We are pretty bummed here at Bushwick Daily that we have to break this sad news. The Bogart Salon is closing down. One of the most distinctive galleries at 56 Bogart and in the neighborhood as well, has released a note addressed to their friends and supporters last night. “After a remarkable year The Bogart Salon will be closing on Monday, October 29th,” writes the gallery director and the curator of the galleries in the building, Peter Hopkins. Peter Hopkins doesn’t explain the details of his abrupt end at 56 Bogart. In order to obtain an explanation, we tried to reach the owners of the building Ted Hovivian and Adrienne Saccone by phone, however we didn’t have any luck.
Peter Hopkins regrets to end the 14 months at The Bogart Salon. However he is promising some exciting news for the future: relocating to another location in Bushwick and an “even bolder and more expansive vision for art and culture.”
I believe that it is safe to say that The Bogart Salon under the reign of Peter Hopkins was an extraordinary gallery. Apart from the regular art shows, The Bogart Salon hosted panel discussions such as Confronting Bushwick, or Capital and Its Discontents; together with the Indian curator Meenakshi Thurikode, The Bogart Salon has been filming the world’s first ever Bollywood style soap opera filmed in a gallery, Isha: a Tell All Tale, and the most recently they organized citydrift/Bushwick the first iteration of a multi-city, multi-nation meta art event that continued in Detroit recently and has world-wide ambitions.
The Bogart Salon, you will be missed in Bushwick, but at the same time we’re excited to see what the future holds for the The Bogart Salon team: Peter Hopkins, Meenakshi Thirukode, Maya Meissner, Wilson Duggan.
Bushwick Daily will keep you posted!
UPDATE:
Eventually, we’ve heard from Ted Hovivian, who not only owns 56 Bogart building but also The Bogart Salon. In his press release, Mr. Hovivian states that The Bogart Salon will continue even without Peter Hopkins, the head curator and the director of the gallery. Who will replace Peter Hopkins and how the direction of the gallery will change, remains unclear. Here is a part of the press release:
Ted Hovivian, the owner of the Bogart Salon has announced that the Salon will not be closing.
The focus of the Salon will be redirected and it will be reformatted after the current show ends on October 29, 2012. “The Salon has been open for the past fourteen months and it now time to recalibrate and begin a new voyage into the next phase of the Salon’s odyssey.”
Ted notes that the current gallery manager has done an outstanding job to bring the Salon into the art scene.
After a short hiatus the Salon will reopen with a firm dedication to emerging contemporary artists. According to Ted, their work is what makes the art world so vibrant and exciting. The gallery wants to maintain their commitment to these artists and especially the entire group of artists at The Bogart (56 Bogart Street).
A special thank you goes to everyone who has been involved in the Salon’s first fourteen months and the staff looks forward to their continued support in the coming years.
