Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
After a rollicking 18 months at 44 Avenue A, O'Flaherty's is out of the gallery-performance space on the NE corner of Third Street.
We spotted a for-lease sign on the gallery's awning early yesterday morning.
Artist, curator and owner Jamian Juliano-Villani confirmed the closure.
When asked if she'd reopen in the neighborhood, she offered: "We're looking for a space where the sun sets at the entrance, not rises."
When we asked her if there was anything else, she said, "Yes, Billy's pregnant," referencing O'Flaherty's gallerist Billy Grant.
O'Flaherty's debuted in February 2023 with "O'Flaherty's gelitin O'Flattering," featuring the Vienna-based performance group gelitin. The shows attracted big crowds.
And Juliano-Villani often seemed to be having the most fun of anyone...
Other memorable events included the debut of a Café (with art!) last August, which showed the work of seven artists and offered mac and cheese and chicken fingers, which may or may not have been part of the show.
Less kitschy offerings included solo work by longtime East Village resident Donna Dennis, part of the architectural sculpture movement of the early 1970s.
Broker Chandler Slate said the O'Flaherty's space is available immediately with an asking price of $29,000 monthly.
Upright Citizens Brigade Theater closed UCBeast in February 2019 in this space. The comedy venue opened in September 2011, and UCB took over part of the expanded Two Boots empire — the video store on Avenue A and the Pioneer Theater around the corner on Third Street.
O'Flaherty's previously had a year-long run at 55 Avenue C at Fourth Street, culminating with a mobbed show in July 2022.
At 44 Avenue A, the shows were few and far between but never dull.
6 comments:
$29K per month?!?!
Huummm, the entrance does face west so the sun DOES set at the entrance. But I always thought there has gotta be a better way to spend a trust fund.
that's such a bummer! Unique exhibitions, events, and a great mix of people, especially Jamian and Billy. Really hope they continue elsewhere nearby, in a more affordable place. That rent is insane ugh.
Landlords probably hoping for a chain store or something. Honestly, though, I won’t miss the gallery since the work didn’t appeal to me and the space seemed as much about partying as art.
According to Wikipedia She's the daughter of Commercial psinters in NJ, not a trustafarian but hey, creating something realbhas gotta be a better way to be than doing nothing except whining online. You can either do something in life, or stay an anonymous heckler.
And you can afford close to 400k a year for an empty gallery 90% of the time. Nothing says "daddy I want a pony" better then an empty gallery
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