The NYPD shut down this gallery opening after thousands of art lovers turned up
Art brings people together...and tears them apart. Such was the case at O'Flaherty's summer group show opening on Thursday, July 14.
"The Patriot" is an open-call submission project in which artists of all mediums and abilities were invited to drop off their pieces—the smaller, the better—at the gallery at 55 Avenue C in the week leading up to the show. Over 700 pieces of art cover O'Flaherty's walls and ceiling and are fully visible only by flashlight because they're displayed in the dark.
"We literally took any piece of shit you brought in whether it was awesome or total trash and tried to make it an idea," reads a press release from O'Flaherty's. "The Patriot is a truly democratic show where everyone is treated equally like shit."
In what is now being dubbed as more of a "shit show" than an art show, the opening was extremely popular, bringing out an estimated 1,000 viewers lined up on the Alphabet City blocks surrounding the small gallery. That's a lot of frustrated artists outside on a summer night. And thus, the NYPD came to break up the crowd and the opening night of The Patriot, scheduled to run through August 10.
2/2 With 700+ artists featured, some 700+ people showed up for the opening, with a line to enter winding up Fourth Street back to Avenue B. One estimate put the crowd outside at 1,000. The NYPD closed down the show for safety reasons. Pics by @Joy_of_photos pic.twitter.com/2sXPc825er
— evgrieve (@evgrieve) July 15, 2022
"Thank you, go home," gallery owner Jamian Juliano-Villani shouted at the crowd through a megaphone while surrounded by uniformed NYPD officers on Thursday night. "Move mother fuckers, move, thank you," she added to cheers from art fans. "We love you," someone shouted back.
"It was a beautiful shit show," recalls 30-year-old artist BARC The Dog, whose work is displayed in The Patriot. "I really admire the attitude and energy that Jamian brings to the art world. Complete chaos in the best way possible. It was a wild experiment."
From last night at O'Flaherty's, the gallery at 55 Avenue C in the East Village. The Patriot is an open-call show where all work was accepted (under 36x36). There are 700+ pieces total & gallery-goers used flashlights to view them. Then the NYPD arrived. 1/2
— evgrieve (@evgrieve) July 15, 2022
Pics @Joy_of_photos pic.twitter.com/Qvii8maHhn
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