From The Archives:
White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …

June 5–July 31, 2021
A gallery interior with three vitrine display tables containing archival ephemera from the 1970s. Flyers and archival materials from the 70s are also installed in rows along the surrounding walls.

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021.

A gallery interior with three vitrine display tables containing archival ephemera. Along the surrounding walls, flyers and archival materials are hung in rows, some in plastic sleeves.

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021.

Archival materials including flyers, installation images and exhibition materials installed in rows along two adjacent walls. In the foreground, a vitrine containing archival ephemera from the 1970s is visible.

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021.

Frontal view of a gallery wall labeled “1970s,” with archival materials installed in horizontal rows. A vitrine display table is partially visible in the foreground.

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021.

Twenty archival records installed in two rows along a gallery wall including press releases, installation images and exhibition notes.

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021.

Nine archival records installed in two rows on a gallery wall. Handwritten notes on the wall read “MARJORIE STRIDER, 1971,” “BILL BECKLEY, 1971,” “1971 GROUP SHOW, ORGANIZED BY ITALO SCANGA” and “JIM BURTON, 1972.”

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021.

View of the gallery lobby. On the left wall is a framed work depicting two women standing behind three white columns. To the right there is a gallery sign, another framed work and a bulletin board containing archival photographs.

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021.

Frontal view of a bulletin board containing a newspaper clipping, a floor plan and seven archival photographs. Printed on the wall above is the text “www.whitecolumns.org/archive.”

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021.

Close-up view of archival materials from 1971. The image to the left depicts Jene Highstein’s ‘Human Scale Container,’ and the image to the right depicts a schedule for films and performances at 112 Greene St.

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021.

Gallery view of a wall displaying sixteen framed works installed in a four by four grid. Printed on the wall above are the words “White Columns’ Anniversary Editions.”

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021.

Gallery view of a wall displaying sixteen White Columns Anniversary Editions. Two vitrines are placed in front of the wall, and to the right stand three mannequins, facing the window.

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021.

A wall displaying sixteen White Columns Anniversary Editions, installed in a four by four grid.

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021.

View of a wall with two archways. In between the arches, a flatscreen monitor plays a video recording. Three vitrine tables are spaced out along the floor of the gallery. Two mannequins stand to the left.

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021.

A wall with an arched entryway. The wall is labeled “1980s,” and various archival materials are installed on it. To the right, a slide carousel projector sits on a pedestal.

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021.

An array of archival materials installed in rows along two adjacent walls. A slide carousel projector on a pedestal displays a selection of installation images onto the left wall.

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021.

A close-up view of archival materials from the 1980s, including press releases, installation images and exhibition checklists.

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021.

Archival flyers and exhibition materials installed in rows along two adjacent walls. In the foreground stand two vitrines containing various archival ephemera.

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021.

Three mannequins wearing archived White Columns T-Shirts, facing a window. Behind the mannequins stands a vitrine display table. A flatscreen monitor is installed on a wall in the background.

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021.

Rows of archival flyers and exhibition materials from the 2000s installed in rows along two adjacent walls. Four vitrine display tables are also arranged along the walls.

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021.

Frontal view of a gallery wall, displaying various White Columns music-related ephemera. To the left stand two mannequins, and two vitrine display tables are visible in the foreground.

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021.

Overhead view of a vitrine display table containing various printed ephemera related to past exhibitions by Cady Noland, Fred Wilson and Gary Simmons, as well as to a group show titled “Real World.”

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021.

Overhead view of a vitrine display table containing various printed ephemera related to the past group shows “FOOD” and “Gloria: Another Look at Feminist Art in the 1970s.”

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021.

Overhead view of a vitrine display table containing various printed ephemera related to past exhibitions by Elaine Sturtevant and Group Material.

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021.

Press Release

White Columns is happy to announce ‘From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street / 112 Workshop, 1970 – 2021…’ an exhibition that considers the ongoing legacy of New York’s oldest non-profit, alternative art space. Drawn exclusively from the organization‘s archives the exhibition charts the history of White Columns over the past five decades: from its beginnings at 112 Greene Street in SoHo to its current home in the Meatpacking District. White Columns was founded by a group of artists in October 1970 and was originally known as 112 Greene Street / 112 Workshop. The organization was renamed White Columns in 1980 following its move to 325 Spring Street.

The exhibition is structured around a display of archival materials – inc. press releases, posters, flyers, correspondence, mission statements, exhibition schedules, installation images, etc. – that runs through the gallery in the form of a timeline. Three large vitrines contain a selection of printed exhibition announcements from the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. (The gallery largely stopped producing printed invitations c. 2008.) A further series of smaller vitrines focus on some twenty key projects from the organization’s fifty-year history – including those dedicated to exhibitions by Gordon Matta-Clark (1972), Louise Bourgeois (1974), Lee Quiñones and Fred Bathwaite (1980), Group Material (1987), Cady Noland (1988), and Fred Wilson (1990) among others.

Over the past fifty years – literally – thousands of artists have contributed to and helped to shape 112 Greene Street’s and White Columns’ programs. The exhibition, given the constraints of space, can only be a partial account of all this extraordinary activity. The gallery’s full archives can now be accessed online via our website at www.whitecolumns.org/archive/ – a resource that is constantly being updated and augmented as new archival materials come to light.

