STORED AND FILTERED: TECHNOLOGY, TIME, AND LANDSCAPE
Time and landscape, and how new technologies change the relationship between them

Curated by Jeff Thompson
June 13, 8pm - late (opening reception)
June 14, 12 - 5pm

Catalog available for sale here

Featuring work by:
Michael Aschauer
Betsey Biggs
Angeles Cossio
Mike Rugnetta and Patrick Davison
Jeff Thompson
Ryan Watkins-Hughes

[ download the press release here ]

PLEASE NOTE!
Betsey Biggs has reconfigured a sound-walk, originally created for the Conflux Festival in 2007. Take the F train to Roosevelt Island, turn on your mp3 player, and listen to the walk as you head to the Firehouse or on your way back. She will also be presenting a second sound walk in the gallery.

Right-click or ctrl-click to download each file
[ "Almost Grand" - for walk from F train to the Texas Firehouse, 37.9MB ]
[ "11 Dreams in Red Hook" - to be listened to in the gallery, 78.7 MB ]


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UPCOMING SHOWS 2009
All shows 8pm - late

[ download the schedule as a pdf ]

Saturday, June 13
Stored and Filtered: Technology, Time, and Landscape
Curated by Jeff Thompson

Saturday, July 25
Curated by Wyatt Nash

Saturday, August 22
Curator TBA

Saturday, September 26
Curated by Justin Penov

Saturday, October 24
Curated by Kevin Stapp

Saturday, November 21
Curator TBA

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TF IRON POUR

Mold-making workshops - May 23 - 25
Radiator Smash-athon - May 26 - 29
"The Pour" - May 30

With the great success of last year's Iron Pour we're excited to announce that we're doing it again this year. Everyone is welcome to particiapte; here's a basic rundown:

Original should be created with foam (which is burned out of the mold by molten iron), all molds are created at the TF with sand. If you have the means to create ceramic shell mold feel free.

Mold-making workshops are $50
Iron is $2 per pound (iron weighs about 3 pounds per cubic inch - it's heavy!)

Deadline to register is May 20th.

For more information, please email Robert Deeds.

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TF SILENT AUCTION BENEFIT
Saturday, April 25
8:00pm, bidding ends at 10:00pm

The Texas Firehouse cordially invites you to our 2009 Silent Auction Benefit. We're very excited about kicking off our 2009 season and we hope that you can come out, celebrate with us, and support an alternative art space!

BIDDING
Bidding on artwork will begin at 8pm. All work starts at $40. Bidding closes at 10pm sharp!
Payments must be made the night of the auction, cash and checks (made to the Texas Firehouse) will be accepted. We're sorry, but we cannot accept credit card payments. Purchases must be taken home the night of the auction.

This year, we're also offering non-art items to bid on, including passes to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex, the Whitney Museum, and others.

BIDDING, EVEN IF YOU'RE OUT OF TOWN!
This year we will be putting two very special pieces in an online auction. Available six days before the benefit, these auctions will end at the same time as the physical auction at the Firehouse. If you're out of town or can't make it to the benefit, you can still get a chance to bid on something (feel the rush of competition!) and support the Firehouse. Links to the auctions will be made available on the Firehouse website on April 19.

DONATE ARTWORK
We're accepting donations of work for the silent auction, and would love if you could put in a piece! Small paintings and works on paper are ideal (framed is preferable but not required), but small sculpture and other works will also be accepted.

100% of the price of sold work will go to the Texas Firehouse, though contact information for the artist will be made available, and the names of all participating artists will be listed on our website. This is a great opportunity to get your work in the hands of real art lovers and to support a community art space.

Work can be dropped off any time before 7pm the day of the auction. Please email the Firehouse at mail@texasfirehouse.org to arrange a drop-off time.

DONATE SOMETHING ELSE
Do you have something to donate that isn't art? A free haircut, brownies, maybe a massage or something else? We'd love to include it in our auction, with plenty of mention as to where it came from and how other folks can get in touch with you.

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[the Texas Firehouse with horses and a before-unknown top balcony/tower]

Very cool pictures of the Firehouse and Vernon Blvd!

Digging through the New York Public Library's Digital Gallery we stumbled on these images of Vernon Blvd between 36th and 37th Aves, right where the Firehouse stands today. Especially exciting is the above picture of the Firehouse itself! The caption (on the reverse) reads: "Vernon Boulevard, north of the NE corner of 37th Avenue, showing the fire house of Engine 260, New York City Fire Department. November 6, 1930".

