facade impels the gallery towards the public space, and involves the passersby with whatever goes on in the gallery. The story of the institution is encapsulated in this facade, and the identity of Storefront revolves around its concept since the first day. The new facade has expanded the scope of the organization merely by shifting the level of spatial engagement, both inside and outside of the gallery. As the inevitable framework for every exhibition, the facade has a major role for this street-side gallery to stand out in the art zone of New York City.

Subculture: Microbial Metrics and the Multi-Species City (2018-09) by Kevin Slavin, Elizabeth Hénaff, and David Benjamin / The LivingStorefront for Art and Architecture Archive

 “In the end you have a facade that says ‘No Wall, No Barrier, No Inside, No Outside, No Space, No Building, No Place, No Institution, No Art, No Architecture, No Acconci, No Holl, No StoreFront.”      - Kyong Park, June 1994

Credits: Story

- Now explore the history behind the evolution of the facade.

For more information please visit The Facade.

For more information about the mentioned shows in this exhibition please visit:
- Queer Space (1994)
- The Bonewall (2006)
- David: (Inspired by Michelangelo) (2012)
- Blueprint (2015)
- Subculture: Microbial Metrics and the Multi-Species City (2018)

This Google Arts and Culture exhibit is curated by Farnoosh Farmer. Text is from the article "The Facade: a Surface, a Frame, a Nil Resolution" (2019) by Farnoosh Farmer.

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Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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