> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://hyperallergic.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# The Brucennial in Photos
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/brucennial-photos/
- Published: 2010-03-19T15:32:30.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T15:41:25.000Z
- Description: It was a cold, snowy and slushy night in SoHo when the Brucennial opened. People were long anticipating the Bruce High Quality Foundation’s latest project which appropriated the Whitney Museum’s branding, packed a storefront retail space on West Broadway with a truckload of art, and placed almost ev
- Author: Hrag Vartanian
- Tags: Art, #image-position-hidden, Brucennial, Man Bartlett, Review, Rico Gatson, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2025-11-17 09:23 (2009-2011)

It was a cold, snowy and slushy night in SoHo when the [Brucennial](http://www.thebrucehighqualityfoundation.com/Site/Brucennial.html?ref=hyperallergic.com) opened. People were long anticipating the Bruce High Quality Foundation’s latest project which appropriated the Whitney Museum’s branding, packed a storefront retail space on West Broadway with a truckload of art, and placed almost everything up for sale.

These photos were taken opening night and I’ve paired them up (where I could) with Brent’s amazing tweet-like reviews.

*Click on each image to enlarge.*

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2010/03/brucennial-1-med.jpg)

General view of BHQF’s commercial Brucennial.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2010/03/brucennial-2-med.jpg)

#191\. Ray Smith – The line of this is more than a little head-filling. Gives me hope for sculpture.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2010/03/brucennial-3-med.jpg)

Veken at opening night.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2010/03/brucennial-9-med.jpg)

#116\. Jonah Emerson-Bell – I don’t know about Willie, Kasim, and Roger, but I’m pretty sure Todd is not.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2010/03/brucennial-4-med.jpg)

#78\. Rico Gatson – Blow. (Smartass funnyboy comments aside: Just to be clear. I liked this.)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2010/03/brucennial-5-med.jpg)

A work that Brent missed? I like to call this, “I want to be Richard Artschwager when I grow up.”

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2010/03/brucennial-15-med.jpg)

#192\. Elliot Arkin – Doesn’t give me hope for sculpture.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2010/03/brucennial-14-med.jpg)

#18\. Unknown — Hilarious but ugly.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2010/03/brucennial-6-med.jpg)

An artist gets too close to the art. — #106\. Unknown – Why? Although this did answer the question regarding how many people will walk into suspended underpants if you hang them from a sculpture. (Answer: Everyone.)

![](http://hyperallergic-newspack.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2010/03/Brucennial-9-MED.jpg)

Art on top: #45\. Unknown — Crafty fail; painting below: #44\. Unknown — Like an old David Salle painting, but with with a fear of the visual non sequitur.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2010/03/brucennial-10-med1.jpg)

#190\. Unknown – 500 LES clothing merchants in a single sculpture.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2010/03/brucennial-11-med.jpg)

#73\. Ron Gorchov – Very vaggy. Or very Natasha Fatale. Seriously. Tell me I’m not right. And tell me it’s not pretty awesome anyway.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2010/03/brucennial-12-med.jpg)

Whose your daddy?

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2010/03/brucennial-13-med.jpg)

#125\. Kevin Gallagher – Here’s ya skin fruit.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2010/03/brucennial-10-med.jpg)

I guess we’ll never know what this was …