According to the FDNY Engine 260 webpage, our firehouse started LIC's paid fire department 1891.

Most of the other buidings shown are mansions from the mid- to late-1800's, though the pictures are from the 1920's and 30's. Other pictures of the neighborhood show fields and industiral buildings. Favorite desciption: "[the building] first appears in an 1891 atlas, when this areas was still a fashionable residential district".

Click on the images for a link to the NYPL page with more info.


[another image of the Firehouse, ca 1930; is that a general store next door?]



[other buildings on the same block as the TF]



[a mansion originally on the corner of Vernon and 36th Ave, right down the street from the TF]

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Thanks to those who came to the show,
and bummer to those that missed it.

The Firehouse is closing down for the winter, on the heels of the wonderful end-of-season show curated by Jason Villegas. We hope you enjoyed this year (we certainly did) and look forward to seeing you again soon! There may be some special events during the coming cold-months so be prepared!

We are also taking submissions for artists and curators for our 2009 season, so if you're intererested by visit our Submissions page.

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UPCOMING SHOW: POPPERS
Curated by Jason Villegas
Saturday, September 27
8:00pm - late, performances at 10pm
Free, as always

Chris Bogia
Sam Consiglio
Damian Cabazon
Juan Martin Del Campo Jr.
Macho Ministries
Nickolaus Typaldos
Danny Jauregui
David Mramor
Marc Manning
Dorian Wood
Ponieheart
J Morrison

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UPCOMING SHOW: SHIT WHERE YOU EAT
Featuring the artists of the Texas Firehouse
Saturday, August 30
8:00pm - late
Free

Brandon Davis
Robert Deeds
Wyatt Nash
Jeff Thompson
Ken Wiatrek

Introducing our newest associate
Justin Pernov

and alumni
Seth Mittag

Performance by
Terrible Eagle

Music by
Blues Control

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We're pleased to be appearing in a feature article about the Texas Firehouse in the latest issue of Ins&Outs Magazine!

Read it here (under "Spot" and scroll down, we couldn't find a permalink), or pick up a copy around LIC or at the Firehouse.

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[ iron pour in front of the TF ]

UPCOMING SHOWS 2008

We're so excited about all the great things coming up - we hope you are too.

[ click here to download as a PDF ]

SATURDAY, AUGUST 30
SHIT WHERE YOU EAT
Featuring the artists of the Texas Firehouse
Music by Blues Control

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27
POPPERS
Guest curator Jason Villegas

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UPCOMING SHOW: THE INSTANT
Curated by Katharine Barthelme and Louise Ingalls Sturges
Saturday, July 26
7:00-late
Free

[ Details at www.theinstant.org ]

We are pleased to announce the opening of The Instant, a group exhibition of artists working with Polaroid’s instant photography. On February 8, 2008, the Polaroid Corporation declared that it would discontinue the production of all instant film. Abandonment of the Polaroid process is a direct result of the digital revolution, marking the medium as a moment in photographic history that exists between a tradition of alchemy and new digital imaging.

An anomaly in photographic reproduction, Polaroid is a self-developing, unique object that stands independent from traditional photography and is unmatched by its replacement. It is the accessible qualities of the instant that made it popular in mass photography and generated a cult value within the art world.

The Instant, curated by Katharine Barthelme and Louise Ingalls Sturges, will exhibit 12 contemporary artists who currently use Polaroidphotography as the foundation of their work. Originally, Polaroid was not intended for aesthetic purpose, it reduces artistic control to a selection of the eye and instinct. The artists in The Instant embrace the limitations of Polaroid to create a rare object that is able to maintain an aura of originality unknown to analog and digital. This exhibition will recognize the passing of a significant medium within the history of photography and hopes to secure a place for Polaroid in the encroaching post photographic era.


** Katharine and Louise have also issued a call for your kissing Polaroids! Go to theinstant.org for details **


FEATURING ARTWORK BY
Jean Frederic Bourdier
Andrew DeFrancesco
Scott Hammond
Jamie Lund
Louise Ingalls Sturges
Grant Worth
Sean Cousin
Jordan Greenhalgh
Grant Hamilton
Rachel Montoya
Jeff Thompson
Joshua Robin Wiles

PERFORMANCES BY
Ching Chong Song
Brian Markham

MUSIC BY
SSPS

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Image by Beth Leatherman, Give up

UPCOMING SHOW: Repetition
Curated by Robert Deeds
Saturday, June 28
8:00pm - late, free

[ click here to download the press release ]

The Texas Firehouse is proud to present Repetition, curated by Robert Deeds. Featuring work by the finest artists that both Texas and New York have to offer, Repetition is an exhibition comprised of artists whose works are heavily rooted in the concept of dynamic visual rhythm. With each artist delivering their own interpretation of what it means to depart from the standard applications of static work.

