Lift Trucks Project is a project space and artist studio located in

Croton Falls, New York North Salem is a town in the northeastern section of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately 50 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. The population of North Salem was 5,104 at the 2010 cens ...

. It features up to four long-term exhibitions per year with notable pieces by FA-Q,

Christo Christo Vladimirov Javacheff (1935–2020) and Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon (1935–2009), known as Christo and Jeanne-Claude, were artists noted for their large-scale, site-specific art, site-specific environmental art, environmental art i ...

, Ottmar Hoerl,

Ed Roth Ed "Big Daddy" Roth (March 4, 1932 – April 4, 2001) was an American artist, cartoonist, illustrator, pinstriper and custom car designer and builder who created the hot rod icon Rat Fink and other characters. Roth was a key figure i ...

("Big Daddy"),

A. R. Penck Ralf Winkler, alias A. R. Penck, who also used the pseudonyms ''Mike Hammer'', ''T. M.'', ''Mickey Spilane'', ''Theodor Marx'', "''a. Y.''" or just "''Y''" (5 October 1939 – 2 May 2017) was a German painter, printmaker, sculptor ...

Sailor Jerry Norman Keith Collins (January 14, 1911 – June 12, 1973), known popularly as Sailor Jerry, was a prominent American tattoo artist in Hawaii who was well known for his sailor tattoos. Biography Norman Keith Collins was born on January 14, 1911 ...

, and others. In addition, Lift Trucks features a permanent "Arts and Industry" exhibit with industrial artifacts and folk art items on exhibit. The name Lift Trucks is derived from the former occupants a forklift repair, sales and service business that occupied the building for over 75 years.

Exhibits

"Christian Lemesle Exhibit"

Christian Lemesle's works were discovered recently after 60 years in storage. Some pieces bear the Rue du Dragon gallery label, while others trace their provenance to David Findlay Gallery, West 57th New York City. This collection of 18 pieces provide a glimpse into the Surrealists of Paris. The area where the Galerie du Dragon was located was the center of literary activities. Its “significance” is further accentuated by its association with the La Librairie du Temps (BookStore of Time), as depicted in a Lemesle work that features a large clock. Noteworthy events include an exhibition resulting from the collaboration between critic Jean Paulhan and artist Jean Dubuffet, marked by an invitation dated February 4, 1950, featuring a drawing by Dubuffet.

"From a Factory Floor"

Lift Trucks Project held its inaugural exhibition on June 7, 2009, entitled "From a Factory Floor". This featured a collaboration between Master Printmaker Gary Lichtenstein and 14 artists including

Alex Katz Alex Katz (born July 24, 1927) is an American figurative artist known for his paintings, sculptures, and prints. Early life and career Alex Katz was born July 24, 1927, to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, as the son of an émigré who ha ...

Gary Panter Gary Panter (born December 1, 1950) is an American cartoonist, illustrator, painter, designer and part-time musician. Panter's work is representative of the post-Underground comix, underground, new wave comics movement that began with the end of ...

Karl Benjamin Karl S. Benjamin (December 29, 1925 – July 26, 2012) was an American painter of vibrant geometric abstractions, who rose to fame in 1959 as one of four Los Angeles-based Abstract Classicists and subsequently produced a critically acclaime ...

, Ken Price,

Jack Micheline Jack Micheline (November 6, 1929 – February 27, 1998), born Harold Martin Silver, was an American painter and poet from the San Francisco Bay Area. One of San Francisco's original Beat poets, he was an innovative artist who was active in the ...

, and others. Curated by Lichtenstein, it features his collaborative Silkscreen renderings of these artists' works. The second exhibition of "From a Factory Floor" took place on August 20, 2009.

"Stefanelli-Hammerstein"

The second exhibition took place on October 10, 2009, and was entitled "Stefanelli-Hammerstein". It was on display until November 24, 2009. It featured a collaboration of drawings and paintings from notable artists Andy Hammerstein and Joe Stefanelli. Mr Stefanelli is one of the last remaining AbEx painters from the famous group formed in the 1950s.

"Wonders of Westchester"

This exhibit took place on January 16, 2010, and was sponsored by The Westchester Land Trust. It was the 8th annual photography show featuring over 160 photographs and 70 photographers. The exhibit was based on photographs of

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

and was judged by photographer J. Henry Fair

"Ekfrasis: An exchange between artists and writers"

Lift Truck Projects' fourth exhibit opened on January 30, 2010. It was curated by Pamela J. Hart, the writer in residence from the

Katonah Museum of Art The Katonah Museum of Art is a non-collecting institution geared towards visual arts, located in Katonah, New York, Katonah, New York (state), New York. It does not have a permanent collection, but holds temporary exhibitions. The museum was foun ...

and featured collaborations among artists and writers. In the exhibit "Each work in the show is paired with a text, sometimes old, sometimes commissioned especially for the exhibition and published in the catalog." Notable artists included

Saul Steinberg Saul Steinberg (June 15, 1914 – May 12, 1999) was a Romanian-American artist, best known for his work for ''The New Yorker'', most notably ''View of the World from 9th Avenue''. He described himself as "a writer who draws". Biography Ste ...

Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

Rockwell Kent Rockwell Kent (June 21, 1882 – March 13, 1971) was an American painter, printmaker, illustrator, writer, sailor, adventurer and voyager. Biography Rockwell Kent was born in Tarrytown, New York. Kent was of English descent. He lived much of ...

LeRoy Neiman LeRoy Neiman (born LeRoy Leslie Runquist, June 8, 1921 – June 20, 2012) was an American artist known for his brilliantly colored, expressionist paintings and screenprints of athletes, musicians, and sporting events. Early life Neiman was ...

, along with notable writers such as James Balestrieri, Marilyn Johnson and Ben Cheever.

"Cause & Affection"

This exhibit opened on June 12, 2010, and was curated by Kara Lenkeit. It was reviewed by The New York Times. It featured conceptual pairings of art by Scott Daniel Ellison, Nick Greenwald,

Scott Goodman Scott Linton Goodman (born 20 August 1973) is an Australian butterfly swimmer who competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, winning a bronze medal in the 200-metre butterfly. He was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder.< ...

Big Daddy Roth Ed "Big Daddy" Roth (March 4, 1932 – April 4, 2001) was an American artist, cartoonist, illustrator, pinstriper and custom car designer and builder who created the hot rod icon Rat Fink and other characters. Roth was a key figure in So ...

, Ellen Guhin, Christopher Manning, Mark Nilsson, Gil Riley, and Milton Stevenson, and others.

"The Unknowing Hand: A Story of Autism and Artistry"

This exhibit opened on September 25, 2010. It featured a collaboration of artists Darren Murray and John Michaels. Michaels was a special-ed. art teacher for Murray, who has non-verbal ASD. When teaching Murray, Michaels discovered that he would often imitate the teacher's drawings that were very similar to the original. The art features John Michaels' drawings and Murray's imitations of them. Proceeds of the exhibit went to a local special education school.

"The Art of John Michaels and Darren Murray"

This exhibit opened on February 4, 2010. It featured a similar collaboration as "The Unknowing Hand: A Story of Autism and Artistry" exhibit. It was reviewed by The Journal News.

"FLASH: Tattoo Art as Symbol and Sign"

This Lift Trucks exhibit had its opening on September 24, 2011. It was curated by Pamela Hart, and features tattoo flash art from over 25 artists, including notables such as

, Brooklyn Joe Lieber, and Paul Rogers.

"Body Electric"

A collaborative exhibit opened September 18, 2014 at Ricco Maresca Gallery in Chelsea, New York. Included were pieces from Lift Trucks Project including artist works of

, Cap Coleman,

Bert Grimm Bert Grimm (born Edward Cecil Reardon, later known as Bertram Cecil Grimm, February 8, 1900 – June 15, 1985) was an American tattoo artist considered the "grandfather of old school". Grimm's work contributed to the development and popularity of ...

, as well as various contemporary artists. The show was curated by author Margot Mifflin, and was reviewed by

Inked (magazine) ''Inked'' is a tattoo lifestyle digital media company that bills itself as the outsiders' insider media. Covering music, fashion, art, sports and the rest of the lifestyle of the tattooed, ''Inked'', like Vice, has made the transition from the news ...

and

The New York Observer ''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper printed from 1987 to 2016, when it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainmen ...

"Of Pirates Mermaids and True Love"

A collaborative exhibit opened September 24, 2016 at the Hammond Museum in North Salem, NY. It was a comprehensive show featuring the Lift Trucks Project tattoo collection. It was reviewed in the Bedford and Pound Ridge Record Review.

"Tattooed New York"

A collaborative exhibit opened February 3, 2017 at the New York Historical Society Museum, in New York City, NY. It showcased tattoo artists working in New York City over the last century and featured drawings from the Lift Trucks Project collection. It was featured in The New Yorker, Smithsonian Magazine, The New York Post and The Huffington Post.

"Drive By Gallery"

Lift Trucks Project recently started a project named The Drive By Gallery, to reach a wider audience primarily the car traffic constantly going by the gallery. It presents a new and uniquely American form of viewing art. Artworks are often rotated and always with documentation pertaining to the particular show can be seen on the website. In a bow to modern technology, Lift Trucks incorporated

QR codes A QR code (an initialism for quick response code) is a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional barcode) invented in 1994 by the Japanese company Denso Wave. A barcode is a machine-readable optical label that can contain information about the ...

and a live video feed. Exhibited artworks have consisted hand painted

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

era shoeshine boxes, industrial artifacts, vintage

tattoo flash A tattoo flash is a design printed or drawn on paper or cardboard, displayed on the walls of tattoo parlors and in binders to give walk-in customers ideas for tattoos. Traditional tattoo flash was designed for rapid tattooing and used in "street ...

, art by Erica Hauser, Carl Van Brunt, Chris Machin, Richard Osaka, and other exhibits currently in development.

Current

"Art and Industry"

A curated selection of industrial and vintage artifacts reflecting great design and art. It was featured on an episode of the show American Pickers.

References

{{Reflist Art museums and galleries in New York (state) Art museums and galleries established in 2010 2010 establishments in New York (state) Ed Roth