photo by (c) Joe Rose
Paint chips from the original Keith Haring Wall
In a now-trendy Lower Manhattan neighborhood, Billy Leroy laments the late edge and character of a place, historically a fulcrum of the cultural and economic challenges and rewards that made NY the center of arts and commerce that it is today. Reciting the history of a Lower East side that for generations passed "from ethnicity to ethnicity" as each wave of immigrants arrived seeking opportunity, until the cycle was displaced by the bulldozers of developers in the last 2 decades, he describes his prop and antique emporium on East Houston as the last remaining "portal to the Old Bowery."
photo by (c) resolve40.com
Staffer Kill-joy works the floor
Leroy is the present proprietor of Billy's Antiques at 76 East Houston Street. Founded as Lot 76 in 1986 by antiques dealer Rob Fennick, the venue (it's so much more than a store!) has witnessed the most dynamic of the art and cultural history of the city, bordering the East Village, SoHo and the Lower East Side. Billy himself stands between 2 worlds - both a savvy businessman whose knows what locals want and need in their homes, and a trained painter with a keen perception of what makes an object visually exceptional. There is always a selection of vintage grand mirrors and tall dressers in his shop for nest-builders seeking to make the most of their "only-in-New York" small spaces, but everywhere you look your glance falls upon myriad irresistible curiosities.
"Just wait and see who comes in here," Billy said when I arrived. One visitor was neighbor Scott Ewalt, curator of the exhibition "Liz Renay: How To Attract Men" (opens 1/9 @ Deitch) and avid collector of anything burlesque. Another was a young man selling pendants in the likeness of the outgoing President fabricated from - ahem - cow-dung... A memorable walk-in Billy recounted was a man who said he had a "tiger in his apartment." While the taxidermist's excellent work had not been well maintained, the unusual appearance piqued Billy's interest - the tiger turned out to be a more than century old specimen that a DNA test indicates is the only extant example of the extinct Javanese Tiger.
photo by (c) Whitney Ward
Artist Joe Coleman finds treasure amid Billy's rafters.
"You either have an eye or you don't," he says, and prominent artists (like Joe Coleman in the photo), actors and musicians, as well as prop-hunters, rely on Billy's and keep coming back for more. When a customer or acquisition needs special attention staffer Rick Crane, with 2 decades of special effect make-up experience, provides sophisticated solutions - even dazzling custom-designed glass eyes for the antiquarian menagerie.
When downtown mainstay Clayton Patterson began to think seriously about finding a home for his photography documenting decades of local life, Billy, with his keen sense of place, history and visual relevance, made the connections that led to Patterson's first gallery exhibition, the 2007 solo show "The Lower East Side" at Kinz, Tillou + Feigen in Chelsea. The spot also made art news this year when a Keith Haring mural was restored on a wall behind the lot. The tag of collaborator LA II ( Angel Ortiz)was included in the restoration, and the artist, a local and Billy's regular, went on to add many more - while being documented by Patterson - to the work. When Billy felt that a sculpture he had acquired, a white bust of Marie Antoinette, needed an artist's touch, he called upon LA II to mark it to perfection.
photo by (c) Joe Rose
Keith Haring Wall tagged by LA II
An artful life in New York is just not complete without a visit to this wormhole through time on Houston Street. Whether or not you leave with a storied object from Billy's collection, you are guaranteed an essential experience of the living history of your city, an infusion of inspiration, and the certainty the soul of downtown lives on and on.
Links:
Billy's Antiques and Props
http://www.billysantiques.com/
Clayton Patterson Show
http://www.ktfineart.com/past/?object_id=138&show=home
LA II & the mural
http://www.nypress.com/article-18601-arts-brief-writing-on-the-wall.html
Liz Renay Exhibition
http://www.deitch.com/files/projects/How_To_Attract_Men_PR.pdf
Joe Coleman
http://www.joecoleman.com
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