The presence of rhythm creates predictability and order in a composition. Visual rhythm may be best understood by relating it to rhythm in sound.

In addition to the art show, Garth Stevenson will perform a piece for double-bass and surround sound. Our very special musical guests will be Tigerbeat6 and Monitor Records recording artists Indian Jewelry. If you haven't seen Indian Jewelry yet, you are way past due. A host of DJ's will round out the evening, ensuring that the night will be most memorable.

FEATURING ARTWORK BY
Adam Baker
Rich Cohen
Tom Dexter
Benjamin Ferguson
Give up
Heather Dewey Hagborg
Beth Leatherman
Tony Linenberger
Mistah Metro

PERFORMANCE BY
Garth Stevenson

MUSICAL GUESTS
Indian Jewelry

LATE-NIGHT DJ's
Surf Team


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SPECIAL EVENT: GRAND OPENING GALA
Long Island City Museum of Natural History
Curated by Jeff Thompson

Saturday, May 31 • 8:00pm - late

More information visit: www.licmuseumofnaturalhistory.org
Download the press release here


The LIC Museum of Natural History was founded in 2007, and will open it's doors to the public in May 2008.   The Museum's mission is to be a resource to public, featuring a world-class collection of objects, specimens, and displays.   In addition, a major mission of the museum is to provide education about the region, specifically Queens, through a series of exhibits about regional history, geology, and industry.

The building originally housed a 150-year-old event hall and social club in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens.   Acquired in 2006, the building has been fully renovated.

or rather...

The LIC Museum of Natural History is an group art show curated by Texas Firehouse artist Jeff Thompson.   Featuring work by eight artists, all pieces appear initially to be specimens of a natural history museum.   Upon closer inspection, however, they are clearly works of art that span sculpture, painting, video, and sound.

Rather than a dry critique of museums or the classification of objects within them, the LIC Museum of Natural History is part elaborate joke, part real entity.   At what point can a collection become a museum and what are the museum's limitations.   In a culture so focused on the DIY mentality where institutions like micronations are being formed by a single person, why can't museums be built the same way?


FEATURING ARTWORK BY
Karim Bendahmane
Tim Dowse
Tianna Kennedy and Tarikh Korula
Amy Longenecker
George Scheer and Stephanie Sherman
Alina Tensor
Jeff Thompson
as well as specimens from the permanent collection

PERFORMANCES BY
Twisty Cat
and
Slow/Dynamite

Late-night DJ's
Matt Radune and Jeremy Campbell


Above image:
Rose quartz with preserved remains of Salvelinus fontinalis, an ancient ancestor of the brook trout from the Triassic Period.   Discovered at a dig in Wyoming, this specimen is unique for the near complete preservation of the fish, much like insects imbedded in amber. Incredible tectonic forces pressed remains from an ancient sea and under heat and pressure formed the quartz which encases this specimen.

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TEXAS FIREHOUSE BENEFIT SHOW AND SILENT AUCTION
Saturday, March 8
8:00 - late
Bidding closes at 11:00pm

Performances by
Jeff Thompson
Terrible Eagle
Dancing to follow.

The Texas Firehouse is having a Benefit Show and Silent Auction on Saturday, March 8 and you're all invited! There will be booze, DJ's, and live performances. In addition, we'll be having a silent auction with all kinds of great art starting at $20.

Also,

If you'd be willing to put in one or more artworks into the auction we would be eternally grateful. The starting price is $20 and we'll split the sale price with you 50-50, unless you're feeling extra generous and want to donate all of the proceeds. The money will help fund our 2008 season, which will kick off with a show curated by Wyatt Nash in late April.

Hope you all are doing well, look forward to seeing you sometime soon.

If you would like to give a work for the silent auction, please email us.


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NOW ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS FOR THE 2008 SEASON

The Texas Firehouse is now accepting submissions for the 2008 season. All shows are for one night only and are all group shows. There will be four shows curated by Firehouse staff and two by guest curators. We're also looking for curators to propose shows, bands and performance artists, and people doing anything interesting.

We encourage electronic submissions by website or CD, but please send whatever best represents your work. Your submission should also include a CV and installation proposal if needed.

For more details, see the Submissions section of this site.