Lawrenceville has become an entertainment destination in Pittsburgh with an array of restaurants, bars, and venues dedicated to live music and more. But this month, the neighborhood will serve as the site for a new pop-up gallery dedicated to connecting Pittsburgh to art hubs throughout the country.
Lexi Bishop, a recent transplant to Pittsburgh with an extensive professional arts background, will debut here Gallery at Arsenal Motors, a renovated former auto manufacturing site located on Butler Street. The project will kick off on Sat., April 10 with the opening of Deep Blue, an exhibition showcasing the paint and drawing works of Los Angeles-based artist Molly Greene.
Bishop moved to Pittsburgh with her partner in August 2020 and has since looked for opportunities to translate her experience into supporting the local art community. Her background includes serving as the associate director of the Nino Mier Gallery in L.A. and working at the prestigious New York City auction house Christie’s, where she was a specialist in the Post-War and Contemporary Art Department.
While Bishop may have just settled here, she’s no stranger to Pittsburgh. She says she has visited the region multiple times over the past eight years, as her partner is a Pittsburgh native.
“So I’ve really seen this city transform,” says Bishop, adding that she remembers the times before Lawrenceville experienced its big boom.
With projects like here Gallery, she plans on bringing emerging outside artists to Pittsburgh and expanding the reach of talent based in the city. Bishop says she met Greene in New York while curating a group exhibition, and hopes to feature other artists from that same show.
She says Greene offers an interesting perspective as someone without formal art training. Instead, Greene earned a PhD in American History from Yale University and a graduate degree in Environmental Science, which she draws on to create her eerie floral paintings that examine the complicated relationship between humans and machines, all within a feminist context.
“A lot of the people I work with are my clients from New York and L.A. and I’m hoping I can introduce them to Pittsburgh artists,” says Bishop. “And that I can then get Pittsburgh artists into collections around the U.S. outside of Pittsburgh, which I think is also key to expanding their client base.”
She believes the Pittsburgh art scene has “some real gems” that would thrive at a national level.
Deep Blue will run through April at Arsenal Motors, a space Bishop says offers high ceilings, garage doors, and other attractive elements. Opened in July 2020, Arsenal Motors marks the latest venture from the local co-working company Beauty Shoppe, which developed the massive 30,000-square-foot, mixed-use building with Q Development and Ernie Sota of Sota Construction.
While here Gallery may only be temporary, Bishop says she is already on the hunt for a permanent gallery space in the city. She also has forthcoming programming planned out, including an exhibition with London-based painter Sinead Breslin, and a group show.
“I’m definitely going to set my roots down here permanently,” says Bishop, adding that tickets for the Deep Blue opening reception on Fri., April 9 have sold out. “I’m already feeling good about the future.”
here Gallery presents Deep Blue. Show runs April 10-April 29. Arsenal Motors. 3700 Butler St., Lawrenceville. gallery-here.com
New pop-up gallery blooms at Arsenal Motors space in Lawrenceville
