Phoenicia’s late, lamented hardware store is taking on new life – if only briefly – as “Building Light,” an installation by female-identifying art collective Studio Hinterland that incorporates sound, smells and unique lighting techniques as part of Upstate Art Weekend.
The storefront at 52 Main St. showcases the talents of 13 Hinterland artists using materials that include an old mirror, a vintage television set, repurposed curtains, sand, and chicken wire. Hinterland founder Jennifer Salvemini, who initially aimed to install an exploration of light, adjusted the theme to reflect the building’s history.
“After seeing the space, we reframed the concept of the installation to `Building Light’ to lean into this idea that we are building into a construction site, playing on this idea of the hardware store as the backdrop to the installation,” Salvemini said.
While Hinterland and its members have participated in Upstate Art since the event’s founding in 2020, the Phoenicia exhibit is special because it’s the first chance for many of the group’s members to display their work in a major installation, said Christina Varga, who runs a gallery and studio a few buildings away at 60 Main Street.
“We’ve done other art installations for Upstate Art Weekend, but to me this is the most significant one that, as a group, we’ve done,” she said.
She helped some of the newer artists install their pieces and encouraged them to seek competitive prices for their work.
“Women in art, it’s always been a bit of a thing,” Varga said. “It’s a male-dominated industry, and so this woman’s art collective, which is the only thing I’ve ever joined, is good to have available to women to do this kind of thing.”
Salvemini, who lives in Shokan, scouted locations around Kingston before Shandaken Supervisor Barbara Mansfield connected her to the owner of the vacant building. It presented challenges, including a lack of electricity, although the large glass storefront allowed plenty of indirect light.
Eventually she used extension cords and wires that run through the installation to light pieces in the exhibition.
“It adds to the idea that the installation is happening in this unfinished raw space where conditions aren’t ideal,” Salvemini said.
Mansfield said she hopes the installation sparks creativity for prospective business owners throughout Phoenicia and the Town of Shandaken.
“I’m most hopeful that their site-specific concept is going to spark some business-person to want to add to the fun of Phoenicia,” she said. “We have a lot of visitors here but not a lot of things to do.”
“Building Light” will be on display through Upstate Art Weekend, which starts June 25 and ends on June 29. It’s open to the public from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. and has an opening reception at 5 p.m. on June 26.
Kyle Bredberg is an intern and contributing reporter. You can reach him at reporting@theoverlooknews.com.
