Adolescence in a small town can feel like torture. There’s too much open space, too many lazy days, and friends are miles and miles away — a long distance, even by car. One can feel alone and floating. more

Looking up the phrase “abstract painters” online yields men at the forefront. It’s always Jackson Pollock, Wassily Kandinsky, and Mark Rothko. more

It’s 1982, and there’s an exhibition in the loo. The thriving East Village arts scene the 1980s would become known for was taking shape. With a tax refund in hand, gallerist Gracie Mansion set to putting a show together for Tim Greathouse, a photographer-turned-gallerist-turned-graphic designer — in her bathroom. more

In 1974, with no end in sight to the Cold War, the Soviet government erected a 19-story structure in North Riverdale which best reflected what Americans considered to be the “backward” mentality of the Russians: They built the massive structure from the top down. A fence was built. Cameras were installed. more

It’s been two decades since Riverdale Cinema at West 259th Street and Riverdale Avenue closed its doors for good. A generation of moviegoers and aspiring filmmakers were without a venue in this North Riverdale neighborhood, and without a source of art. They once again had to bow to the undisputed ruler of the East Coast art world — Lower Manhattan. more

At first glance, some of the paintings looked like reasonable approximations of their source material. Others looked like they were forged in the fever pitch of a dreamlike trance. The painters were children. The source material was a drawing of Leonardo da Vinci’s oft-ballyhooed painting, the Mona Lisa. The setting was Yo-Burger. more

Dan Harelick arrived home from his job as design director for an advertising agency, and realized a total creative hole in his being. At 45, he was content, but not happy. Nor fulfilled. more

There once was a bookstore on Riverdale Avenue that welcomed late novelist Toni Morrison. It was the same bookstore that sold Salman Rushdie’s “Satanic Verses” in the late ‘80s despite the dangers that involved (as evidenced by the firebombing of the offices this very paper). more

At first glance, Suzanne Hockstein seems like any other punk rock mom, with dyed hair and tattoos on her arms. In truth, her past could cover the whole history of mid- to late-20th century counter-culture, almost making it look hopeful, ecstatic and even energized for the future. more

Imagine spending an entire youth, adulthood and middle age doing a single craft. One that’s laborious, specialized and dangerous all at once. more