HTG WILLIAMSBURG Brooklyn NY
THE FIRST HOLLAND TUNNEL GALLERY,
1997 - 2019 NOW CLOSED
’The smallest gallery of New York’ (NYT)
In November 1997 Dutch artist Paulien Lethen used the Home Depot garden shed in her backyard - model Chelsea, 8 x 10 ft./ 2 ½ x 3 m, -for an exhibition in a Williamsburg art tour weekend and Holland Tunnel Gallery was born. From 1997-2007 Lethen presented a monthly show schedule. Every exhibition became a unique installation with interaction between the art and the unusual space. The gallery gained recognition in the international art world and became a neighborhood icon as a microcosm of local and international talent.
Roberta Smith, art critic of The New York Times, reported: "One of the quirkiest spaces in Williamsburg is Holland Tunnel, on South Third Street, a front-runner for first place as the tiniest gallery in the metropolitan area.”
Music and events always added a lively element to Holland Tunnel Gallery. As the gallery only accommodated six people at a time, the parking lot between the adjoining brownstones served as meeting point, bar location and stage - no matter what the weather was! Visitors were found dancing to live jazz, rock and blues often, and the space became a cultural hub of the community.
Learn more about the original Holland Tunnel Gallery through the book, as well as the film Requiem for Williamsburg, about Paulien Lethen & the Holland Tunnel Gallery.
E X H I B I T IO N A R C H I V E
2019
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 24 REQUIEM FOR WILLIAMSBURG
Documentary at Williamsburg independent filmfestival
Requiem for Williamsburg tells the compelling story of Paulien Lethen, a Dutch artist and divorced mother who moves to New York in the early eighties to follow her heart. All she can afford is a broken-down brown stone building in the crime and drug-ridden neighborhood Williamsburg in Brooklyn. Against all odds she not only manages to renovate the house, se also opens the soon famous Holland Tunnel Art Gallery in her backyard. As Paulien is building her life and becoming successful, her neighborhood is also developing for the better. At the turn of the millennium however, Paulien watches gentrification affecting her beloved neighborhood in a way she never thought possible. She has to make a drastic decision.
2018
SEP 21 – OCT 14 BEADS AND BAUBLES
Carri Skoczek
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JUNE 1 – JULY 1 DARK MATTER
Kent Peterson, Marieken Cochius
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APRIL 14 – MAY 20 REVERIE
Alexandra Limpert
2017
Nov 17 – Dec 10 SAVANT GARDEN
Eric Sadowsky
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Oct 20 – Nov 12 THE BEDROOM
Kei Andersen, Vivian Bauman, Sasha Cahvchavdze, Robin Dann,
Chrispina Ffrench, Sandra Greuel, Marcia Hills, Nina Isabelle,
Paula Lalale, Alexandra Limpert, Eva Melas, Portia Munson,
Kara Grall, Hye Ryung Na, Loudres Sanches,
Carri Skoczek, Seungwook Yang
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Sep 22 – Oct 15 AS IF
Jenny Hellman
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June 9 – July 9 DOUBLE TROUBLE
Joy Walker | Sylvia Sherr
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Apr 7 – Apr 30 BONSAI GARDEN
Robert Egert
2016
Dec 10 – Dec 18 IT’S REIGNING CATS AND DOGS
Eric Ginsburg
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Oct 21 – Nov 20 MY WORLD, MY ART
Angiola Churchill
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Sep 16 – Oct 16 A SPACE ONCE OCCUPIED, NOW EMPTY
Marieken Cochius
2015
Ongoing (end date TBA) STAIRMASTERS/FRAMED
110 artist on the theme ‘framed’
Stairmasters, a four floors permanent art installation, is the third art space for Holland Gallery that Paulien Lethen started. It was launched in 2003 in the hall and monumental four-flight staircase of the brownstone next to Holland Tunnel Gallery. For a Williamsburg curators’ art weekend, gallery director/curator Paulien Lethen wanted to do something outstanding to present her stable of artists. She used the just restored hall and staircase as an additional exhibition space. From 2003 on, Lethen presents long-term exhibitions in Stairmasters. The artworks are installed from the ground to the top floor, inviting visitors to have some physical exercise while looking at the exhibition. The current show Framed, with a play on the double meaning of the word, features works by 110 artists, This mega group show includes a number of the 700 artists that have participated in exhibitions since the opening of Holland Tunnel Gallery Williamsburg in 1997.
