INTRODUCING MIDDLE NODE

by Lexi Bishop
Cover image by Josh Rievel

Editor’s Note: When I first moved to Pittsburgh, Lexi Bishop’s here gallery was the only contemporary commercial art gallery that regularly showed artists from other cities. Lexi is both an advocate for Pittsburgh and a robust connector of the city to the outside. When I covered here’s closure in 2024, I was surprised at how optimistic Lexi was. Now I see that the gallery closing allowed her the space to create something new: Middle Node.

Middle Node, a gallery guide and digital publication, is filling a niche that will allow Petrichor to grow, too. The presence of other newly launched publications, like Middle Node, DEJA, and Pittsburgh Manifold, helps Petrichor to better define what it is and isn’t. We have some collaborations planned, and the calendar and map Lexi created will better allow writers to know what’s going on in Pittsburgh and when. It’s a valuable new piece of infrastructure for the city’s art community.

When I started this magazine, I could not have imagined how it would grow. At the last Carnegie International in 2022, it didn’t even exist yet. Walking into the museum today and knowing that Pittsburgh has multiple independent magazines and I am a part of that is a great feeling. Lexi has let us republish her statement on what Middle Node is and where you can find it in the coming months. We hope you will check it out and look forward to working with their team.

-ER

I am so excited to announce the launch of the Middle Node Gallery Guide.

Covering Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Cleveland, and Detroit, the Gallery Guide includes a comprehensive listing of art spaces—from the DIY to the institutional—, current and forthcoming exhibition listings, a customizable and shareable map, and an events calendar. 

As a Program Partner for the 59th Carnegie International, which opens to the public May 2nd, 2026, and runs through January 7, 2027, Middle Node is producing a printed map of Pittsburgh art spaces featuring over 60 spaces across the city. These maps will be available at numerous locations around the city, including the Carnegie Museum, Mattress Factory, and Andy Warhol Museum. The 58th Carnegie International, which ran from September 2022 to April 2023, drew approximately 260,000 visitors from around 40 countries. The Middle Node Gallery Guide and printed map will be an invaluable resource for visitors to Pittsburgh and the surrounding region during the opening weekend and forthcoming programs throughout the year. 

Over the summer, we will be launching Middle Node’s digital publication, covering arts and culture in the Rust Belt. I’m excited to announce that our editorial team includes Paula Kupfer, writer and art history professor at the University of Pittsburgh and former managing editor of Aperture Magazine; Ashely Cook, founder of Runner Detroit; Jon Gott, artist, writer & co-founder of SHED Projects in Cleveland; and Nando Alvarez-Perez, editor-in-chief of Cornelia Magazine and co-founder of the Buffalo Institute of Contemporary Art.

See Middle Node mentioned in “Pittsburgh’s burgeoning gallery community readies for its moment in art world spotlight” by Louis Bury for The Art Newspaper.

This project is the result of an incredible community effort. Special thanks to those who contributed their time, energy, and equity: Patrick Bova, Lucas Regazzi, Paula Kupfer, Michael Cullan, Austin McDonald, Chris & Dawn Fleischner, and Janera Solomon & the Art Power team.

If you are interested in supporting this emergent publication and guide, or are interested in collaborating, please be in touch. 

Lexi Bishop received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History and Russian Language from Bryn Mawr College, and a Master’s degree in The History of Art and The Art Market: Modern & Contemporary Art from Christie’s Education. She has also successfully completed training in the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice facilitated by a certified AQB instructor from the Appraisers Association of America. Lexi is on the board of the Silver Eye Center for Photography.

This month’s articles are generously supported by Lewis Hine Pictures America at the Frick. Discover photography’s radical capacity through May 17. Tickets now on sale.