A Stroll Through Chelsea

New York, New York

The Empire State Building. Not a great day to head to the top to see the view.

So after referring to the Chelsea Gallery website, I planned myself a trip back to Chelsea to visit a few more galleries. My original plan was to visit 8. They all had shows that were ending today so I thought I would hit those first. Of course once I got back down there and was paying attention, I realized it would be very difficult to get through the afternoon with only seeing 8 galleries. I think I ended up seeing visiting more like 15 or 16 (or something like that). It was a great way to spend an afternoon.

The 69th Regiment Armory. I told you I would go back and get a picture of the building itself.

Of course saying I am heading to Chelsea (or anywhere in this city on a saturday) is always easier said than done. There is always something going on. Today was no exception as I ran into some sort of a dance parade at Broadway and 23rd street. Not sure what it was but people seemed to be having a good time and on a warm and sunny day it is pretty hard not to.

Anyway, once I did make it to Chelsea I started to work my way through the galleries I had planned to see. Almost every one was on a different street so I just planned on making my way down one street at a time. Of course for every gallery I planned to see there were 6 or 7 more on every street I could also see. If I saw something interesting as I walked by, I stopped in that gallery too.

A random building in Chelsea.

Did I get bored with all these galleries? Of course not. Each gallery was a show by a different artist and each artist had something very different to offer. The galleries were also quite small so it never took more than 10 or 15 minutes to get through one. I assure you my legs got tired before I got bored.

Another random building......just a little bit newer.

What did I see on my tour of the Chelsea galleries? Well a little bit of everything. I saw a great photo exhibit by artist Robert Longo. Albert Oehlen is an abstract painter who uses collaged sheets of Spanish billboard advertisements as his canvas. Very interesting. There was an exhibit called the Imaginary Enemy by artist Liao Yibai. It was an entire exhibit of stainless steel sculptures that explore the Chinese imagined myth and threat of America during and immediately following the Cultural Revolution. Meant to be humerous at first sight and then reveal complex layers of meaning and significance the more you look at them. Also very enjoyable.

One of the exhibits that......well I am not sure if I enjoyed it the most but it certainly made me think the most, was an exhibit at the Postmasters Gallery. Artist Wolfgang Staehle uses still photos taken with a time-delay but shown in real time in his show. He has one set or photos taken September 15, 2007 at the Roman Forum so that brought back some memories for me. But he also has a set taken of the lower Manhattan skyline, September 10, 2001. His camera took 40,225 pictures over a 24 hour period. Interesting to look at the date. If he had set his camera up one day later, he would have captured the entire September 11th attack frame by frame....although there is always a chance that he did in fact do this but of course choses not to share those photos.

I didn't take any photos of the exhibits. I would have liked to have shared some of the things I saw with you but of course when things are for sale (like most of this art is) taking pictures for free is frowned upon. However, I could not resist taking one picture when I got to the Marlborough Gallery and saw the works of Chakaia Booker. She has proclaimed herself the "Rubber Queen" because she makes sculptures out of old tires. Just a lot of fun.

I had to sneak this picture but had to share. This really is made of old tires and a few pieces of scrap metal.

And well then I was tired. So many more galleries to see. I guess I will just have to head back down another day.

There is light at the end of the tunnel......well actually it's the Hudson.

Julie