Review

Walker Waugh left Topeka for Brooklyn's flourishing art scene

In December 2006, Walker Waugh and his partner Emily Driscoll opened the doors to WORK Gallery, an exhibit space located on the waterfront in Red Hook, Brooklyn. The duo left the city of Topeka and headed east to Brooklyn in search of a venue to exhibit the artwork of some of their talented friends. "We had this extensive network of artist friends who were just starting their careers, and we wanted to offer them a safe haven to show their work and have it seen by as wide an audience as possible," says Walker Waugh, director of WORK Gallery. "An art venue was what we wanted to do, so we made it happen."

Eric Ayotte, "Albatross," oil, spraypaint, and resin on aluminum, 20" x 24", 2010. "Albatross" is up for bids at a silent auction on WORK Gallery's Web site.

Brooklyn was a natural choice for the gallery because Waugh says that, in all of his travels, he felt that Brooklyn offered a specific creative vibe unlike any other destination. "There's a creative energy in Brooklyn that is unlike most other places," he explains, noting that Brooklyn's community has an "incredible concentration" of artists, writers, and musicians.

Things certainly do happen in Brooklyn, a place known for its diversity of ethnicities, picturesque churches, and more recently, its independent arts scene. "The girl behind the counter at my coffee shop had her last record reviewed in Rolling Stone, and the critic who wrote the review usually sits in the corner sipping a latte with his headphones on." Waugh believes that in Brooklyn, everyone seems to be immersed in some creative endeavor.

Life at the gallery shifted in November 2007, when Emily, who was also Waugh's partner in life, passed away rather unexpectedly. Waugh was faced with the difficult decision of continuing the work they had already started to develop or closing up shop and moving on. "Ultimately I decided to continue doing shows, and this turned out to be a very rewarding and cathartic experience," he says. For almost three years, Waugh has curated about 25 shows from a roster of artists from all over the world. The exhibitions represented a wide range of media and experiences from painting to drawing, sculpture, site-specific installation, video, and film. Dance, music, and performance art were also part of the mix.

Caitlin Berrigan, "Study for everything regrettable I've said to you," ink on fabric, 9" x 9", 2010. "Study for everything regrettable I've said to you" is up for bids at a silent auction on WORK Gallery's Web site.

In an effort to keep moving forward despite his tragic loss, Waugh recently welcomed Eric Ayotte as a new business partner. "Eric is an extremely talented painter whose work I have shown on many occasions, and he's also gained invaluable experience working at some of the best galleries in the world, including White Cube in London," notes Waugh. "Together, we've got a very good program of exhibitions lined up for the spring and summer."

From Topeka to Brooklyn

Brooklyn certainly served as a source of inspiration, dreams, and hope for Waugh. He admits that when he was in Topeka he never fully immersed himself in any recognized art scene. "My interest in art was cultivated by the group of friends I had growing up there. There was a big punk music scene, but I wasn't really involved in that either," he says. "I hung out with writers and poets mostly — Ben Lerner and Cyrus Console. We spent most of our weekends at Ben's house sitting on the porch drinking wine and freestyle rapping." It didn't seem like anything significant at the time, but looking back now, Waugh says it was definitely their own version of an art scene.

Waugh believes that Topeka is full of those types of informal art scenes, but they're not being recognized or labeled as such. The one visual artist from Topeka that Waugh has remained in close association with is Jonathan Bridges, who still lives in Kansas City and is, in Waugh's opinion, still making some of the most ambitious and creative ceramic sculptures that he's ever seen. Waugh has shown his sculptures at the gallery before, and is planning a solo show for Bridges this year.

"Bridges was an important member of the Topeka scene when I was there," Waugh says. "Everybody loved him because he was always doing his own thing so well and with such commitment. He was the guy who was everywhere at once. All of a sudden, he'd appear and start in on some strange, cryptic conversation about space travel or ancient Greece. But Topeka is like that. It’s an odd and lovely place — an unlikely incubator for creativity," he says. "It is a gritty town that is just sort of there — full of weird energy that is waiting to be released."

Upcoming at WORK Gallery

Lisa Iglesias, "CHUPACABRA," block print, gouache hand painting and collage on paper, sewn binding, and hand cut, 5” x 5”, edition of six, 2007. "CHUPACABRA" is up for bids at a silent auction on WORK Gallery's Web site.

"This is a unique and incredibly affordable showcase of works by over 130 artists that cannot be seen or bought anywhere else," says Eve Biddle, co-director of The Wassaic Project. "The silent auction works are from established and emerging artists and bidding starts at less than half of the market value."

What's next for Waugh and WORK Gallery? On April 17, the gallery will unite with Dutchess County, NY-based multi-disciplinary arts center The Wassaic Project for the second annual I Heart Art event. A collaborative fundraiser to benefit 2010 programming for both organizations, the event presents an opportunity for art enthusiasts to purchase affordable art by more than 100 emerging and mid-career artists. In addition, a small selection of artwork will be up for silent auction. Artists include Eric Ayotte, Trevor Babb, Jeff Barnett-Winsby, Rafael Bogarin, Ryan Brennan, Vince Ciniglio, John Delk, Ghost of a Dream, Sarah Hardesty, Lisa Iglesias, Sarah Walko, and Gabriela Vainsencher.

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