Powerhouse Arts

powerhouse arts

Non-Profit | Arts Fabrication Facility | Committed to Creative Expression

Amidst the vaulted windows of the Powerhouse Arts (PHA) Loft —ma double-height space designed for artists to experiment, stage, and exhibit their artistic vision housed within the walls of the nonprofit's dynamic multi-use space — eighteen pieces from Authorne’s growing collection scintillated at golden hour.

Transformation, creative expression, and a commitment to knowledge-sharing is at the core of PHA’s mission...

Photographed by: Albert Vecerka

Located in Gowanus, the facility boasts a storied history as a Power Station in the early 1900s before being decommissioned and abandoned. In the early aughts, Brooklyn youths, artists, and vagrants descended on the building — dubbed colloquially the “Batcave” — and pioneered an experimental, inclusive culture that flourished as a site of both exchange and refuge.

Powerhouse Arts committed to the revitalization of the Batcave in collaboration with Herzog & de Meuron — distinguished for transforming, among others, sites like the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall into world-class arts centers. By the early 2000s, the Batcave’s own Turbine Hall had fallen into significant disrepair, and required a team with a vision for a new form of creative life within the facility walls.

The not-for-profit is committed to creative expression...

Transformation, creative expression, and a commitment to knowledge-sharing is at the core of PHA’s mission, a reality that drew Authorne to the organization for its inaugural exhibition.

Photographed by: Madeleine Thomas

Authorne celebrated its launch in the organization’s third-floor Loft with an exhibition of eighteen jewelry pieces alongside preparatory drawings, digital artwork, and a selection of Encounters. Two hundred guests gathered in the golden-lit atrium to experience the world of Authorne for the first time.

Photographed by: Madeleine Thomas

It seems to have resonated most with those willing to experience the works at scales both large and miniature...

The decision to exhibit Authorne at Powerhouse Arts was wholly intentional. The not-for-profit is committed to creative expression, housing arts fabrication facilities and empowering knowledge-sharing and cross-collaboration as core tenets of its mission.

Photographed by: Madeleine Thomas

Authorne, too, is a hybrid. A product of the artist's vision that pulls from the worlds of traditional sculpture, 3D and industrial modeling, and generations-old traditions of bench jeweler artisanship.

The world of Authorne was met with curiosity and open hearts. It seems to have resonated most with those willing to experience the works at scales both large and miniature, requiring wide-lens observation, and a magnified focus on detail.

Ultimately, this milestone ushered the next chapter for Authorne, inspiring the series of Encounters and one-on-one experiences borne of Bu's unique vision.

Photographed by: Madeleine Thomas