Chelsea Galleries

I recently met a fellow Brandeis alumna and several of her friends in Chelsea to preview three exhibitions at three different galleries. Chelsea is known for showcasing the most avant-garde artworks produced today, both by regional and international artists. There are hundreds of galleries in the area, which technically spans from 13th – 31st street, between 8th and 12th avenues. I would say that in that range, from 20-28th street is where the most popular galleries reside. Often, multiple galleries in Chelsea can be found under one roof, which makes them quite accessible to the viewing public.

Our first stop, Winston Wachter Fine Art, is located in one such building, which contains about 10 galleries- 530 W. 25th street, on 10th avenue. We saw a solo exhibition of photographs by Margeaux Walter, produced between 2009 and 2010. In her work, the artist is interested in exploring themes such as identity, individuality and technology in modern society. She uses her own image in digital photographs and lenticulars (a lenticular is a type of digital photograph that, due to its printing process, the image appears to move or shift with the movement of the viewer). The artist is a longtime resident of New York City, and describes herself as a people watcher. In her works, she has manufactured images of crowds in familiar scenarios, among them (to name a few) being a ball game, a morning commute, and a graduation ceremony. The crowds are composed of dozens of images of the artist who has transformed herself via elaborate costumes and makeup.

The next gallery we visited, called P-P-O-W, is just down the block. The exhibition they are hosting is called Debris, and is comprised of three separate artist’s works. The idea of the recycled material is a big theme in contemporary art. Artists like to use second- hand materials that they scavenge from a variety of sources. Stripped of their original context, these objects take on a new existence, and are created into works of art. I focused my discussion on the work of one of the artist’s, Sarah Frost. A native of Missouri, this show is her first time exhibiting in New York. Frost scavenges materials from garage sales and garbage bins. In her pieces, she uses recycled keyboard keys from a variety of sources- individuals, small businesses, financial institutions, government offices and fortune 500 companies. Each key has a unique history and bears the imprint of the thousands of taps by countless users. These days, keys are very connected to the human body. They are an extension of our minds and our bodies- specifically our hands, eyes and brains- and grant us access to the world around us.

We then returned to 530 W. 23rd street to visit the Noho Gallery, an artist run cooperative. The entire fourth floor of the building is comprised of such galleries. The artist currently showing at Noho is Zarvin Swerbilov, who was at the gallery at the time of our tour. Besides talking about his life as an artist, he gave the group a detailed picture of his artistic process. Before he begins to paint his canvases, he creates pencil drawings as he listens to classical music or jazz. He is not the first artist to make a clear connection between his art and music. Wassily Kandinsky (Russian-born French Expressionist Painter, 1866-1944) is particularly well-known for stressing this relationship. Swerbilov then records his reactions to the music in spontaneous strokes, only to then re-create the studies in color. The artist then shared a very endearing personal story with everyone. He told us that he showed these color studies to his wife on her deathbed. If she nodded and smiled, he created large-scale paintings from his sketches. If she did not, he would throw that one away. Something that I immediately noticed about Swerbilov’s work is his use of intense color. When I asked him about his color choices, he told me that they were a result of his years of studying primary colors, the color wheel, and color theory and by trial and error. The primary reason that I choose to go to Noho Gallery on my tour was because I knew that Zarvin Swerbilov would be present to talk about his life and his work. My guests agreed that it was a very special and rare opportunity.

To see examples of the artists work mentioned in this post, visit the websites below:

http://www.artinfo.com/galleryguide/search/nyc-chelsea/?neighborhood=81
http://www.winstonwachter.com/exhibitions_ny.php
http://ppowgallery.com/
http://www.nohogallery.com/noho_gallery/NOHO_GALLERY_Chelsea.html
http://www.zarvinswerbilov.com/