Prior to January 2010, The Kenmore was referred to as The Fridge. Its first owner was artist Loli Fernández-Andrade Kolber. Fernández-Andrade Kolber housed The Fridge in her studio while attending the University of Houston. Fernández-Andrade Kolber housed a test-tube art project along with edibles in the space. In August 2007, Fernández-Andrade Kolber sold The Fridge to artist Emily Sloan in exchange for helping to move her out of her studio and a magazine subscription. Sloan then housed The Fridge in her studio at the University of Houston with drawings, lists, and notes on the outside walls and a clear resin ice-like rat on the inside guarding its edibles. In August 2009, Sloan relocated The Fridge to Box 13 ArtSpace, also in Houston, Texas.
December 2009, Aisen Caro Chacin and Tyson Urich hosted an exhibition called “Cooler Than Usual” at her N Gallery. This exhibition included artworks in the gallery’s freezer. Thrilled by this creative approach, Sloan approached Chacin with the proposition of a similar space. Chacin happily gave her approval. January 2010, Sloan changed the name of the space from The Fridge to The Kenmore to mark its coming out to the public.
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It immediately became clear that The Kenmore was an independent space in its own right. It has a life of its own, encompassing the refrigerator, freezer, the outside wall of the space, and even the surrounding area of wherever it happens to be. At one time, The Kenmore even ventured outside of Box 13 ArtSpace to Lawndale Art Center for an exhibition.
The Kenmore has offered artists from Texas to Switzerland the opportunity to collaborate with an every day object and hopefully some new insights. In turn, it is an object most of us have collaborated with since childhood, often in the form of drawings displayed on the door.
The Kenmore gratefully acknowledges all of its contributors including Aisen Caro Chacin, Box 13 ArtSpace, caretaker Emily Sloan, all of the artists/curators collaborating with The Kenmore, and other refrigerator galleries especially those exhibiting many artists' first artworks.
Contact info:
The Kenmore
Box 13 ArtSpace
6700 Harrisburg Blvd.
Houston, Texas 77011
713.582.1198
thekenmore@gmail.com
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