Tribeca’s Clock Tower Building is no stranger to illustrious tenants. In past lives, it was the home of the New York Society Library, the precursor to both the city’s mammoth public library system, and the Library of Congress. Then there was the Clocktower Gallery, an art institute created by P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center—which later merged with the Museum of Modern Art uptown to become MoMA PS1—founder Alanna Heiss. Jack Shainman Gallery continues that legacy with its latest outpost, The Hall, which opens there today.

Completed in 1894 by McKim, Mead, and White, considered the godfathers of Gilded Age architecture, the palazzo-style building is pure ornamental splendor: a preponderance of marble, Corinthian columns, and gilded ceilings. For the New York Life Insurance Company, its commissioning tenant, the building was a showpiece of the young city’s financial might. The Hall’s grand opening will take place in September with a new exhibition of sculptures by Nick Cave, but it soft launches tonight with Broken Spectre, a video installation by Richard Mosse that chronicles the destruction of the Amazon at the hands of greed and corruption. Footage of the Amazonian ecology, both thriving and aflame, is shown alongside imagery of the forest’s Indigenous inhabitants, and plays out on a 60-foot LED screen.

The Hall was a deeply intentional choice for Broken Spectre’s New York debut: the New York Life Insurance Company buoyed slow sales during its founding year of 1845 by branching out to the South to insure enslaved people as property. As the policies surged in popularity, the company grossly benefitted from its financial stake in enslavement before discontinuing the policies in 1848. Shainman and painter Carlos Vega, who are partners in business and life, spoke with Surface about the transformation, and how Shainman hopes the artists he represents engage with it.

How did you wrap your head around making this Renaissance Revival space a home for contemporary art?

CV: We knew right away that it would be a stunning venue for viewing art. I view it as an advantage that we can present contemporary art in the context of classic, timeless architecture. We want the building to work in dialogue with the art in interesting ways. The beauty and grandeur of The Hall certainly does that.

There have been some challenges, especially as we try to navigate the line between making the building new and vibrant while honoring its architectural history—namely, the building’s lack of wall space. But we look forward to those challenges and see them as an opportunity to find innovative install solutions. In the case of The Hall, we’re working on creating a system of temporary and movable walls so each artist can adjust to their own vision.

How will the gallery engage with the site’s history? As the Times pointed out, the New York Life Insurance Group “once insured the lives of enslaved people as ‘property.’”

JS: The building’s history is very important, and we want to allow our artists to engage with it directly. For some of our artists, it wouldn’t make sense for their practices. For others, it would create an interesting dialogue and build a deeper layer for their works to be understood in the context of the space’s historical significance. To that end, we’re leaving it up to them. It’ll be a journey of discovery for us all, but it’s something we’re always open to.

The gallery’s Kinderhook property, The School, was also a massive architectural undertaking. Can you fathom ever expanding the gallery into a turnkey space?

JS: I wish we were able to acquire a turnkey space, but I don’t think it exists for us. In our experience, when you take on a new space, a huge part of it is imagining what’s possible. If you’re taking over a space from a previous gallery, there’s always a desire to make it your own—to give the space your unique identity and accommodate your specific needs. We enjoy the challenge of it all, but it’s hard to imagine acquiring another space while we’re in the thick of everything with The Hall. I can’t even contemplate any more challenges! But then again, opening a gallery somewhere near a relaxing beach does sound nice…

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The mesmeric Melt Pendant has become one of Tom Dixon’s most recognizable fixtures since debuting nearly a decade ago. Designed in collaboration with Swedish studio Front, the blown-glass luminaire resembles a melted orb and emits a hallucinogenic glow thanks to its mirror-finish effect. The fixture is now available as a table lamp thanks to Dixon releasing the battery-powered Portable range, which also includes his Bell and Stone collections. “No longer do we want to be tethered to a fixed desk or power outlet, so increasingly we want our light to move with us,” Dixon says. Each lamp combines battery power with low-energy LEDs, offering nine hours of power with each charge. Each comes with dimmable settings, making them ideal for both indoor and outdoor use.

Fueled by the belief that process is boundless and infinite beauty exists in everything, Rafi Ajl’s practice strives to explore the rawness of material and push it past our preconceived limitations. Working under his moniker The Long Confidence, the Berkeley-based artist sates his curiosity by never buckling to breaking points and letting previous experiments flow into his work ad infinitum, whether they yield charming heirloom furniture or compelling glass vases that look chewed up and spit out.

Our weekly roundup of the internet’s most preposterous headlines, from the outrageous to the outright bizarre.

Man Streaks Naked, Does Cannonball Into Bass Pro Pond During Erratic Meltdown [TMZ]

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Man Pretending to Be Queen Elizabeth’s Footman, Selling “Antler Walking Stick” That Never Belonged to Her, Sentenced [ABC]

Man Says Exploding Toilet in Dunkin’ Left Him Covered in Waste, Debris. Now He’s Suing. [USA Today]

Stray Dogs in Custody After Causing $350K in Damages at Houston Car Dealership [Houston Chronicle]

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Where: Muzeum Susch, Zernez, Switzerland

What: The Swiss museum dedicates itself to promoting the work of under-known women artists, so it’s fittingly hosting the first international retrospective of Põder’s corporeal sculptures. Throughout her career, the late artist was fascinated by the human body, which she expressed through works that explored its vulnerability and impermanence. Unconventional materials, like wood, wool, and epoxy, along with dissected garments and accessories, create a compelling exploration of physicality.

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With a history that spans more than 100 years, Georg Jensen represents craftsmanship and timeless design, with lifestyle products ranging from watches and jewelry to home goods.

Surface Says: From silverware and cutlery to jewelry, Georg Jensen’s reverence for artisanal skill translates across mediums. The purveyor of fine silversmithing references nature and simple Nordic living in its designs, keeping the founder’s aesthetic values alive.

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