Last Call: Go See the Loft Law Exhibit
Loft Law by Joshua Charow runs at Westwood Gallery in NYC until July 13th.
A few months ago, before the art of the ole hawk tuah! swallowed up the cultural conversation entirely, I was being bombarded by this one (perfectly-safe-for-work) reel on Instagram.
I was seeing it constantly any time I scrolled.
My friends started sending me the reel via direct message.
Accounts I followed were sharing it.
The all-knowing algorithm went into overdrive, pushing the reel daily to my For You page.
I shared it with friends. I talked about it with like-minded folks. I started consuming national news about it. And eventually, I altered a day of travel to change my plans so I could check it out for myself.
It was about a NYC-based documentary photographer and filmmaker named Joshua Charow who, for the past few years, had been knocking on doors to see if any of the artists protected under Article 7-C of the Multiple Dwelling Law in New York City, also known as the 1982 Loft Law, would open up.
Lucky for us, they did.
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Charow documented the artists in their homes and workspaces, got them to share their stories, and delivered a remarkable body of work in his debut exhibition, “Loft Law: Photographs by Joshua Charow,” which is now on display at Westwood Gallery in New York City.
"I spent the past two years creating my first photography book titled Loft Law: The Last of New York City's Original Artist Lofts about artists living under the protection of the Loft Law,” Charow said on his YouTube channel. “The law, enacted in 1982, granted protection and rent stabilization to thousands of artists who were living illegally in commercial and manufacturing zoned lofts in neighborhoods like Soho, Tribeca, and the Bowery after the manufacturing industry predominantly left Manhattan.”
“I photographed and interviewed over 75 artists who are still living in these incredible lofts to this day,” Charow continued. “The photographs explore some of the most unique, beautiful, and hidden artist studios across New York City.”
I highly recommend viewing the photos at Westwood Gallery, but if you can’t make it in the next 2 weeks, there are other ways to experience Charow’s work.
Charow’s YouTube channel shares an even deeper look at a handful of the featured artists, their careers, and their incredible stories of turning the uninhabitable lofts into magical spaces to live and create in. One of my favorite videos in the series is a spotlight on 96-year-old painter Carmen Cicero. The Bowery loft he’s lived and worked in for the past 53 years is coincidently right across the street from the gallery where Charow’s photos of him are on display.
If you can believe it, Cicero is not the oldest artist featured in the exhibition. How’s that for proof that making art helps us live longer, healthier, and happier lives?
By illuminating the Loft Law artists, Joshua Charow’s debut exhibition has united millions across the globe into a heartwarming conversation about art and its place in the human experience. (The comments on Charow’s YouTube episodes are a gift that keeps on giving. Go read them.)
I can’t wait to see what he does next.
“Loft Law: Photographs by Joshua Charow” is on display at Westwood Gallery in New York until July 13th. Keep up with Joshua Charow on his website, Youtube channel, and on Instagram.