Gail Rothschild

"Found in Brooklyn" by Gail Rothschild.
Crack Vials, fabric and thread.

Gail Rothschild’s submitted this piece, which has generated a lot of conversation at the “Found in Brooklyn” art show at Freddy’s.

Yes. Gail found all these crack vials in Brooklyn. Most of them come from under the benches on Eastern Parkway near the Brooklyn Museum. Who knew that crack viles came in such a rainbow of colors?

This photograph does not do this piece justice. It is hard to tell that Gail has hand sewn these crack vials onto the fabric with her amazing embroidery skills. Gail Rothschild is actually a competitive rock climber and finds much of her influence for her art in nature. When I visited her Prospect Heights studio I was bowled over by her intricate embroideries of rhizomes, which are the stems of plants. When I asked her, if any of them were from her backyard searching for the “Found in Brooklyn” angle she said “no, but I am found in Brooklyn!” I was fine with that but later she contacted me and said she had something for the show that she had forgotten about and was absolutely perfect. She couldn't have been more correct!

Someone recently mentioned to me that they were mesmerized by the repetition in the piece and in reading Gail’s artist statement I found a quote from her; “Through repetition may come transcendence.”

Not quite sure if that applies to the person who is actually smoking the crack (I bet the transcendence runs out as soon as the supply!) but I know that repetition through tasks like sewing can be very meditative.

Not only has Gail exhibited at Freddy’s but she has also exhibited at P.S 1 in Long Island City and Kentler International Drawing Center here in Brooklyn amongst many others. She will participate in the Red Dot Art Fair in Manhattan with the Susan Eley Gallery from March 27-30th.

The show will be hanging up at Freddy's for another couple of weeks. Do stop in between the hours of 11 am to 4 am, 7 days a week to see the whole thing. Take a look at Gail’s website to see more of her fine work.

Freddy's Bar & Backroom
located at:
485 Dean Street Brooklyn, NY 11215
phone: 718.622.7035
That's the corner of Dean Street and 6th Avenue in Brooklyn.