Detroit: two stories  

Douglas James + Sandra Osip

in the plus/space:  November 1 - November 29, 2015 
Opening reception: Friday, November 6, 5-8pm 

With this installation in the FiveMyles garage space, two native Detroit artists tell two different stories about their hometown. When Sandra Osip went back to Detroit two years ago to visit her childhood neighborhood, she found nothing but decaying vandalized houses and broken up sidewalks; her own home as well many others had completely disappeared. 

Sandra Osip's sculptures in the exhibition lament the destruction of a city she loves. She has created a series of “junk heaps” of urban ruin, crushed and piled-up buildings that represent entire neighborhoods in Detroit, left to disintegrate 

James Douglas’ new paintings are a tribute to the lively art scene that existed in Detroit 40 years ago, and in which he actively participated. 

A generation of artists emerged in the late 1960’s and 70’s setting up studios along Cass Avenue and establishing a new lifestyle in Detroit. A rapid cycle of exhibitions took place at the legendary Willis Gallery, an artist’s collective, with other galleries following in quick succession. The Detroit Institute of Art celebrated this era of artistic ferment with the 1981 retrospective exhibition Kick out the Jams. 

Today Detroit’s art scene inherits and builds upon those origins with new generations of emerging artists, and with many of the pioneers still living and working in the city. Douglas James' vibrant paintings celebrate this earlier scene. 

DIRECTIONS:

Take 2, 3, or 4 trains to Franklin Avenue. Walk two blocks against the traffic on Franklin. Walk ¾ block to 558 St. Johns Place. FiveMyles is within easy walking distance from the Brooklyn Museum.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

FiveMyles is in part supported by the New York State Council for the Arts, Public Funds from the New York City Dept. of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Council Member Laurie Cumbo, the Greenwich Collection, The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Foundation, the Lily Auchincloss Foundation, the Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation, and Humanities NY.