A Minute With Corey Presha
Hi! This is a newsletter about artists I like.
I began acquiring art through some friends who worked in galleries. I started small, working on a limited budget for stuff I could afford. As time passed, my collection grew, and it was exciting to watch many of the artists I'd collected go on to bigger shows and critical acclaim. My goal with this newsletter is to make a digestible resource for anyone interested in artists making excellent (and still affordable!) work whom you haven't heard about... yet.
I’ve been a fan of Corey’s work and when I saw him teasing a show he was working on of some artists he was into, sent the DM, and here we are. For me, an artist co-sign is the ultimate. I respect curators and dealers of course but there is just something unbeatable of artists showing/promoting/ other artists’ work. I don’t want to get into sports comparison but having played in college, I think that there is some similarities. Anyways, I’m excited to see Corey’s vision with his company, Corey Presha Projects and hope you will follow him and all his talents that we are lucky to witness.
How did CPP come to fruition?
CP: I’ve worked in hotels for the past 15 years—it’s always paid the bills while I made my art. And at pretty much every property, the art decorating the walls always seems to be an afterthought (or a complete miss). I'd always hoped I could use my eye to elevate the look or feel of any of the hotels where I toiled away for eight hours a day.
I started working at MADE Hotel in Manhattan a year ago. They had art mounted in the lobby that, frankly, wasn’t doing justice to the impressive design of the building created by Studio Mai. The director of MADE mentioned they were hoping to switch up the art; I jumped at the opportunity (despite not having curated a show since 2010). I loved the idea of Paris Bar in Berlin, or what Julian Schnabel did with the Gramercy Park Hotel bar (but a much less bougie version): how it’s not weird or low-brow to have great artworks shown there. I also think the bar atmosphere of a hotel can create a scene around the art, which is another goal of mine with this project. Let the people experience real art instead of boring, decorative kitsch!
Was there a specific artist that you felt was getting overlooked...?
CP: Aren’t we all? I just hope this gives me the opportunity to have my friends and artists admire shows in a somewhat unconventional environment and hopefully lead to hotel guests and bar patrons discovering someone they might never have.
...Or was it a space too good to pass up and you could just put on some shows?
CP: Definitely too good to pass up, as I have almost zero overhead and pretty much total creative freedom within the confines of the space. It’s the perfect opportunity to start a project that’s been on my mind for years. Also I love the fact that it’s essentially open 24/7. Late night heads can come visit me on the overnight shift.
Talk to us about the show coming up that I saw you posted on IG….when/where/why? How much did you put into this show with this specific group of artists ? Like, do they play off one another or more of just getting a great group together and letting the works tell the story?
CP: The inaugural show will open on December 4th and will feature paintings by Brandon Elijah Johnson and ceramics by Sholeh Hajmiragha. They’re a couple, and they share a studio, so their works play off each other well. It’s a comfortable relationship for my first foray into dealing, unless you count my failed attempt at selling pot in college.
If you could keep one work from the show, which one would it be?
CP: I luckily already own one of Sholeh’s wonderful ceramics. We’re not positive yet if it will be in the show, but Brandon makes these paper sculptures of objects in his room/studio: a PlayStation attached to an old tube TV covered in band stickers, a PBR, a stack of cassette tapes. The Arthur Russell ‘Calling Out of Context’ cassette is my Brandon grail.
Do you feel doing a project like this helps you in your own work? Or is there any effect at all?
CP: I hope it does. It’s been a somewhat rough two years with my own work—self doubt, lack of opportunities, and missed ones. I’m getting older and it feels harder to live in this capitalist system as an artist every year. I think doing this project will be a good fire under my own ass. I’ve got a lot of inspiring people in my orbit.
What’s next for CPP?
CP: I’ll be doing shows at the hotel every 6 weeks. After Brandon and Sholeh, I’ll be showing paintings by Tom Rees and ceramics by Eric Alexander. CPP won’t be tied to the hotel forever, but I’m beyond grateful to get my start at MADE.
Who should we have on next?
CP: My friend Michael Bühler-Rose, who is making some unbelievable works using wood inlays that are like nothing you’ve ever seen. Sheila Forde is also a brilliant and emotional artist whose work I’ve been stanning pretty hard.
****So many lists for holiday shopping etc. its too much. For anyone in the Portland, Maine area, my sister company, Goodstuff, is working with Dunes Gallery on a holiday pop up. We have sent 300 rare/out of print art/design/photography/interior books AND posters AND T’s and we will be live next Friday (more info to come). But if you need a gift, look no further and more info to come next week.