The work of 12 Detroit artists is currently on view at the Fred Torres Collaborations gallery in Chelsea. “Live From Detroit” was curated, at Fred Torres’ invitation, by Monica Bowman, founder and director of the local Butcher’s Daughter gallery space. (Click here for photos of the show’s opening party.) I talked to Bowman and Elana Rubinfeld, the director of Fred Torres Collaborations, about the show, its reception and the value of bringing diverse Detroit art to a broader audience.

Matthew Piper:  Elana, for many years, Detroit and New York have shared a porous border when it comes to art, but there seems to be a notable surge of interest in Detroit on the part of New York artists lately. Why do you think that is? What prompted the gallery to mount the show?

Elana Rubinfeld:  New York is probably interested in Detroit because of the huge amount of available real estate! But seriously, I cannot speak on behalf of New Yorkers. I can say that our interest in Detroit stemmed from one of the artists in our program, George Rahme. We traveled to Detroit numerous times to visit his studio. Through these trips, we became increasingly excited about the artists who were creating work there, in the educational environments, such as the College for Creative Studies and Cranbrook, as well as in the Russell Industrial Center and the hundreds of individual artist studios.

MP:  What has the reception to the show been like so far?

ER:  The reception has been extremely positive, with the audience wanting to know as much as they can about the Detroit art scene, as well as the artists on view.

MP: Monica, in talking about the show, you describe the “almost unlimited resources” of artists working in Detroit who practice “symbiosis for the sake of sustainability.” I can’t help but think of New York in the ’60s and ’70s when I read this. A lot of people (Patti Smith, for instance, who’s encouraging young artists to move to cities like Detroit instead of New York) are making a connection between New York then and Detroit now. Is this a meaningful connection to you?

Monica Bowman:  While I can’t speak directly to the Patti Smith New York/Detroit connection (I don’t feel comfortable talking about it not having lived in New York through the ’60s and ’70s), I believe her sentiment is true. Detroit has the community, resources and space to make ideas materialize quickly with the right amount of effort. The show in New York was an experiment in taking artists’ work made in one city and exporting it to another’s soil: Would the energy translate? Could we provide the audience something alternative to perspectives being produced about Detroit? The response was overwhelming and supportive.

MP:  Do you see any broad tendencies in the work you selected for the show? Would you say there are styles particular to Detroit today?

MB:  I believe the artists’ work in this show is counter to previous ideas of regional identity. There are no overarching themes, color palettes or shared materials threading themselves throughout the work. Globalization shrunk the world, and geography plays but a small role in the ideas being explored in “Live From Detroit.” However, there is something even greater bonding the exhibition together: the commitment we have to promoting positive discourse through work.

“Live From Detroit” is on view until June 11, 2011 at Fred Torres Collaborations, 527 W. 29th St., New York; 212-244-5074; www.fredtorres.com.