Patrice Helmar, Dýrfinna
Welcome to the “Backyard Biennial,” which kicks off today, Friday, September 22 at 6:30 PM, a showcase of art, photography, and live events at the home of artist Patrice Helmar in Ridgewood, Queens. The Biennial runs on Saturday, September 23 from 12–6 PM; Sunday, September 24 from 12–8 PM; and Saturday, September 30 from 12–6:30 PM.
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Among the artists exhibited are faves Delphine Adama Fawundu, Yoav Horesh, and Thomas Roma — the Columbia University connection. Helmar speaks with us about her vision for the event, which is free and open to the public.
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Please talk about the inspiration for the Backyard Biennial. How did this idea come about?
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Patrice Helmar: This summer it was exciting, but also frustrating to see so many friends and colleagues posting their art travels. A common affectation was to extensively criticize work at various pavilions. I’m all for criticality but the mechanics of spectacle and spectator alike at such a grand monetary scale are hard to swallow.
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I spent part of the summer visiting my family and making work in Alaska. Before I headed north to buy the domain, Backyard Biennial. This felt like a small commitment to make a thing happen. What started as an inside joke became a serious curatorial endeavor as I reached out to various artists asking for their participation as early as May of this year.
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Ian Lewandowski, Alex, Lorenzo, Benji.
While Manhattan has gone completely corporate and Brooklyn is undergoing massive gentrification, the borough of Queens seems (from the outside at least) to retain the flavor of Old York. Could you speak about the significance of hosting the Backyard Biennial in Ridgewood?
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Patrice Helmar:. Ridgewood is where I currently work and live. I’m not a Native New Yorker, but I’ve heard from my friends who are about how much the city has changed. I’ve seen gentrification happen in the past five years that I’ve lived in the city, but I can’t imagine what it must feel like when it’s your own neighborhood.
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There are artists I know who live and work in the city that are like me. These artists work multiple jobs, live with roommates or their families, try to avoid marginalized roles in a small corner of the art world, and may work hard enough to have a studio. Often these artists are deeply in debt because of student loans, and may struggle to afford materials to produce their work.
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Having the Biennial in my backyard makes sense because it’s not an additional cost. It’s not a dedicated gallery space – commercial or otherwise, or part of an institutional framework. Another thing that has been interesting about putting the show together is having to consider that everyone who sees the Biennial will walk through my bedroom. It’s made me super conscious of my own living space, and feels very personal.
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Courtney Garvin, Box Braids
How did you decide which artists to feature in the show? What would you say are some of the defining characteristics and themes of the works featured in the show?
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Patrice Helmar: I’ve had a project for the past year called the Marble Hill Camera & Supper Club. It started when I lived in the Bronx and had a lot of space. There was a huge kitchen, and two parlor rooms. The house was a Victorian style home. Every month I’d invite four different artists, photographers, or writers to present their work via a slideshow. I’d cook a big dinner, and sometimes fifty or more people would show up. On average it would be about 20 to 25 people coming to spend the evening sharing work and hanging out.
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There are a group of artists in the show from my hometown in Alaska. I made a conscious decision to include their works because they make strong work that I admire, and it isn’t always the easiest thing to show when you live in an isolated part of the country.
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Also, I approached artists who are very well established. Some were unable to be in the exhibition, but two of my favorite artists, Thomas Roma and Tom Kalin were kind enough to agree to have works in the show. I’m very honored that their work is included.
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Why did you decide not to sell the works?
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Patrice Helmar: I don’t want the focus of the Backyard Biennial to be commercial. I want to people to hang out, and have art accessible and seen in a different kind of place.
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Sitting in my garden with a cup of coffee and looking at laundry across the skyline on clotheslines, hearing dogs barking and kids playing, and having my neighbor’s tomatoes creep across my fence as they ripen at the end of the summer makes me feel alright. There are a lot of things happening in the world that don’t make me feel alright.
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As excited as I am about sharing the Backyard Biennial, I’m really looking forward to spending that first morning alone with a backyard full of art I’ve handpicked, on a day when the show isn’t open to the public.
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Allin Skiba, Boys Don’t Cry
