Greenpoint Hill Showcases Art, Wallpaper, Ceramics, Jewelry From Brooklyn Artists

Kim Brown packs a lot into her 750-square-foot gallery-slash-boutique-slash-studio on Freeman Street. A lovingly curated collection of handmade ceramics, jewelry, fine art and wallpaper line the walls of Greenpoint Hill, nestled on the ground floor of a shabby industrial building.

“The artists are mostly local,” Brown said. “I’m trying to find work that’s a little different than what you see everywhere else. Most of the pieces here are one of a kind, and we’re definitely trying to support the local community as much as possible.”

Brown, a fine artist, quit her full-time job as a lawyer four years ago and opened the Greenpoint gallery two years later to reconnect with her art work. She wanted to sell pieces at a various price points to appeal to the neighborhood’s diverse population, with prints starting at $35 and paintings for as much as $3,000.

“I’m trying to make work that’s accessible to both people moving into the neighborhood who may be looking to decorate their condos, or buying the brownstones, but also artists and people who have been living here longer,” Brown said. “I just never wanted to have a place where people came in and there’s nothing they can afford.”

About every two months, the venue puts on a new exhibition focusing on a theme or artists. It also regularly carries pieces by certain makers.

Works include Brown’s own whimsical rabbit sculptures, handmade speckled pottery by ceramicist Signe Yberg and ombre-glazed bowls by artist Carol Joo Lee. Brown is also developing a line of removable wallpaper, with patterns by Danielle Kroll and Gray Flores, which is on display at the gallery.

And this month, Greenpoint Hill is filled with a collection of vases by local artist Alison Owen, who set out in January to create a vase every day of 2018. The vases include traditional three-dimensional clay vessels, sculptures made from fabric, paintings and paper collages.

“The only requirement was that the daily piece incorporate a vase in some form,” Brown said. “Sometimes, they are more traditional vases, which actually aren’t so traditional, and then some days they’re sewn out of scraps, some days they’re collages that are made out of design books.”

The vases cost $50 to about $700.

“What’s been good about it has just been recognizing that I can have a daily practice,” said Owen, who lives a block from the gallery and met Brown at a clay studio. “Living in New York and not making a living as an artist, I feel like I’m constantly juggling so much stuff, so being able to do this project and see that I can sustain a daily practice is encouraging to me.”

The next exhibition will feature works on canvas, panels and paper from Jenn Dierdorf’s Flower Paintings series. It opens October 18, with a reception on October 26 to coincide with Greenpoint Gallery Night.

Occasionally an installation will takeover the entire gallery. Brown is planning one featuring all women artists working in various media to benefit the Center for Reproductive Rights in late January and early February.

The daily vase exhibition will run through October 14 at 100 Freeman Street. Greenpoint Hill is open Thursday through Sunday, from noon to 6 p.m., or by appointment. For appointments, email info@greenpointhill.com.

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