2014
Nov 7 Ongoing (end date TBA) STAIRMASTERS / FRAMED
To celebrate 17 years Holland Tunnel Gallery Williamsburg, director, curator and artist Paulien Lethen invited 110 artist to participate with work with a free interpretation on the theme ‘framed’
Participating artists;
Marjolijn van den Assem, Lauren Bakoian, C Bangs, Sarah Barker, Joe Barnes, Wayne Barnes, Claire Begheyn, Jean Betancourt, Alan M Bolle, Céline Bouchez, Mireille Brouwer, Ken Butler, KaKyung Cho, Angiola Churchill, Marieken Cochius, John Crawford, Susan Daboll, Melissa Dadourian, Timothy Daly, Paula De Luccia, Francoise van Dijk, Elizabeth Duffy, Julie Durkin, Rupert Eder, Stephen Eins, Margot Farrington, Alexa Gambal, Naomi Beth Gans, Serge Gavronski, Stephen Gerberich, Luke Gray + Dorke Poelz, Meghan Harkins, Jan Hartzema, Heff Heisler, Neddi Heller, Jenny Hellman, Molly Herman, Shelley Himmelstein, Wendy Hirschberg, Cody Hughes, Matt Jenkins, Nikos Karpodinis, Miki Katagiri, Tim Knox, John Koos, Fran Kornfeld, Marni Kotak, Liv Mette Larsen, Gerda van Leeuwen, Jan Lethen, Roy Lethen, Paulien Lethen, Alexandra Limpert, Liz-N-Val, Gisèle A. Lubsen, Bix Lye, S.J. Lye, Ernest Marciano, Grace Markman, Tony Martin, John McNulty, Alice Meyer Wallace, Elizabeth Morris, Jan Mulder, Victor Nieuwenhuijs, Yukako Okudaira, Victor Ortale, Judith Page, Kent Peterson, Brian Prugh, Carla van de Puttelaar, Jacqueline Sferra Rada, Ellen Rand, Pablo Rey, Jacques Roch, Mimmo Roselli, Sheila Ross, Anthony Rubino, Kiyomitsu Saito, Heleen Schuttevaêr, Maartje Seyferth, Carri Skozcek, Louise P. Sloane, Andrea Spiros, Amanda Staszewski, Greet Steenland, Meryl Taradash, Judy Thomas, Richard Timperio, Nathalie Trovato, Francesco Mario Tumbiolo, Hans van Uden, Lynn Umlauf, Harry Vandevliet, Hanny Veenendaal, Victor Veldhuijzen van Zanten, Daniel Vernola, Rob Voerman, Michael Volonakis, Jan Maarten Voskuil, Larry Walczak, Joy Walker, Larry Webb, Anna West, Tristan Wolski, Peter Yamaoka, Christopher Yeatman, Apostolis Zolotakis
Stairmasters Framed
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Nov 7, 8, 9 GALLERY/ FRAMED
Paulien Lethen, Bix Lye, Jan Mulder
3 artists ‘framed’ in the Holland Tunnel Gallery garden shed for one weekend
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Nov 7, 8, 9 celebration 17 years HTG
GALLERY/PARTY TENT/PARKING LOT WEEKEND OF EVENTS
Celebration of 17 years Holland Tunnel Gallery Brooklyn and 5 Dutch Days in the Fall, launch of
the Holland Tunnel Gallery book by Mr Rob de Vos, Consul General of the Dutch Consulate in NY,
opening exhibition Framed
concerts by
Lex Grey & the Urban Pioneers, Heleen Schuttevaêr with guest jazz musicians Syberen van Munster, Vitor Gonçalves, Jay Rattman , Rick Rosato, Colin Stranahan, Ron Jackson, Adam Kabak, Art Lillard, performances by The Silent Brass Band (De Stille Fanfare)
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Ongoing till Oct 15 STAIRMASTERS/DELFT BLUES
125 handpainted ceramics by 50 Artists on the occasion of 400 years Netherlands-Japan connections
2013
Ongoing till Oct 19, 2014 STAIRMASTERS/DELFT BLUES
125 handpainted ceramics by 50 Artists on the occasion of
400 years Netherlands-Japan connections
A major exhibition at Stairmasters was Delft Blues (2009-2014) that celebrated the historic Netherland-Japan trading and the influence of Japanese ceramics on the world famous Delft Blue pottery. Paulien Lethen provided the artists with plates, bowls and vases. This resulted in an exhibition with more than hundred hand-painted plates by artists.
