Ever since its opening, the Williamsburg outpost of high-fashion Brooklyn boutique Bird has functioned as not only an emporium for all things in vogue, but also as a cultural hautespot.
And yes we are fans of alliteration + the written pun. Thank you for asking.
With high ceilings, a big, open floor plan, and beautifully rich wood features, the Ole Sondreson-designed space begs to be used for events + parties and owner Jen Mankins has never let it—or us—down. She’s consistently + regularly hosted events for Fashion Week, trunk shows for featured independent designers, and a steady stream of artists’ works on her store’s considerable walls.
Next Wednesday, Bird will celebrate its first ever group show, The New Americana. As the show’s organizers explain:
“The term ‘Americana’ has come to be associated with traditional folk art from the country’s past. This exhibition, however, makes the argument that the American view of our shared cultural history has expanded to include more recent national experiences of religion, race, politics, entertainment, and commerce. In that vein, the curators hope to present a counterpoint to the big-box retail environment that has become a defining feature of the United States landscape by exhibiting these works in a small, privately owned business.”
The show brings in artists from all over America with their paintings, sculptures, and mixed media pieces to help convey this new view of our country, its people, and how we all live amongst one another. From commentaries on California’s state of mind with Karolina Gnatowski’s mixed-media-with-hashpipe ‘This is a Pipe Dream’ (detail above) to pieces that explore stereotypes in what most of us can now agree is not ‘post-racial America’, the show goes well beyond photos of run-down gas stations in rural America…which, to be fair, I created many of myself in college.
The New Americana—curated by Justin Anderson, Peter Joseph, and Rachel Stekson—features works by Chad Andrews, Ben Bertocci, Dan Bina, Clara Claus, Brad Fesmire, Karolina Gnatowski, Jake Kean-Mayman, David Maddy, Easton A. Miller, Clive Murphy, Ramon Silva, Kristianna Smith, Tribble + Mancenido, Darryl Westly.
An opening reception will be held at Bird Williamsburg—203 Grand b/t Bedford + Driggs—next Wednesday, October 9 from 6-8PM and will feature music by DJ Nancy Whang. Go because we can’t. We promise a good time. RSVP on the event Facebook page.
Below, a full shot of and detail of Gnatowski’s ‘This is a Pipe Dream’; Tribble + Mancenido‘s ‘Family as Trees’; Ramon Silva‘s ‘Greedy Genius’; Dan Bina‘s ‘I Am a Man’; Easton A. Miller‘s ‘Fool Me Once’; and the show poster.
