Louise P. Sloane
1974-2009
My first loft was on Ludlow and East Canal. Then I moved uptown and pioneered a loft at 187 Bowery 1975-1979. From there we moved to 366 Broadway. I was represented by galleries in Soho.
Artist/Painter Worked in Little Italy as a waitress. My paintings were shown at OKHarris Works of Art and Semaphore Gallery.
The bonhomie and ARTISTS living and working there, instead of rich trust fund people. And how about Zelf Tools????? The Kitchen, when it was a performance space, Quiet at night because there was nothing open except Fanellis and Broome Street Bar. Most of all, I miss Ivan C. Karp!!!
I loved EVERYTHING about being in Soho - No one had "creature" comforts - we were all making art - sharing meals - it was a wonderful and exciting time to be in NYC
I lived at the perimeter - Even in 1974, I couldn't afford a loft. First place on Ludlow was super funky - a hotplate - toilet down the hall - but space galore! When I found a raw space on the Bowery - it wasn't easy - Then we decided to put all of our pennies together and buy a raw space in what later became Tribeca - thinking that that area would not become gentrified. We left because we could no longer afford to stay.
My first meeting with Ivan C. Karp. He was a great supporter of me as young artist - encouraged me - sold my work to collectors and eventually gave me several shows. He never called me by my first name -
I kind of slip under the radar - I tended to work at nights - and painted all the the rest of the time. As a young artist, didn't have the courage to correct galleries each time my name was spelled incorrectly - which now that there are archives on databases - has been a problem. And the beat goes on....