Dig Into Storefront

Architizer News

Dig Into Storefront

April 7, 2011

The architecture of excavation: in the case of DIG, in display now at Storefront for Art & Architecture, the construction is a continuous performance creating negative space from an existing volume. The three-stage installation by Daniel Arsham/Snarkitecture (sponsored by OHWOW Gallery) began by cramming foam blocks into Storefront’s cozy, oblong space on Kenmare Street.

Leading up to opening and closing day on the 23rd, when it opens for one day to the public, Arsham will be hacking away at the styrofoam form using nothing but the claw of a hammer, carving out a cave-like space that is insular, yet privy to the bustling streetscape of Nolita.

Images and details from the press preview after the jump.

DIG installation at Storefront for Art & Architecture, looking out onto Kenmare Street. Photo: Architizer

The installation is happening in three sections:

D for Display / Exhibition of studies leading up to the installation — form in relation to the gallery’s idiosyncratic plan, façade, and program. With the help of Snarkitecture co-founder Alex Mustonen. (March 1-March 28)

I for Intensify / The gallery is filled almost in its totality, transforming the entire space into a deep façade where the pieces on display will be intensified by different points and lines of vision perceptible from both the interior of Storefront and the gallery space of the street. (March 29-April 4)

G for Group / In the third and final stage, Arsham/Snarkitecture will both create and inhabit Dig for the duration of the subsequent month-long installation, carving spaces first for inhabitation and in a second stage for collective gatherings in a performance open to public view. (April 5-23)

Visitors can view the artist at work on DIG on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays April 5-23 from 3-6pm. The gallery will be accessible to the public at the closing reception on April 23 for one night only! Then it’s off to the recycling center for all that EPS foam.