Josh Slater
Wrestlers from the 1980's: Bam Bam Bigelow, Junk Yard Dog, Jake the Snake, Misty Blue, Paul Morris [2002]
Acrylic on paper

INTIMIDATION REMOVAL MACHINE:
Transient Gallery by Laura Martin
written by contributor

Planting a refreshing spin on the old conventional gallery concept, “Transient,” a unique new roving art show concept, has arrived in New York. Developed by independent curator Laura Martin, Transient I was the first in a series of roving art shows slated for the spring and summer of 2003. Martin has scored big time, bringing together some of the most innovative and undiscovered talent on view in a “transient” setting for an audience that might best be described as “power-playing youth culture meets baby boomer and beyond.”
At 24, Martin’s chutzpah, passion and instinct for the art biz is way beyond her years. Not one to be waylaid by the predictably impenetrable New York City art scene, she managed to strategize some good moves early on. Barely 20, Martin was already directing Weber Fine Art in Westchester while still interning at Paul Kasmin Gallery. This led to a job working for Jeffrey Deitch at Deitch Projects on the operations side of the business, but seeing no opportunity to curate, Martin has decided to take Transient full time. Armed with a cadre of heavyweight connections including a friend in New York City real estate, she negotiated a deal to open Transient I in a loft space at 133 W. 25th Street in exchange for the realtor’s right to promote their properties during the show. Since then, things have really started to take off.
“The turning point for me has been the coverage I received from Crain’s New York Business,” she says. “From their article I’ve been able to connect with a lot of people who would like to use my business for curating in their spaces.”
And yet, in as much as it’s a business, Martin hasn’t lost site of her love of curating. She tells me her experience working for Deitch has really inspired her – that it’s brought her up to the next level. “Jeffrey has, I believe, the greatest eye for artwork that I’ve ever seen,” she confides. “Working for him has been really learning from a master.”
“Gravy Boat Princess,” the title for Transient I, represents Martin’s first unified theme: a group of six artists all using childlike imagery to interpret mature subject matter. For the most part, her artists are multifarious – their only commonality being perhaps a flair for the original. “I’m looking out for new, innovative artists, particularly those without representation,” she explains. “Just because you don’t have a show at Deitch Projects or Gagosian or Mary Boone doesn’t mean that you’re not a great artist.”
Martin, who is, in a sense, herself an art world pioneer, abhors the fact that the art biz is continuously chasing the same artists, and her artist selection criterion reflects this. She’s a firm believer in the notion that you don’t have to be a millionaire to buy great art, choosing young career artists whose prices aren’t yet out of reach for the average art buyer. Having astutely identified a direct correlation between dollar value and what might be called “the art world intimidation factor,” with Transient, Martin aims to demystify contemporary art, hoping to make it feel more widely accessible and less intimidating to beginning collectors. She tells me that the roving concept is pivotal in the creation of an enhanced, low-key yet value-added art viewing experience.
“Everyone wants to be part of a cool and hip underground scene. By having roving show venues, you have to be on the lookout for the next event – you have to be tapped in.” And as far as Laura Martin is concerned, developing an intellectually invested art following is just an all-around good thing for New York.

TRANSIENT
@ Telomere Projects
475 Kent Ave. at S. 11th, 6th Floor
917 952 6024
email@transientnyc.com
BITTEN
Opening: April 4th 6-9pm
Exhibition dates: April 4 - May 4, 2003
ONE MINUTE DISTRACTIONS
60-62 Lispenard St @ Broadway, NYC
opening: April 5th 6-9pm
exhibition dates: April 5 - May 4, 2003

© 2002 Artsy Magazine. All Rights Reserved.

Michael Caputo
Video Still from "Marty McFly" [2002]