Gordon Robichaux is honored to present an exhibition of paintings by Caroline Goe, a mysterious, visionary artist who sold her work on the streets of New York City’s East Village during the 1980s before disappearing sometime in the early 1990s. Like the self-taught artist Lee Godie (1908–1994) who sold her art to artists and students on the steps of the Art Institute of Chicago, Goe found an audience and market for her work in public space, where she sold her paintings directly to artists, writers, collectors, and passersby. This is the second known exhibition dedicated to the artist’s work and follows a 2019 presentation at While Columns featuring works from the personal collection of writer Lynne Tillman.

The exhibition at Gordon Robichaux includes a selection of sixteen paintings from the collection of Agosto Machado, a performance artist, activist, archivist, muse, caretaker, and long-time resident of the East Village, who acquired the paintings directly from Goe. The works exemplify her expressive, painterly manner, which she deployed on found scraps of irregularly shaped wood, fabric, and paper as well as circular metal stamper plates used to press vinyl records. Throughout the varied shapes and surfaces of the grounds, Goe revisits her chosen subjects—spiritual and religious themes, women, and animals such as cats, birds, and a panda—each lovingly signed with her painted initials “CG.”

Little is known about Goe beyond the recollections of those like Machado who observed her and interacted with her on the street. He recalls:

During the 1980s in the East Village, there was what people referred to as a flea market from St Mark’s Place to 2nd Avenue that spilled over into the parking lot near Astor Place. I first saw her behind Cooper Union next to the little park. She’d lean her paintings on the waist-high chain link fence and spread them out in front of her on the sidewalk. She’d usually have ten or twelve pieces that she transported in shopping bags. On the weekends, she often had her two children with her who’d be playing nearby. At some point, people in the neighborhood petitioned to stop the street market and she moved further East to Avenue B. She was prolific and people were fascinated by her work. It seemed she only needed to be there a few hours each day before she sold everything. The paintings were $1 each. The more intricate wood pieces, the small and large ones—they were all priced equally. She didn’t like giving change. (Read More)

In June, Gordon Robichaux and White Columns will jointly present a conversation between Lynne Tillman and Agosto Machado moderated by Matthew Higgs. A forthcoming book, published by White Columns, will be the first dedicated to Goe’s work.

Goe’s 2019 exhibition at White Columns was reviewed by Lynne Cooke in Artforum as well as in ARTNews, The Observer, and White Hot Magazine. Goe is included in the 2016 edition of Self-Taught, Outsider, and Folk Art (McFarland) compiled by Betty-Carol Sellen. Her work has been collected by numerous artists and writers including Agosto Machado, Chris Martin, Lynne Tillman, and Robin Winters.