"For my Five Favorites, I chose to highlight works by some of P·P·O·W’s longstanding artists in conversation with pieces by more recent additions to the gallery’s program. Before founding P·P·O·W with Wendy Olsoff in 1983, I grew up immersed in the art world through my parents’ gallery in London, Piccadilly Gallery, which focused on late 19th- and early 20th-century artists. When we opened our gallery in the East Village, our goal was to present art that was completely different from the European Modernism and Abstract Expressionism that was popular in uptown galleries of the time. The work we were showing was not only socially and politically driven – it sparked conversations and actively challenged the status quo.

David Wojnarowicz was one of the early voices who helped define the gallery’s ethos, creating innovative work that forced people to take a closer look at the rapidly changing landscape of New York amidst the AIDS crisis and accelerating pace of gentrification. Joe Houston and Karen Arm have also embodied this spirit of engagement since the gallery’s early years, producing pieces that emit a sense of tranquility at the surface while confronting the precariousness of our social and ecological realities. Alongside the artists whose relationships to the gallery have spanned decades, we’ve also remained committed to uplifting new voices that reflect the ways in which our worldview has expanded. Artists like Ishi Glinsky and Erin M. Riley, who both began showing with us in more recent years, further cultivate P·P·O·W's legacy by creating technically demanding work that speaks to themes aligned with the gallery’s mission, but through new lenses."