This extraordinary three-dimensional package of LIVE THE ART, is a suitable homage to Jeffrey Deitch’s legendary stature and influence as an art dealer and producer of memorable installations and art happenings that robustly transcended the idea of a mere “exhibition.”
More than four years in the making, and divided into chapters devoted to each year between 1996 and 2010, LIVE THE ART explores in detail the astonishing shows and performances the visionary Deitch mounted in a one-story former garage on Grand Street in Soho that would be the primary home of Deitch Projects for fifteen years.
Deitch illuminates the founding concept by stating, “Deitch Projects was not meant to be an art gallery. The concept was simple. We would not operate as a gallery but would become a commercial version of the ‘project room’ that the Museum of Modern Art and a number of other American Museums had established in the ‘70s and ‘80s.”
Deitch’s original guidelines were simple: his intention was to invite artists who had not yet had a solo exhibition to create a “project” rather than a conventional show of work, and he would provide funds for the artist to produce their visions in the space.
The first artist was Vanessa Beecroft who produced “VB16 Piano Americano-Beige, 1996” which consisted of the immediately notorious roomful of models clad in pantyhose, bras, high heels and matching platinum wigs milling languorously around the space. Images in the book of this performance are accompanied by Beecroft’s notes and memories about the project, and this formula is repeated throughout the book with the artist’s own commentary alongside images of over 150 projects mounted in the space, and in other locations including Union Square Park, Woodlawn Cemetery, Miami Beach, Rockefeller Center, Brooklyn, and Deitch’s satellite space in Long Island City.
Artists whose no-holds-barred projects graced Deitch Projects in its fifteen years include Barbara Kruger, Cecily Brown, Malick Sidibé, Tim Noble and Sue Webster, ASFOUR, Liza Lou, a collaboration between Madonna and photographer Steven Klein, Kehinde Wiley, assume astro vivid focus, Yoko Ono, Jeff Koons, film director Michel Gondry, Dan Colen, Vito Acconci, Stefan Sagmeister, Stephen Sprouse, Jules de Balincourt, Shepard Fairey, and Miranda July, among many others.
A Deitch Projects event launch was the place for an art-savvy New Yorker to be, and the street theater of attendees became part of the events themselves. As Deitch notes in LIVE THE ART, “One of my goals in starting Deitch Projects was to create not just a gallery but a community. It is very rewarding to see that we created not just a community, but an art family.” There is no question that this goal was achieved, and LIVE THE ART is a detailed look back on every event created by Deitch and shared by this “family” of artists and art lovers for fifteen incredible years.
This extraordinary three-dimensional package of LIVE THE ART, is a suitable homage to Jeffrey Deitch’s legendary stature and influence as an art dealer and producer of memorable installations and art happenings that robustly transcended the idea of a mere “exhibition.”
More than four years in the making, and divided into chapters devoted to each year between 1996 and 2010, LIVE THE ART explores in detail the astonishing shows and performances the visionary Deitch mounted in a one-story former garage on Grand Street in Soho that would be the primary home of Deitch Projects for fifteen years.
Deitch illuminates the founding concept by stating, “Deitch Projects was not meant to be an art gallery. The concept was simple. We would not operate as a gallery but would become a commercial version of the ‘project room’ that the Museum of Modern Art and a number of other American Museums had established in the ‘70s and ‘80s.”
Deitch’s original guidelines were simple: his intention was to invite artists who had not yet had a solo exhibition to create a “project” rather than a conventional show of work, and he would provide funds for the artist to produce their visions in the space.
The first artist was Vanessa Beecroft who produced “VB16 Piano Americano-Beige, 1996” which consisted of the immediately notorious roomful of models clad in pantyhose, bras, high heels and matching platinum wigs milling languorously around the space. Images in the book of this performance are accompanied by Beecroft’s notes and memories about the project, and this formula is repeated throughout the book with the artist’s own commentary alongside images of over 150 projects mounted in the space, and in other locations including Union Square Park, Woodlawn Cemetery, Miami Beach, Rockefeller Center, Brooklyn, and Deitch’s satellite space in Long Island City.
Artists whose no-holds-barred projects graced Deitch Projects in its fifteen years include Barbara Kruger, Cecily Brown, Malick Sidibé, Tim Noble and Sue Webster, ASFOUR, Liza Lou, a collaboration between Madonna and photographer Steven Klein, Kehinde Wiley, assume astro vivid focus, Yoko Ono, Jeff Koons, film director Michel Gondry, Dan Colen, Vito Acconci, Stefan Sagmeister, Stephen Sprouse, Jules de Balincourt, Shepard Fairey, and Miranda July, among many others.
A Deitch Projects event launch was the place for an art-savvy New Yorker to be, and the street theater of attendees became part of the events themselves. As Deitch notes in LIVE THE ART, “One of my goals in starting Deitch Projects was to create not just a gallery but a community. It is very rewarding to see that we created not just a community, but an art family.” There is no question that this goal was achieved, and LIVE THE ART is a detailed look back on every event created by Deitch and shared by this “family” of artists and art lovers for fifteen incredible years.
In celebration of Caribbean American Heritage Month in June, we are sharing a collection of books by Caribbean American and Caribbean authors that includes fiction, memoir, non-fiction, and history. Find a full collection of titles here.
On Monday, May 5, three Penguin Random House authors were honored with a Pulitzer Prize. Established in 1917, the Pulitzer Prizes are the most prestigious awards in American letters. To date, PRH has 143 Pulitzer Prize winners, including William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Josh Steinbeck, Ron Chernow, Anne Applebaum, Colson Whitehead, and many more. Take a look at our 2025 Pulitzer Prize
In June, we celebrate Black Music Appreciation month and the influential Black musicians and artists who have brought entertainment to their communities and beyond, and inspired others to make their own art. Collection of titles for Black Music Appreciation Month
In June we celebrate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual + (LGBTQIA+) Pride Month, which honors the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan. Pride Month is a time to both celebrate the accomplishments of those in the LGBTQ+ community and recognize the ongoing struggles faced by many across the world who wish to live
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