The Fun Gallery was an art gallery founded by Patti Astor and Bill Stelling in 1981. The Fun Gallery had a cultural impact until it closed in 1985. As the first art gallery in Manhattan's East Village, it exposed New York to the talents of

street art Street art is visual art created in public locations for public visibility. It has been associated with the terms "independent art", "post-graffiti", "neo-graffiti" and guerrilla art. Street art has evolved from the early forms of defiant gr ...

by showcasing

graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

artists like

Fab 5 Freddy Fred Brathwaite (born August 31, 1959), more popularly known as Fab 5 Freddy, is an American visual artist, filmmaker, and hip hop pioneer. He is considered one of the architects of the street art movement. Freddy emerged in New York's downtown u ...

, Futura 2000, Lee Quiñones,

Zephyr In European tradition, a zephyr is a light wind or a west wind, named after Zephyrus, the Greek god or personification of the west wind. Zephyr may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional characters * Zephyr (comics), in the Marvel Comics univers ...

Dondi ''Dondi'' was a daily comic strip about a large-eyed war orphan of the same name. Created by Gus Edson and Irwin Hasen, it ran in more than 100 newspapers for three decades (September 25, 1955, to June 8, 1986).Lady Pink Lady Pink, born Sandra Fabara (born 1964), is an Ecuadorian-born American graffiti and mural artist, active in New York City. Early life Fabara was born in Ambato, Ecuador in 1964, and moved to the Astoria neighborhood of Queens, New York wh ...

, and ERO. Contemporary artists

Kenny Scharf Kenny Scharf (born November 23, 1958) is an American painter known for his participation in New York City's interdisciplinary East Village art scene during the 1980s, alongside Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. Scharf's do-it-yourself pract ...

Jean-Michel Basquiat Jean-Michel Basquiat (; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the neo-expressionism movement. Basquiat first achieved notoriety in the late 1970s as part of the graffiti ...

, and

Keith Haring Keith Allen Haring (May 4, 1958 – February 16, 1990) was an American artist whose pop art emerged from the Graffiti in New York City, New York City graffiti subculture of the 1980s. His animated imagery has "become a widely recognized visual l ...

also had solo exhibitions at the Fun Gallery.

History

The Fun Gallery emerged from the

punk scene The punk subculture includes a diverse and widely known array of music, ideologies, fashion, and other forms of expression, visual art, dance, literature, and film. Largely characterised by anti-establishment views, the promotion of individual ...

of the late 1970s in the East Village. After Patti Astor returned to New York City in 1975, she became an

underground film An underground film is a film that is out of the mainstream either in its style, genre or financing. Notable examples include John Waters' ''Pink Flamingos'', David Lynch's ''Eraserhead'', Andy Warhol's ''Blue Movie'', Rosa von Praunheim's ''Tal ...

actress and hung out at the club

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...

, which became a

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

and new wave venue for bands like Blondie,

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.Talking Heads

, and the

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...

. In the following years, other clubs followed, like Hurrah and the

Mudd Club The Mudd Club was a nightclub located at 77 White Street in the TriBeCa neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It operated from 1978 to 1983 as a venue for post punk underground music and no wave counterculture events. It was opened ...

. Astor befriended graffiti artist Fab 5 Freddy, a link between the uptown

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

and graffiti scenes and the downtown punk and art worlds. As Astor was filming the movie ''

Wild Style ''Wild Style'' is a 1982 American hip hop film written, produced and directed by Charlie Ahearn. Regarded as the first hip hop motion picture, it includes appearances by seminal figures such as Adam Horowitz, Fab Five Freddy, Lee Quiñones, L ...

'' in 1981, she asked graffiti artist Futura 2000 to create a mural in her East Third Street apartment. She celebrated the completion of the mural with a party where many artists and art influencers attended. Due to the positive reception, Astor's friend Bill Stelling offered up a small space to open an art gallery. In September 1981, Astor opened the Fun Gallery in a storefront located at 229 East 11th Street for $175 a month. At the end of the year she relocated to 254 East 10th Street, where the rent was seven times more than the first. It was an alternative to the "pretentious" lower Manhattan art scene. Astor said, "We wanted to get away from that whole white people, white walls, white wine,

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

scene." It soon became a fixture in the downtown art scene. Artist Kenny Scharf had one of his first solo shows at the Fun Gallery in 1981, and he is credited with naming the gallery. At first, the gallery took on a new name for each show based on whoever was showing. Scharf decided that for his show, it would be called Fun Galley and then the name became permanent. In October 1981, Fab 5 Freddy and Futura 2000 both had solo exhibitions at the Fun Gallery. Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat had a solo exhibition at the Fun Gallery that opened on November 4, 1982. Basquiat's date for the opening was his girlfriend

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

. Basquiat started out doing graffiti as

SAMO Samo (–) was the founder and sole ruler of the first recorded political union of Slavs, Slavic tribes, known as Samo's Empire ("realm", "kingdom", or "tribal union"), ruling from 623 until his death in 658. According to Fredegarius, the only ...

, but by 1982 he had established gallery representation in the United States and Europe. Although his art dealer

Bruno Bischofberger Bruno Bischofberger (born 1940) is a Swiss art dealer and collector. Life Bischofberger was born in 1940 in Zürich. He studied art history, archaeology and ethnography (folk art) at the University of Zurich, with further studies at the univers ...

praised his Fun Gallery exhibition, Basquiat complained about the lack of professionalism and stated that he wasn't paid. Some of the paintings included in the show were '' Equals Pi'' and '' A Panel of Experts''. By 1983, artist Keith Haring was increasingly disassociating himself from the graffiti scene and was exhibiting his work in galleries. He wanted to support the Fun Gallery and the artists, so he agreed to participate for a February 1983 solo exhibition. As the landscape of the East Village changed with other galleries opening and the rent increasing, Astor closed the Fun Gallery in 1985, and moved to Los Angeles. In 2013, Astor released her memoir, ''Fun Gallery… the True Story'', recounting her time in East Village art scene during the 1980s.{{Cite web, date=December 20, 2013, title=Fun Gallery… the TRUE Story, url=https://obeygiant.com/fun-gallery-the-true-story/, access-date=2020-10-06, website=Obey Giant, language=en-US

References

1981 establishments in New York City 1985 disestablishments in New York City Graffiti in New York City Cultural history of New York City Defunct art museums and galleries in Manhattan Contemporary art galleries in the United States Art museums and galleries established in 1981 Art museums and galleries disestablished in 1985 East Village, Manhattan