DESCRIPTION:
Instigator does art direction, design, illustration, and publishing for clients ranging from art galleries to newspapers. The two founders, Paul Weston and Chad Spicer, went to school at the Rochester Institute of Technology, and they have 18 years of combined experience. In June 2004, Instigator opened a project room to display six exhibitions a year (an upcoming show features elegant matchbooks from the collection of Angela Woods) and a store division for prints, photographs, T-shirts, music, and multiples. Both the project room and the store explore the blurry area between art and design. Typical of Instigator’s approach to work is an invitation they did for a Feigen Contemporary group show of photographers. As Weston notes, “There is no reference to photography except the yellow that suggests a flash, and the type that slowly develops as the human eye adjusts to the card.”

VOICE:
Bjorn Borg’s Fila shorts inspired Weston to go into design, he recalls. “I still play tennis, just not competitively.”

DISTINCTIVE MARKINGS:
Weston observes that Instigator’s work is getting simpler and simpler. “We’re communicating large amounts of information with as little as possible,” he says.

HABITAT:
Instigator is located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, though Weston points out that its residency dates from BtC—Before trucker Cap. He works in a large space, with a low overhead. “I live there, too,” says Weston, “so my commute is about 43 steps.” The space acts as a store, gallery, recording studio, rehearsal space, and clubhouse.

SPOTTED BY:
Paul Sahre: “Designer starts his own design-based Williamsburg gallery space—I think Paul is pushing 40 and he is reinventing himself. What he’s doing takes balls.”

CONTACT:
718.388.2426 | www.lbinstigator.com

Written by Alice Twemlow