By 8pm on May 2nd, things were just starting to pick up in Chelsea. The High Line loomed overhead, but at street level, it was busier, much busier, than it should be on any other day for this neighborhood. That's because Thursday night is opening night, it's also when New York's art world comes out to play: galleries open their doors and welcome the public to enjoy new shows, drink from frank with white wine and even see a celebrity. (Last month, I saw Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick in Kasmin, for example.)
I start the evening at Friedman Benda, where director Erica Boginsky is introduced In current conditions, a series of unmissable pieces from designers such as Estúdio Campana, Max Lamb and Studio Raw Material. There are many people circulating between the front design gallery and the back room, where works are hung on the walls for all to enjoy. I pour myself a glass of wine from a table of open bottles (I told you so) and remind myself that beautiful chairs are art, not furniture.
It's Art Week, so the streets of Chelsea have a natural flow. Tonight, there is a clear flow between the New American Art Dealers (NADA) show on West 22nd St. and the Frieze Fair at The Shed. The cross-current between the two means it's impossible not to run into someone you know, which is what happened when I met Josh Campbell, COO of Eazel, a company dedicated to digitally archiving gallery shows.
“I love gallery openings on Thursday nights,” says Campbell. “Amidst the kaleidoscope of art, familiar faces mingle, conversations occur and new connections are always made. Although the crowds can be intense, the energy is always overwhelmingly positive.” On his way to see artist Derek Weisberg's piece at NADA's Swivel Gallery booth. The sculpture is of a head human that reminds me of a bust of Aristotle or Plato, only if they are not so fondly remembered.The precise scratches and placement of the eyebrows and features somehow make the skull feel more real and abstract at the same time.
Amidst the kaleidoscope of art, familiar faces mingle, conversations occur, and new connections are always made.
Descending again past the High Line Nine gallery, I pass artist Sarp Kerem Yavuz. “I've always loved the social component of being an artist, which I know isn't for everyone,” Kerem Yavuz tells me. “As a Gemini, I recharge my batteries by turning an opening into an event where you connect with people who then lead you to meet someone at Ella Funt at 11pm and then at Jean's. You blink and it's 4 a.m. and you only know half the people in your living room. These are the best nights.”
After parting ways with Kerem Yavuz, I start to head back east toward the subway when I hear a voice behind me call out, “Hey, Tim!” Two more artist friends are walking down 10th Avenue toward Meatpacking. “Are you going to Ana?” Before I could answer, we were in a taxi downtown Primo's.
