Brooklyn Artist Studio

When the artist Jennifer Bartlett decided to leave her longtime studio in New York’s Greenwich Village for Brooklyn, she found an old industrial building in the historic Clinton Hill District. The 19th century masonry structure was home to the Candy & Confectioners Workers Local 452, whose name remained carved above the front door.

The 5,200-square-foot two-story building has a unique character, with a generous tree-filled rear yard and a 22-foot-wide side yard that provides abundant natural light on three sides of the building in an otherwise dense urban cityscape.

Bartlett’s living and creative life are so entwined that there is no distinction between work/home. That idea governed the creation of spaces that flow from reception/administration to gallery/studio,  cooking/eating, sleeping/bathing, all opening onto a garden designed by the artist, with water and rock features. Two 30-foot by 35-foot open galleries/work studios, one centered on each floor, permit artwork to be created and viewed throughout the entire building.

Working closely with Bartlett, architect Berridge employed a deceptively simple gallery aesthetic in his design and renovation of the building, with little desire to provoke undue attention.