Art Supplies and Utopia (a polemic)

Inaugural Exhibition at New York Pigment Co.

April 15 - May 20, 2026

Opening on Tax Day
Wednesday, April 15, 6 - 8 PM
247 West 29th Street
New York City

Michele Abramowitz
José Chavez-Verduzco
Janine Iversen
Elaine de Kooning
Justin Lieberman
John Miller
Armando Nin
+ an anonymous
19th-century colorist

Curated by C'naan Hamburger

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Art Supplies and Utopia: a polemic

April 15 - May 20, 2026

“(JG) Ballard cannot resist a characteristic inversion: 'I've decided to recast myself as Utopian. I like this landscape of the M25 and Heathrow. I like airfreight offices and rent-a-car bureaus. I like dual carriageways. When I see a CCTV camera, I know I'm safe.’” 

– WIRED magazine staff editorial, 2006

 

And then there was one. 

The last pigment shop in Manhattan. The impulse towards inversion when ideas such as utopia are thrown around is quite common. When beholding art supplies, creation is implied - like Plato and his goons imagining their crazy republic. The lot of them agreeing that, yes, yes, we’ll tell them all a noble lie! For the sake of unity there shall be a lie.

Fifty years ago, the artist Aura Rosenberg found one of those storied SoHo lofts/studios. It was –and still is– overlooking the building that used to house Pearl Paint. Thirty-six years ago, John Miller wrote a short essay titled, “Art Supplies and Utopia.” Imagine him walking past Pearl, seeing a rotating cast of art supply buyers going in and out decade after decade wondering if they are getting further from or closer to the material (their studio is still there).

His essay was written when the mega art stores were taking over regional shops and art schools were accelerating toward professionalization. To think that the total domination of both seemed inevitable. More inevitable still are the monstrous scale of Amazon as an art material supplier and the potential of AI as a tool (or overlord).

While many continue to mourn the loss of Pearl paint (it closed over a dozen years ago), some see the transformation of the location into a luxury condo as its true death. But the polemic is not found within real estate turnovers or NYC’s transformation. Let us not forget that Robert Perlmutter (owner of Pearl) was illicitly sending boxes of art supply enthusiasts’ cash to Florida to avoid taxes. (!!!!!)

The polemic is found in the situation. Elaine de Kooning’s generation eschewed the art supply store. Many preferring the hardware store. This began as a depression era strategy and after The World War boom it teetered between a concept and nostalgia for more authentic times.

The artists in this exhibition all approach materials conceptually leaving a pigment shop in a less obvious position. Using materials thoughtfully is not unusual. For example, in Tibetan Thangka paintings use each pigment with precise awareness as each has specific meaning. When taken in as a whole, they act as a roadmap to enlightenment. We live in times where god(s) is/are not a given and spelling something out renders it lifeless. With this in mind I organized the exhibition.

- C'naan Hamburger

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above: The Landscaping of Romanticism, by C'naan Hamburger; 2024 - 26, egg tempera, silver point, and dirt from Olmsted's park

 

Special Thanks to C'naan Hamburger

Our inaugural show, "Art Supplies and Utopia: A Polemic" has just ended and we'll miss sharing a space with these lovely paintings. It was such a pleasure to keep company with them this past month. The show was organized through the hard work of C'naan Hamburger. C'naan is a painter who works primarily in egg tempera. Her show "after Art" is currently on view at Charles Moffett Gallery in New York City (394 Broadway, Second Floor). We urge you to go see it before it closes on June 20th. She's calling it a "mini" show but within the 13 paintings, there are worlds within worlds. She'll have a larger "official" solo exhibition there next year.

We met C'naan as a Kremer customer a few years ago and she's become a great friend. Her enthusiasm for painting moved us to invite her to put together a group show, and she really overdelivered. The following is her statement on the show: