Hasta La Ideas

Aspiring collectors find emerging artists in a new gallery storefront

Sensitive to the cash-strapped culture lovers of the world, Recession Art began with the simple premise of uniting aspiring collectors with emerging artists. After three years of shows at Brooklyn’s Invisible Dog, they have now opened RAC on New York’s Lower East Side. Seated atop Culturefix, an artsy watering hole with adjoining event space, RAC combines a storefront shop with a permanent gallery.

“We wanted to bring together two groups of people we knew personally,” says founder Emma Katz. “Artists who were making work but had no way to get it out into the world, and young art lovers who were maybe furnishing their first apartment and wanted access to original artwork.” True to their mission, Katz and curator Melanie Kress stocked the storefront with prints and books by emerging artists, along with affordable original works.

The space has played home to a number of pop-ups over the years, but both Culturefix and Recession Art saw the benefit of a shared venue. “We get people to come into the gallery that might not usually visit an art gallery. Our goal is for anyone to feel welcome here—if you come for a beer or a concert you might end up buying a handmade pop-up book or a photograph. It allows us to work with many kinds of artists including musicians, performers and poets.”

Kicking off things at RAC is an exhibition by veteran Recession Art artist Megan Berk. “Weird Party on the Other Side of the Hedge” shows scenes of Berk’s native Los Angeles, the nostalgic dreamscapes tinged with an air of outsider skepticism. A friend of Recession Art, Berk also designed a totebag and limited edition print for the store.

Recession Art plans to continue shows at the Invisible Dog, and are currently taking submissions online for “Everything is Index, Nothing is History,” curated by Melanie Kress. In an effort to build relationships with collectors, Recession Art also runs a Collector Club to keep the community abreast of artist activities, studio visits and private previews.

RAC

9 Clinton Street

New York, NY 10002

Fun meets safety in an affordable, made-in-the-U.S. minicar

Driving supercars is exhilarating and the stories of craftsmanship and engineering that goes into them are unparalleled. But some of the most impressive creativity and innovation behind car design can be found among other classes of autos as well. Chevy’s Sonic, the latest contender in the small-car class, is an awesome affordable car with an anticipated five-star safety rating, made right here in the U.S. Eager to see another example of the Renaissance happening in Detroit, I visited GM last week to tour the design center, safety facilities, and of course, drive the Sonic. I was more than pleasantly surprised that the miniature domestic model achieves the dream of safety and sport with a sticker price of $14k.

The Sonic comes in a four-door sedan as well as a five-door hatchback. Both models feature motorcycle-inspired headlamps, a high waistline and a low roofline. This slightly squat stance affords better handling, while a slight increase in width also makes for a roomier interior than typical small cars.

While I had a chance to drive both models on GM’s amazing proving grounds, it was the five-door LTZ with a 1.4L turbo engine and six-speed manual transmission that I enjoyed the most. “The little engine that could” was quite zippy, the steering responsive and the suspension firm but forgiving.

The real test was when three of us packed in the car with John M. Buttermore behind the wheel. Buttermore, the Sonic’s lead engineer, is not only a second generation GM engineer, he’s also a champion racecar driver. The Sonic breezed through big 90-mile-per-hour turns holding the road with little more than a quiet screech from the tires. Adding the weight of a full car of course slowed acceleration down a bit, but not nearly as much as expected. And the suspension quality didn’t vary from when I was driving solo.

Before starting the drive we had a chance to witness a crash test of the Sonic at GM’s safety facility. The test was a 40 m.ph.. offset head-on collision, meaning the driver’s side of the car slams hard and fast in to a massive concrete and steel block. It was over in what seemed like a second and upon inspection it seemed the driver’s compartment remained intact, thanks to the car’s reinforced steel frame and 10 airbags that not only protect the front and sides of the cabin, but also the knee area and headliner as well.

For something small, fun, cheap, safe and American, the Sonic is where it’s at.