While Pierogi 2000 mounts traditional shows, Amrhein's innovation was to develop a system of flat files to store the work of 250 artists. The files are renewed continually - artists drop by with their portfolios and if Amrhein likes what he sees, he creates a file for it. Prestigious museums like Manhattan's Museum of Modern Art and the Wadsworth Athenaeum in Hartford, Conn., have sent curators to look at the files, but Amrhein is just as pleased when novices take an interest. Anyone is free to come in and leaf through them. Visitors can sonsult an alphabetized list or simply delve into a drawer at random.
Collectors find such openness unusal in a business that has a reputation for being elitist.
Providing a viable alternative to exclusive, high-priced galleries is central to Amrhein's vision for Pierogi. Although he says the gallery is beginning to break even, this slender profit margin means that Amrhein won't be giving up his work as a sign painter anytime soon. Amrhein's democratic approach to curation also sets Pierogi apart from other city galleries. That's the heart of Pierogi. It's really an anti-'80s idea, because he gets so little compensation.