July 29-August 4, 2004

art

Freeze Frame

THE ICEBOX COMETH: A walk-in freezer in Kensington has become a playground for Tyler students and other artists. Photo By: Michael T. Regan

Local artists turn a former frozen seafood plant into a breathtaking new gallery space.

by Susan Hagen

The city of Philadelphia is filled with them: huge, stately boarded-up mansions and warehouses left over from a bygone era of bustling productivity and prosperity. The Crane Company Building was built in 1905 out of cast concrete faced with brick in the Kensington warehouse and manufacturing area just north of Girard Avenue. It was designed by Philadelphia architect Walter Ballinger, an early innovator of concrete building techniques. The long wedge-shaped building was used as a plumbing warehouse, and had an adjacent three-story stable for delivery vehicles and draft horses. It was later used to process frozen seafood. An enormous concrete-block, first-floor addition functioned as a walk-in freezer. But the property stood vacant for a number of years. In 2000, Philadelphia artist Michael Frechette, sponsored by the Mural Arts Program, painted an enormous swan (aimed southward) on the side of the abandoned building.

Then earlier this year Richard Hricko, a printmaker; Nick Kripal, a ceramic sculptor; and David Gleeson, an art-loving economist and "financial guy," bought the building — ostensibly for their own use as studio space. Hricko described how they began their search: "We were looking for a 25,000-square-foot warehouse building when the Crane Building caught our attention. At 90,000 square feet the building was much larger than what we needed but we all loved the architecture."

So they decided to seek additional funding and design a much more ambitious arts center with studio space for other artists and a large exhibition space. Construction is now underway. Plans are to reserve the first floor for large, publicly oriented tenants, while the upper three floors will contain studios and common areas for informal gatherings (Kripal showed off the space on the second floor he picked out for himself. He has already begun moving in!). Trees will be planted around the perimeter and the enclosed courtyard will be landscaped. Other ideas are still in the fantasy stage: a formal residency program for young artists, additional galleries, a dance studio and performance space, a coffee shop and an in-house digital processing facility.

SPACE MEN: Crane Building owners (l-r) Nick Kripal, David Gleeson and Richard Hricko are busy carving out exhibition areas and artists' studios. Photo By: Michael T. Regan

This isn't the only comprehensive development project going on in South Kensington. Nearby a number of old buildings used for manufacturing and warehousing have taken on new life. Gleeson believes "the mayor's vacant lot program has been instrumental in making this development a success. Vacant lots have been cleaned up and abandoned cars towed, restoring a sense of possibility to the neighborhood." The Sponge Factory, The Coffin Factory and Sharktown all have well-established communities of live/work spaces and artists' studios, and there are dozens of woodworkers, furniture makers, interior designers, as well as other artisans and small manufacturers setting up shop in the area. Wells Vissar, Inc. on Fourth Street, for example, produces handmade scagliola tiles and architectural elements and C.O.P.A. Soaps manufactures all-natural boutique soap.

In April, Hricko, Kripal and Gleeson completed renovations in the vast walk-in freezer, now dubbed "The Ice Box Project Space" and started a series of art exhibitions. It's a crisp white box, 50 by 100 feet with 25-foot ceilings, unbroken by pillars, windows or other architectural details. The three exhibitions to date have all featured work by students or recent graduates of Tyler, where Hricko and Kripal both teach, and a few other art schools. Right now you can see a show titled "Valsalva Maneuver." Exhibition organizers Wendy DesChene, Adam Smith and Eva Wylie chose the title primarily for its Dadaist implications, but also because it was "a fancy term with a prosaic meaning," says DesChene. They invited seven teams of artists to construct parts of an elaborate, imaginative croquet course that could, but didn't have to, be functional. The three curators all have recent M.F.A. degrees from Tyler (in painting, sculpture and printmaking respectively) and each participated on a team of makers.

DesChene, Smith and Wylie explained that they all like to play croquet and thought it would be a suitable theme for a summertime show. Also, says Wylie, "It seemed like a great way to get a lot of artists involved and to really make use of the space. Plus, visitors can play the game." The installation contains, among other things, a fake abstract expressionist painting turned into a playing field with 3-D deer on top, an oversized ivy landscape for balls to get lost in, an elaborately structured swinging mallet made of four by fours that fires a wooden ball into a wall with deadly force, and a series of tabletop AstroTurf greens with wickets and balls. Artist Katie McCory told me she was on a team that "wanted to create the path of least resistance for the croquet ball — an imaginary landscape puffing up vertically from the ground that the ball could float right under." Her group used fabric and other materials combined with ethereal music that they composed themselves. Wylie comments, "Our own work is very different than what you see here, but our attitudes informed the work. This was a great opportunity for us."

Hricko, Kripal and Gleeson are excited about creating an arts community with an open-ended structure, and they have a strong commitment to offering opportunities to young, emerging artists like DesChene, Smith and Wylie. They have no desire to organize Ice Box exhibitions themselves; shows will be independently curated by both experienced and upstart curators. But the space will offer huge challenges to even the most experienced curators. Richard Torchia, director of the Arcadia University Art Gallery, juried the first show of work by 2004 Tyler M.F.A. students. Torchia said he was "overwhelmed by the scale of the space — it's one of the largest spaces of its kind anywhere. It's timeless, vast and hermetic ideal for gigantic, site-specific installations, sculptures or paintings — and problematic for small or intimate works."

The real challenge Hricko, Kripal and Gleeson will face as they plan the future of the Ice Box might well be finding enough high-caliber artwork that will work with its unique qualities. Undoubtedly they will have to grapple with the enormous potential it offers as a world-class venue for serious art versus its equally vast potential as much-needed venue for local emerging artists. Stay tuned.

The Ice Box Project Space in the Crane Arts Center, 1400 N. American St., 215-782-2718. The exhibit "Valsalva Maneuver" is open by appointment only through Aug. 1. Visitors can make an appointment by e-mailing vasalva_maneuever@hotmail.com or calling 267-972-8523.