In conjunction with the exhibition is White Columns TALKS – a series of online conversations with artists and curators. The first event will be with the curator Catherine Morris and White Columns’ director Matthew Higgs on Wednesday, June 23 at 5pm EST. Event registration here. More events to be announced on our website.

The exhibition is ultimately a testament to the collective efforts, shared enterprise and persistence of the many people who helped to establish, run, sustain, and nurture both 112 Greene Street and White Columns over the past fifty-one years, inc. its staff, its volunteers, its board members, its funders, its audience, and, most crucially, the artists whose work was – and remains – central to the organization’s mission.

Related Press

Events

White Columns is pleased to announce ‘White Columns TALKS’ – a series of conversations with artists and curators held on the occasion of our 50th anniversary exhibition From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street / 112 Workshop, 1970 – 2021… , which is on view through July 31.

White Columns TALKS: Catherine Morris

The first talk in the series is between curator Catherine Morris and White Columns’ director Matthew Higgs. Morris will discuss her pioneering 1998 White Columns exhibition FOOD, that considered the history of the – now legendary – artist-run SoHo restaurant ‘Food’. About ‘Food’ Morris has said: “The restaurant ‘Food’ was … a remarkable place, created and run by an exceptional group of artists at an extraordinary historical moment. With Gordon Matta-Clark serving as anarchistic genius in residence, the restaurant was at once a meeting place, a business and a conceptual work of art.”

June 23, 2021

White Columns TALKS: Martha Wilson

The second conversation in the series is between artist and Franklin Furnace-founder Martha Wilson and White Columns’ director Matthew Higgs. Wilson will read from, and discuss, her 1975 project ‘Truck, Fuck, Muck’ originally presented at 112 Greene Street.

June 30, 2021

White Columns TALKS: Margaret Lee

The third conversation in the series is between artist and 179 Canal founder Margaret Lee and White Columns’ director Matthew Higgs. Lee will discuss her 2010 White Columns exhibition 179 Canal / Anyways.

July 8, 2021

White Columns TALKS: Marilyn Minter and Betty Tompkins

For the fourth conversation in the series, artists Marilyn Minter and Betty Tompkins will be in conversation with White Columns’ director Matthew Higgs. The discussion will take their respective White Columns solo exhibitions in 1988 (Minter) and 1991 (Tompkins) as its departure point. Minter and Tompkins currently have parallel solo survey exhibitions at Montpellier Contemporary in Montpellier, France that opened in June 2021.

July 14, 2021

White Columns TALKS: Hugh Hayden

The fifth and final conversation in the series is between artist Hugh Hayden and White Columns’ director Matthew Higgs. Hayden will discuss his 2018 NY solo debut at White Columns in light of his 2021 exhibition ‘Huey’ currently on view at Lisson Gallery, New York.

July 29, 2021

A gallery interior with three vitrine display tables containing archival ephemera from the 1970s. Flyers and archival materials from the 70s are also installed in rows along the surrounding walls.
A gallery interior with three vitrine display tables containing archival ephemera. Along the surrounding walls, flyers and archival materials are hung in rows, some in plastic sleeves.
Archival materials including flyers, installation images and exhibition materials installed in rows along two adjacent walls. In the foreground, a vitrine containing archival ephemera from the 1970s is visible.
Frontal view of a gallery wall labeled “1970s,” with archival materials installed in horizontal rows. A vitrine display table is partially visible in the foreground.
Twenty archival records installed in two rows along a gallery wall including press releases, installation images and exhibition notes.
Nine archival records installed in two rows on a gallery wall. Handwritten notes on the wall read “MARJORIE STRIDER, 1971,” “BILL BECKLEY, 1971,” “1971 GROUP SHOW, ORGANIZED BY ITALO SCANGA” and “JIM BURTON, 1972.”
View of the gallery lobby. On the left wall is a framed work depicting two women standing behind three white columns. To the right there is a gallery sign, another framed work and a bulletin board containing archival photographs.
Frontal view of a bulletin board containing a newspaper clipping, a floor plan and seven archival photographs. Printed on the wall above is the text “www.whitecolumns.org/archive.”
Close-up view of archival materials from 1971. The image to the left depicts Jene Highstein’s ‘Human Scale Container,’ and the image to the right depicts a schedule for films and performances at 112 Greene St.
Gallery view of a wall displaying sixteen framed works installed in a four by four grid. Printed on the wall above are the words “White Columns’ Anniversary Editions.”
Gallery view of a wall displaying sixteen White Columns Anniversary Editions. Two vitrines are placed in front of the wall, and to the right stand three mannequins, facing the window.
A wall displaying sixteen White Columns Anniversary Editions, installed in a four by four grid.
View of a wall with two archways. In between the arches, a flatscreen monitor plays a video recording. Three vitrine tables are spaced out along the floor of the gallery. Two mannequins stand to the left.
A wall with an arched entryway. The wall is labeled “1980s,” and various archival materials are installed on it. To the right, a slide carousel projector sits on a pedestal.
An array of archival materials installed in rows along two adjacent walls. A slide carousel projector on a pedestal displays a selection of installation images onto the left wall.
A close-up view of archival materials from the 1980s, including press releases, installation images and exhibition checklists.
Archival flyers and exhibition materials installed in rows along two adjacent walls. In the foreground stand two vitrines containing various archival ephemera.
Three mannequins wearing archived White Columns T-Shirts, facing a window. Behind the mannequins stands a vitrine display table. A flatscreen monitor is installed on a wall in the background.
Rows of archival flyers and exhibition materials from the 2000s installed in rows along two adjacent walls. Four vitrine display tables are also arranged along the walls.
Frontal view of a gallery wall, displaying various White Columns music-related ephemera. To the left stand two mannequins, and two vitrine display tables are visible in the foreground.
Overhead view of a vitrine display table containing various printed ephemera related to past exhibitions by Cady Noland, Fred Wilson and Gary Simmons, as well as to a group show titled “Real World.”
Overhead view of a vitrine display table containing various printed ephemera related to the past group shows “FOOD” and “Gloria: Another Look at Feminist Art in the 1970s.”
Overhead view of a vitrine display table containing various printed ephemera related to past exhibitions by Elaine Sturtevant and Group Material.

