On the Lower East Side, a Secret Space, a Mini-Biennial

A few years ago, the phrase “Dimes Square” began to flit around the art world. It had a youthful irreverence and seemed to be among those “if you know, you know” spots that only a few could point to on a map.

I was not among the few that knew. But just before Christmas, I learned of a pop-up group show in a building known as 1 Ludlow on Dimes Square. The show, titled “I Was Only Dreaming,” was organized by Club Rhubarb — which I did know about. A small starter gallery, it consists in its entirety of Tony Cox, an artist/dealer (and former pro skateboarder) and his small Canal Street loft nearby that since 2018 has served not only as his home-studio but also as his exhibition space.

Cox was given the use of 1 Ludlow, a small building at the intersection of Dime Square’s main vectors — Ludlow Street, Canal Street and Division Street — in the loosely defined boundary of the Lower East Side and Chinatown. The building fronts on three streets — each with its own address — and has numerous windows that compensate for the temporary shortage of electricity, which explains the show’s truncated 11 to 4 viewing hours.