Mar 4, 2014

The Kitchen mourns the passing of Robert Ashley (1930–2014), an artist whose work has been fundamental to the space's very existence in both use and ethos. While revolutionizing opera in our time, few if any others explored the possibilities of music and performance across disciplines, genres, and classical and popular cultures with such innovation, savvy, and majesty. We will miss him dearly, and express our deepest condolences to Mimi, Sam, and the entire lovely music family.   The Kitchen commissioned and presented numerous Ashley productions from our very beginnings. His last work here, That Morning Thing, took place in 2011. Photo by Paula Court © [detail]. Read On

Feb 10, 2014

During preparations for their current solo exhibitions (on view through March 1) , Boru O’Brien O’Connell and Luke Stettner traded writing prompts with each other in order to sketch ideas for a collaborative performance on the subject of mediated experiences. (A photograph of these prompts in Boru’s studio is exhibited in the reception area of the gallery.) What follows is an excerpt from their exchanges. Their performance will be staged at The Kitchen on May 9 at 6pm.—LT #2 I listen to Bob Lind in the car. I listen to the music from Ugandan Jews. In here I listen to Bob Martin. These Bobs sing about sad farms and losing but so too do the Uganda Jews (I imagine, in a happier way). I play the sounds of rainfall in here.I see a sign that I sometimes enjoy. It says: “You aren’t stuck... Read On

Dec 27, 2013

A good question to pose of The Kitchen at the end of 2013 is a relatively straightforward one, revolving around the art world’s continuing, even painfully familiar institutionalization of dance and performance. Just where is The Kitchen situated within this context? What are its goals? Along these very specific lines, it’s best first to frame The Kitchen in terms of the past decade’s need to build another language—both in vocabulary and practice—for contemporary art. And this need, if we look at the contemporary landscape more broadly, requires in turn a brief step back from The Kitchen’s mission, in order to recapitulate a contrapuntal relationship between performance and dance in art, and culture more generally. Such a proposition will hardly come as a surprise to anyone rea... Read On

Oct 28, 2013

The Kitchen sends endless thanks to Lou Reed for his profound effect on how we all listen to and look at the world through his art and his life. We also wish to thank him for his support of The Kitchen over the years and send our deepest condolences to our longtime board member Laurie Anderson. Laurie Anderson and Lou Reed, The Kitchen Spring Gala Benefit 2007 © Stephanie Berger, All Rights Reserved Read On

Oct 17, 2013

We often talk about what constitutes community at The Kitchen, and how it has changed significantly from our origins as a loft space in Soho. At that time, most of our audiences were friends and collaborators, lived in the neighborhood, and had only a handful of venues to choose from. More than forty years later, The Kitchen is a far larger institution, and one of the few non-profits still holding ground in the heart of New York’s commercial gallery district. While the art world has grown exponentially, the very idea of community even within our walls has become stratified; between the disciplines we present, and the many sub-genres within those disciplines, between the audience which has been with us since the 1970s, and the constant influx of those who are discovering us for the firs... Read On