City Beat
City Beat (June 7, 2006)
By Amy Lange | photography by Michael Shore
Jun 7, 2006, 12:51

Door to Door
ASWD’s Urban Alchemy features neighbors 4731and 555 Galleries

A found treasure, a vibrant transformation: Urban Alchemy not only celebrates what’s salvaged — this event sells it to the highest bidder. “This is a great idea, a really novel idea,” local attorney and Urban Alchemy auctioneer Charlie Langton said. “To take local artists and give them a door that’s been saved from a house in Detroit that otherwise would have been destroyed — to combine the old doors and the new artists to carry on this tradition of preservation.”

And preservation is what the Architectural Salvage Warehouse of Detroit is all about. Urban Alchemy is the ASWD’s June 9 fundraiser at the 4731 and 555 Galleries on Grand River Ave. and it’s the first of it kind — combining the talents of area artists and the finds of ASWD. The one-year-old non-profit deconstructs homes — saving valuables from landfills — recycling historic materials that others would simply throw away.

For this project, ASWD donated salvaged doors and local artists used them as their canvases — the creations range from colorful, to whimsical, to scenic and serene. “They’re amazing. They’re so different from each other. One artist carved into the door so it’s now a giant wood block. One made hers into a table — it’s really cool. One artist made a finish on the door that looks like it was fired in a Raku oven — it’s absolutely gorgeous,” project curator Anne Fracassa said. She explained other doors are paintings, while another features found musical instruments in a funky display.

Project coordinator Marsha Stopa said she’s impressed with the whole concept of the art show — salvaged items as art on display in two buildings that have been transformed from industrial warehouses into galleries. All of it happening in a neighborhood — the Woodbridge historic district — that is itself in the middle of a re-birth. “Everything is in context,” Stopa said.
 
It certainly is. One thing shared by ASWD, Urban Alchemy and the artists involved: They don’t look at “old” as a negative, but as a chance for renewal. “It was our first complete year of business and I wanted a celebration in the neighborhood for two other nonprofits that are struggling to make it and thrive,” ASWD’s Carolyn Mosher said, talking about 4731 Gallery and 555 Gallery. “I like the collaboration with two other organizations and think the doors are symbolic of our opening our new space — it’s kind of a birthday party that the whole community can enjoy, and a reverence for the found object.”

Nearly 30 artists as well as two area schools are involved in the project.  International artist Willie Cole also donated a door from his recent show at Wayne State University. “I’ve got my eyes on a couple of them,” auctioneer Langton said. “They’re really good and there could be some bargains out there. Some of the artists are really up-and-coming, some are nationally known artists — all are known here in Detroit. They’re great works to display in a home, office or business and they’re very much a conversation piece.”  | RDW

The Urban Alchemy Event Preview and Transformed Doors Auction is June 9 and tickets are $75 per person. The exhibit opens to the public June 10. For more information, log on to www.urban-alchemy.org.

FOX 2’s Amy Lange and Michael Shore are freelance journalists for Real Detroit. Please email comments to letters@realdetroitweekly.com.

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