the empty spare room
In the summer of 2003, my workspace spilled out of my studio across the hall to a spare room. As I worked in the empty room I thought about the possibility of utilizing the space as an installation site. I had just finished reading Virgina Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own and I contemplated the importance of time and space in relation to creative activity. I imagined offering the room to other artists who were interested in developing site-specific installation works. The support of my friends helped to qualm my doubts about the feasibility of such an undertaking; in September 2003, spare room opened her doors.
I invited Charnan Lewis and Lauren Bender to join me on a committee to review proposals for the space. We put out the call in the fall of 2003 and myself, Charnan, and Lauren each presented a project in the space while we waited for the proposals to roll in. In 2005, Bill Sebring joined the review committee when Charnan moved to NY. Over a three year span, spare room hosted over twenty temporary works. The works were on view for one night only, to a diverse and supportive crowd. I am eternally grateful to the artists and audience of spare room and hope this archive will help to preserve a project that was a true labor of love.
Gromit, the spare room's resident dog (with a fresh haircut)
