Michael Rakowitz

In August 2001, TriBeach Holdings, LLC, opened floors six through eleven of 129 Lafayette Street in Manhattan as the site for a temporary exhibition. Curators were each given a floor of the building with which to work. The exhibition, entitled GZ:01, was staged to raise visibility of this vacant building for real estate purposes. Formerly functioning as a large, multi- storey community center and business network for the local Chinese community, 129 Lafayette Street was regarded as a prime location for extending SoHo’s gallery scene into a new area.

Fei Dar Bakery is located on the ground floor of an adjacent two-story building at 191 Center Street. The bakery is one of the most popular Chinese pastry shops and also functions as a meeting place for many young Chinese neighborhood residents.

In Rise, the central oven duct of Fei Dar Bakery is extended through the rooftop of the bakery, up 125 feet, and into the ninth floor gallery space at 129 Lafayette Street, filling the gallery with the aroma of Chinese pastries as they are baked. For the opening reception of the exhibition, Fei Dar Bakery provided pastries so gallery-goers could taste what they were smelling. Throughout the duration of the show, Fei Dar received a steady flow of customers who had visited the gallery.