Each year, The Kitchen, a non-profit center for video,
music, dance, performance, film and literature hosts a benefit art auction
fundraiser and cocktail party.
The goal was to design a unique and elegant space for
the event, which was also highly functional. An 88-foot long curved wall served
as a display for the 80 paintings, drawings, photos and sculptures in the main
performance hall. Taking into account the limited budget, extremely inexpensive
white peg-board was the material of choice. It is often found in retail stores,
commonly used to hang various types of merchandise on hooks. In their
conventional use these thin boards lack structural quality, however, under
tension the board becomes rigid. So the auction walls curvature was both a
formal decision as well as an integral part of the structure.
Within seconds, the dense pattern of holes in the
peg-board allowed us to make rapid changes to the configuration of the
exhibited art pieces. As a result of this innovative approach, we did not have
to worry about drilling additional holes, patching up walls, or painting again.
The cost-efficient peg-board solution was so easy to set up and take apart that
The Kitchen stored all the elements to re-purpose them in different ways for
years to come.
In addition to that large wall, I designed a suspended
canopy, a welcome desk, curved guiding panels to direct guests to the main
space and a bidding table, all in congruence with the peg-board wall design.
Curated by Debra Singer and Matthew Lyons
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