Brooklyn’s latest experimental art space is more fun than a trip to the office.
On the fourth floor of a former Prospect Heights automobile service station that was converted into creative industry offices a decade ago, an intentionally misspelled sign reading “The Gallry” greets inquisitive visitors.
At first glimpse, The Gallery: WeWork (oralmoral) resembles a quirky incarnation of a millennial co-working space. There’s a jaunty painting of a whale by Michael Egan opposite Anna K.E. Tamada’s enormous satellite speaker with a sound installation at the entrance. A handful of artists tap away on their laptops on tables in a large common area as the aboveground Franklin Avenue Shuttle rumbles past.
The closer you look, the more unsettling it seems. Eerie video installations, canvases, drawings, and sculptures by more than 40 artists hang on cubicle walls or have been tucked into utility closets, HVAC systems, and a metal recycling bin throughout the office. Whiteboards are scrawled with motivational phrases and sales-friendly slogans from a previous tenant.
Florian Meisenberg, the show’s curator, compared the messages to dystopic “cave paintings.”
“I didn’t change anything, I love it,” Meisenberg told Hyperallergic. “These cubicles appear to me like remnants of bureaucracy and business models. It feels like we stumbled upon this place and found signs of life.”
The Ridgewood-based painter and installation artist long envisioned putting together an exhibition featuring work by artists he had admired and met since moving to New York from Berlin in 2010.
He curated a show at Berthold Pott Gallery in Cologne in 2024, which he called a “transformative experience” for his practice. He wanted to do something similar in his adopted homeland, but faced several obstacles.
“I had a vision of a post-corporate space, but … we had no money,” he said.
That often marks the end of many ambitious creative endeavors in the city. But Meisenberg lucked out thanks to Brooklyn’s moribund commercial market, where one out of five spaces remained empty at the end of last year, and a chance conversation with his Queens studio landlord. Synoptic Management owner David Steinberg had been looking for new tenants in his three-building office complex on 1000 Dean Street after the guitar-string manufacturer D’Addario departed their fourth-floor suite months ago.
Meisenberg wrote a pitch for a temporary gallery last summer, then reminded Steinberg about his idea on April 1. This time, Steinberg agreed and handed over the keys to the space two days later. (Steinberg did not reply to an email requesting comment.)
“I couldn’t say, ‘Yes that’s great, let’s do September,’” Meisenberg said. “I was ready for it, but I was not ready for it.”
Meisenberg called several dozen artists who visited the space and agreed to create or ship site-specific works on short notice. After spending $350 on a U-Haul to transport some of the pieces, they completed the back-breaking install in a week for the April 10 grand opening, which 600 people attended, according to Meisenberg.
More artworks continue to be added each week, and Meisenberg plans a series of programs including live podcast shows, poetry readings, lectures, and performances satirizing white-collar corporate culture. There’s a screening of artists’ works on April 28, a “Team Building” event on May 2, and more before the exhibition closes on May 24.
The Gallery also serves as an actual co-working space for people who subscribe to its online platform. The service is free, but spots are limited to 10 per day.
Meisenberg hopes The Gallery will stay on Dean Street a bit longer this spring, but he is already contemplating his project’s next move in another commercial space. “I find the dilapidated office a perfect place for art,” he said. “It’s like clearing away for something new to grow.”
