ArtEgg

ArtEgg

FIFTY THOUSAND SQUARE FEET OF ARTISTRY IN MID-CITY NEW ORLEANS

Story by Jason Hutter • Photos by Alexandra Kennon

Inside ArtEgg, the first thing one notices is the sheer size of the place—50,000 square feet, to be precise. ArtEgg is an enormous, eclectic artists’ haven in Mid-City New Orleans where professional artists can rent long-term space. John Swincinski, an abstract expressionist oil painter, explained his attraction to the converted warehouse and why he became a tenant-artist there. “It’s because of the community here at ArtEgg; it’s good to mingle and speak with other artists who live their practice like I do,” he said. “ArtEgg gives me that. After I left the Master of Fine Arts program at LSU, I missed the simple act of bouncing ideas off likeminded people.“ As he spoke, Swincinski was finishing his latest painting of muted, misty browns and white on an oversized canvas. His recent work, he explained, illustrates his experience journeying alone in the wilderness of Montana. Around his workshop, other canvases lie in various stages of completion. Swincinski stated that his

frequent trips into wild solitude give him the isolation he needs to translate his sensory experience into oil on canvas. “These paintings are about so much more than the landscape … they are about memory. They intend to capture the emotional content of events previously unfolded before me,” Swincinski said. “There is the experience I had and the one that I remember. The paintings represent the latter.” Like many of the professional artist-tenants of ArtEgg, Swincinski’s artistic output finds its way directly into galleries locally and across the country—particularly New Orleans' Gryder Gallery, where he is represented. Before the building was ArtEgg, it had undergone several incarnations. According to owner Dr. Esther Dyer’s research, the property was first owned by H.G. Hill Stores, who first opened their doors in Nashville, Tennessee in September 1922. The property then became the Loubat Frank Warehouse, the largest produce company in the region. It also sold American Beauty products, thus earning it the nickname the “American Beauty Warehouse”. After Dyer purchased the building in 2001, renovation began almost immediately, and she playfully renamed the building “ArtEgg”— an homage to the iconic “Everybody Loves a Good Egg” sign that overlooks Mid-City, which Dyer had restored, and a hint at what the building’s future would be under Dyer’s stewardship.

As for Dyer, she had her dream. Originally from New York, she graduated from Columbia University with a doctorate in library sciences. She eventually became a member of The National Arts Club in New York City, where she lived for over forty years. While there, she developed a deeper understanding of the intricate links between art and commerce, and began to envision a design for a place where both could meet and prosper. Having had a second home in New Orleans since 1990, when Dyer began searching for an investment property at the turn of the millennium, she was intrigued with “The Egg Building” and its potential.

Her business model is simple: ArtEgg offers full-time entrepreneurs and artists workspaces for rent. Dyer and her staff provide the foundation and the amenities—she makes it clear that Program Director Elliot Perkins, Building Manager Ken Tree Battles, and Steve Bishoff, the proprietor of the wine bar, are indispensable when it comes to running daily operations. Like so much of the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan Area, ArtEgg had to be completely renovated after Katrina, which resulted in the building losing all five of its roofs and water rising above its eight-foot loading dock. Afterwards, Dyer wanted to incorporate increased sustainability into the design of her building. She introduced items like bamboo flooring, solar track lights, solar tubes, and energy efficient fixtures into the building’s upgrade. She also proudly displays a frame of recycled glass molded into an arabesque design that is attached to one of her walls. Another room uses the detritus of broken glass, repurposed porcelain, and pieces of broken toilets to decorate and form the flooring.

Alexandra Kennon

Showing off her warehouse, she

stopped to point out the artwork in the hallways, detailing the provenance of each work, reciting its history, and naming the artist or donor who provided it. As she walked through, she paused periodically to knock on the doors of the tenant-artists and introduce them. Opening each door is a bit like breaking through the sepia-toned world of Dorothy’s house and entering each artist’s own, technicolored Oz. After Swincinski, another of the artists Dr. Dyer introduced was sculptor Alex Podesta. At first, his space resembles a typical wood-working shop, until one notices the unusual and arresting effigies that adorn the walls and tables. “I use non-traditional methods like body casting, quick set plastics, and two-part plastic urethane to create molds and make the casts,” Podesta explained of his process for creating his sculptures. Podesta’s art is scattered throughout New Orleans. It turns up in front of buildings, on streets, and by bus

stops. It’s likely that many New Orleans commuters are familiar with his sculpture works without realizing it: his most recognizable pieces are the life sized “Bunnymen” that can be seen throughout the downtown area. Right now, Podesta works mostly with Graphite Gallery locally, but, as he stated, “It’s easier to list the galleries in which I haven’t shown my art than to name the ones I have.” ArtEgg’s tenants expand beyond artists, of course: one notable resident of eight years is a distillery called Atelier Vie, which produces gin and absinthe from botanicals grown in the garden on site. The distillery also produces an annual batch of Louisiana rice whiskey, which has been featured in the publication SevenFiftyDaily and sells out each year. The latest addition to ArtEgg is the wine bar, Next to Nothing Wines, established in a small, neon-lit room apart from the main structure. Along with wine, Atelier Vie’s gin and other spirits can be purchased there. Next to Nothing also serves as a community reprieve for artists and staff who are ready to relax after a full day’s work. Everything in ArtEgg reflects its owner and, with her esoteric and exotic tastes, the city around her. Dyer, describing each patch of ground and tidbit of history, exuded the joy one would expect from someone who conceived and nurtured a dream that had possessed her for a very long time. From its inauguration as a mere idea, ArtEgg has grown to host a stable of long term, supremely talented professional artists and entrepreneurs who have found their creative niche within its framework. artegg.com.

Alexandra Kennon