2012
Ongoing till Oct 19, 2014 STAIRMASTERS/DELFT BLUES
125 handpainted ceramics by 50 artists on the occasion of
400 years Netherlands- Japan connections Utrecht Netherlands
2011
Mar 31 - Apr 3 GALLERY/PARIAN STORMS
Lliam Storms
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Ongoing till Oct 19, 2014 STAIRMASTERS/DELFT BLUES
125 handpainted ceramics by 50 artists on the occasion of 400 years
Netherlands- Japan connections Utrecht Netherlands
2010
Nov 19 - nov 21 DELFT BLUES ARTS & JAZZ WEEKEND
GALLERY/PARTY TENT/PARKING LOT
On the occasion of 5 Dutch Days in the Fall, with jazz concerts by
Heleen Schuttevaêr and guest musicians Amanda, Sedgwick, Joris Teepe, Ron Jackson, Debbie Kennedy, Jarrett, Cherner, Jean-Clair de Ruwe, Jerry Sheldon, Jula Aimée, Maria, Christina, Anna Smith
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Ongoing till Oct 19, 2014 STAIRMASTERS/DELFT BLUES
125 hand painted ceramics by 50 artists on the occasion of 400 years Netherlands-Japan connections
2009
Dec 5 Ongoing till Oct 19, 2014 STAIRMASTERS/DELFT BLUES
Marjolijn van den Assem, Joe Barnes, Heleen Bijvank, Mireille Brouwer, KaKyung Cho, Angiola Churchill, Francoise van Dijk, Rupert Eder, Maartje Folkeringa, Monica Gaertuer, Serge Gavronsky, Neddi Heller, Tracy Heneberger, Nieske Kalkman, Karl Kautzinski, Fran Kornfeld, Paulien Lethen, Richard Lethen, Alexandra Limpert, Jos Looise, Tony Martin, Margot Farrington, Susan Mayr, Jan Mulder, Marc Peters, Jan van der Ploeg, Jacques Roch, Tony Roch, Michiel Sanders, Heleen Schuttevaêr, Michal Shapiro, Carri Skoczek, Andrea Spiros, Richard Timperio, Elisabeth Tonnard, Pim Trooster, Nathalie Trovato, Hans van Uden, Lynn Umlauf, Daniel Vernola, Rob Voerman, Joy Walker, Larry Webb, Terryl Sellers, Thornton Willis
On the occasion of 400 years Netherlands-Japan connections, Gallery director curator/artist Paulien Lethen invited 50 artists and provided them with a plate or vase to make a variation on the famous Delft Blue pottery. The result was an exhibition of 125 hand painted ceramics on the walls of Stairmasters, the 4 flight staircase of her monumental brownstone
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Nov 6 - 30 DUTCH DIRECTIONS
Marjolijn van den Assem, Hendrik Kerstens, Jos Looise, Paulien Lethen, Jan Mulder, Jan van der Ploeg, Teun Voeten; jazz concert by Heleen Schuttevaêr and Dutch musicians Tineke Postma, Joris Teepe and Hans Braber; from NY Ron Jackson
Holland Tunnel Gallery @ Artbreak Gallery
On the occasion of 5 Dutch Days, gallery directors/curators Paulien Lethen and John Ogren invited Dutch artists
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Ongoing till Nov 30 STAIRMASTERS/ NIGHT AND DAY
Group show
2008
Oct 11 Ongoing till Nov 30, 2009 STAIRMASTERS/NIGHT AND DAY
Group show
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Oct 11 and 12 GALLERY/WORDPIECE
Serge Gavronsky, Connie Lane
2007
MAY 6 - 27 GALLERY/ART CLUB JAZZ
group show
Group show on the occasion of the cd Art Club Jazz by Heleen Schuttevaêr;
jazz concerts by Heleen Schuttevaêr, Ron Jackson, Clemens van der Feen and others
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Feb 24 GALLERY/ONE NIGHT STAND
Group show
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Jan 6 - Feb 11 BLAST
Group show
2006
Nov 18 - Dec 17 GALLERY/CANDY BOX
Julie Durken
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Oct 13 - Nov 13 GALLERY/DOUBLE FEATURE
Jan Mulder, Bix Lye
the artists showed simultaneously works at Sideshow Gallery, Williamsburg
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Sept 9 - Oct 8 GALLERY/TRAFFIC
Alexandra Limpert
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May 5 20- Oct 5 STAIRMASTERS/STAIRMASTERS 4
Group show
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May 27 - Jun 25 GALLERY/THE SPRINGHOUSE PAINTINGS
Molly Herman
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Apr 22 - May 21 GALLERY/THE HOUSE OF LOGOS
Rudolf Huber-Wilkoff
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Mar 18 - Apr 16 GALLERY/MENAGE A TROIS
Tom Billings, Jennifer Toth, Jacques Roch
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Jan 14 – Feb 19 GALLERY/CLEAN START
Elizabeth Duffy
----> 1979
To see all exhibitions and events In Holland Tunnel Gallery NY and Paros 1997-2014,
we refer to the Holland Tunnel Gallery book