The Chelsea Hotel

At PAN Amsterdam 2022, BorzoGallery, together with the London Mayor Gallery, presents three artists who stayed in the New York Chelsea Hotel in the 1960s:

Billy Apple  |  Mark Brusse  |  Jan Henderikse

In 1968 Jan Henderikse (Delft, 1937) exhibits a series of his coin reliefs on the roof of the Chelsea Hotel in New York. He had been living for several years as a 'resident' in that famous building in 23rd Street, an artistic breeding ground for progressive artists, writers, composers, actors and musicians. As a handyman, caretaker and house painter, he also pays the rent. He has made a deal with the building manager to paint all the bathrooms in the hotel. In this capacity he visits Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Leonard Cohen, John Cage, Jimi Hendrix, Jan Cremer and countless other artists.

The New Zealander Billy Apple (Auckland, 1935-2021) settles in New York in 1965 and he also moves into the Chelsea Hotel. In the years before, Billy Apple moves in the London pop art scene and is friends with David Hockney. That year, in his New York studio on 23rd Street, 'just one block' of the Chelsea Hotel, he works on an exhibition in Paul Bianchini's renowned Popart gallery. Influenced by the New York streetscape with its flashy and colorful neon signs, Billy Apple is working on a series of neon sculptures, which at the time was a completely new and revolutionary form of sculptural expression.

Mark Brusse (Alkmaar, 1937) grew up in Arnhem. At a young age he left for Paris where he came into contact with the Nouveau Réalisme of Yves Klein and Pierre Restany. Attracted by the new world, he leaves for New York in 1965 and also settles in the Chelsea Hotel, where his compatriot and friend Jan Cremer already lives. Brusse immerses himself in the New York Pop Art scene, befriends the avant-garde composer John Cage and is a frequent visitor to The Factory, Andy Warhol's famous hang-out spot.

Stand 36

Location
RAI Amsterdam
Hall 8
Europaplein
1078 GZ Amsterdam

Opening hours
19 November 12.00 - 20.00h (opening, invitation only)
20 - 27 November 11.00 - 18.00h
24 November 18.30 - 21.30h (invitation only)

The gallery is closed on Saturday 19 November.