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021. (A gallery interior with three vitrine display tables containing archival ephemera from the 1970s. Flyers and archival materials from the 70s are also installed in rows along the surrounding walls.)

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021. (A gallery interior with three vitrine display tables containing archival ephemera. Along the surrounding walls, flyers and archival materials are hung in rows, some in plastic sleeves.)

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021. (Archival materials including flyers, installation images and exhibition materials installed in rows along two adjacent walls. In the foreground, a vitrine containing archival ephemera from the 1970s is visible.)

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021. (Frontal view of a gallery wall labeled “1970s,” with archival materials installed in horizontal rows. A vitrine display table is partially visible in the foreground.)

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021. (Twenty archival records installed in two rows along a gallery wall including press releases, installation images and exhibition notes.)

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021. (Nine archival records installed in two rows on a gallery wall. Handwritten notes on the wall read “MARJORIE STRIDER, 1971,” “BILL BECKLEY, 1971,” “1971 GROUP SHOW, ORGANIZED BY ITALO SCANGA” and “JIM BURTON, 1972.”)

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021. (View of the gallery lobby. On the left wall is a framed work depicting two women standing behind three white columns. To the right there is a gallery sign, another framed work and a bulletin board containing archival photographs.)

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021. (Frontal view of a bulletin board containing a newspaper clipping, a floor plan and seven archival photographs. Printed on the wall above is the text “www.whitecolumns.org/archive.”)

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021. (Close-up view of archival materials from 1971. The image to the left depicts Jene Highstein’s ‘Human Scale Container,’ and the image to the right depicts a schedule for films and performances at 112 Greene St.)

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021. (Gallery view of a wall displaying sixteen framed works installed in a four by four grid. Printed on the wall above are the words “White Columns’ Anniversary Editions.”)

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021. (Gallery view of a wall displaying sixteen White Columns Anniversary Editions. Two vitrines are placed in front of the wall, and to the right stand three mannequins, facing the window.)

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021. (A wall displaying sixteen White Columns Anniversary Editions, installed in a four by four grid.)

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021. (View of a wall with two archways. In between the arches, a flatscreen monitor plays a video recording. Three vitrine tables are spaced out along the floor of the gallery. Two mannequins stand to the left.)

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021. (A wall with an arched entryway. The wall is labeled “1980s,” and various archival materials are installed on it. To the right, a slide carousel projector sits on a pedestal.)

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021. (An array of archival materials installed in rows along two adjacent walls. A slide carousel projector on a pedestal displays a selection of installation images onto the left wall.)

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021. (A close-up view of archival materials from the 1980s, including press releases, installation images and exhibition checklists.)

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021. (Archival flyers and exhibition materials installed in rows along two adjacent walls. In the foreground stand two vitrines containing various archival ephemera.)

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021. (Three mannequins wearing archived White Columns T-Shirts, facing a window. Behind the mannequins stands a vitrine display table. A flatscreen monitor is installed on a wall in the background.)

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021. (Rows of archival flyers and exhibition materials from the 2000s installed in rows along two adjacent walls. Four vitrine display tables are also arranged along the walls.)

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021. (Frontal view of a gallery wall, displaying various White Columns music-related ephemera. To the left stand two mannequins, and two vitrine display tables are visible in the foreground.)

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021. (Overhead view of a vitrine display table containing various printed ephemera related to past exhibitions by Cady Noland, Fred Wilson and Gary Simmons, as well as to a group show titled “Real World.”)

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021. (Overhead view of a vitrine display table containing various printed ephemera related to the past group shows “FOOD” and “Gloria: Another Look at Feminist Art in the 1970s.”)

From The Archives: White Columns & 112 Greene Street – 1970-2021 …, installation view, 2021. (Overhead view of a vitrine display table containing various printed ephemera related to past exhibitions by Elaine Sturtevant and Group Material.)