Lisa Kahane: A Partial View of Fashion Moda 

The exhibition examines the impact of the gallery, Fashion Moda, on the art of the 1980’s — particularly, the infusion of energy which resulted in the exchange of ideas between dowtown artists working in the Bronx and Bronx street artists.

The Fashion Moda, which began in Stefan Eins’ studio at 3 Mercer Street in Soho, moved to a storefront at Third Avenue near 147 Street in the South Bronx in 1978. There it provided a laboratory where untrained artists and those with art school backgrounds exchanged ideas, made art, and exhibited. Graffiti artists made their transition from subway to canvas here. It was here that Jenny Holzer and Lady Pink collabborated and John Ahearn and Rigoberto Torres met and began their portrait castings. Fashion Moda was also an early venue for Tim Rollins and KOS. Fashion Moda also supported installations in abandoned neighborhood buildings — such as Justen Ladda’s The Thing (1981) in the basement auditorim of an abandoned school, P.S. 37. 

In addition to producing exhibitions at its South Bronx site, Fashion Moda was a collaborator with Colab on the historical Times Square Show, exhibited at Documenta 7 in Kessel, Wester Germany, in 1982 (organized by Stefan Eins and Jenny Holzer).