Madame Collette, doyenne of the Collette store in Paris, analyzes a Donald Baechler painting at Collective Hardware on Bowery

People keep trying to recreate Andy Warhol’s Factory. They keep failing…. The latest grassroots NYC effort belongs to Collective Hardware , opened a little over a year ago when five artists — a motley crew of painters, musicians, etc — moved into five stories of an old hardware store on the Bowery, between Broome and Delancey. Then, a fire burned through the place last October, killing some music equipment and paintings, but thankfully no humans. Now, just in time for Spring, a refurbished Collective Hardware opened up to throngs of beautiful people with a show of A-list artists last Thursday evening.

Donald Baechler. Kenny Scharf. Dustin Yellin. Ross Bleckner. Sante D’Orazio, celeb photographer. These represent just a few of whose works lined the first floor walls, an installation by Peter Makebish.

Blame Makebish for the turnout of models and art directors. He’s known as a deejay in trendy haunts from Wax back in the day to the Rose Bar.  And he’s most famous for having dated model Helena Christensen.

The guy has got some talented friends. While most of us weren’t so keen on Sante D’Orazio’s graphic lesbian sex photos in the back room, his Matthew Barney as a priest scared us half to death! See below for slideshow of some highlights.