As a departure from their daily lives of debriefing and reviewing cases, a group of summer law associates and partners and I went on an art tour of three Chelsea Galleries. We visited Gagosian Gallery, Pleiades Gallery and Axelle Fine Arts before heading to the High Line.
As many of my guests were from out of town, I began by discussing a bit about the history of Chelsea as a neighborhood. It is certainly an unusual part of town, where gas stations, warehouses and low-income housing projects stand side by side world famous art galleries, chic restaurants and multi-million dollar condos.
As we entered our first gallery, Gagosian, I gave a brief talk about the history of the gallery and asked that each person take in the dramatic surroundings before we even began to discuss the art - the ceilings must be at least 30 feet high. The space is absolutely incredible for viewing works of art. The pristine whitewashed walls housed an extraordinary show of still lifes by the American Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein. Unlike a typical gallery, where each piece of art on view is available for sale, Gagosian is known to showcase works that are on loan from private collections and from museums, and are therefore not a way for the gallery to make money, but rather for the public to simply enjoy. Before examining the works in depth, I defined the term still life for the group, as well as pointed out significant trademarks of Lichtenstein’s work, such as his use of Ben-Day dots, limited perspective, clean lines, and bold primary color. We then analyzed six pieces, including one drawing and one sculpture, focusing our discussion on elements such as materials used, technique, and overall aesthetics. I felt it necessary to define the word ‘homage’ to the group, as many of the Lichtenstein’s still lifes in fact ‘paid homage’ or referenced other artists, namely Pablo
Picasso, Georges Braque, Henri Matisse, and Gustave Courbet to name only a few.
We then walked up the block to Pleiades Gallery, an artist run cooperative, to see an exhibition of artworks by the contemporary American artist Brian Kelly. I thought it would be a wonderful treat to be able to meet an artist on our tour, and to hear him talk about his works and career as an artist. Kelly spoke in great detail about his artistic process as well as his use of materials.
Our final destination was Axelle Fine Arts, across the street from Pleiades. At the time of our tour, Axelle had several exhibitions hung simultaneously; however, I chose to show the group several works by a French artist named Patrick Pietropoli who creates realistic and very architecturally savvy scenes of the NYC skyline. I thought the group would appreciate seeing painted architectural vistas before we walked to the High Line to see it firsthand.
S ince its opening only one year ago, the High Line has hosted over 2 million visitors. As I told the tour, the High Line was originally constructed in the 1930s to lift dangerous freight trains off of Manhattan's streets. The newly constructed High Line runs through three of Manhattan's most dynamic neighborhoods: the Meatpacking District, West Chelsea, and Hell’s Kitchen. Originally, these neighborhoods were primarily used for industrial and transportation purposes. Now many of the warehouses and factories have been converted into art galleries, designer shops, fancy restaurants, and illustrious residences. Section 1 of the High Line (which spans from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District to 20th street and 10th avenue) is open as a public park, owned by the City of New York and operated under the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation. Private funds have been raised for the park and overseeing its maintenance. It is also important to note that the High Line has recently made an effort to commission artists to create site- specific works of art on the highline, integrating their creations in some way to the surrounding space. It’s hard not to feel like you’re in the presence of greatness when you’re walking the High Line. The open vista, the physical structure, and the crowd make the experience entirely unique to New York, which was the perfect culmination to a terrific tour.
As many of my guests were from out of town, I began by discussing a bit about the history of Chelsea as a neighborhood. It is certainly an unusual part of town, where gas stations, warehouses and low-income housing projects stand side by side world famous art galleries, chic restaurants and multi-million dollar condos.
As we entered our first gallery, Gagosian, I gave a brief talk about the history of the gallery and asked that each person take in the dramatic surroundings before we even began to discuss the art - the ceilings must be at least 30 feet high. The space is absolutely incredible for viewing works of art. The pristine whitewashed walls housed an extraordinary show of still lifes by the American Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein. Unlike a typical gallery, where each piece of art on view is available for sale, Gagosian is known to showcase works that are on loan from private collections and from museums, and are therefore not a way for the gallery to make money, but rather for the public to simply enjoy. Before examining the works in depth, I defined the term still life for the group, as well as pointed out significant trademarks of Lichtenstein’s work, such as his use of Ben-Day dots, limited perspective, clean lines, and bold primary color. We then analyzed six pieces, including one drawing and one sculpture, focusing our discussion on elements such as materials used, technique, and overall aesthetics. I felt it necessary to define the word ‘homage’ to the group, as many of the Lichtenstein’s still lifes in fact ‘paid homage’ or referenced other artists, namely Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Henri Matisse, and Gustave Courbet to name only a few.
We then walked up the block to Pleiades Gallery, an artist run cooperative, to see an exhibition of artworks by the contemporary American artist Brian Kelly. I thought it would be a wonderful treat to be able to meet an artist on our tour, and to hear him talk about his works and career as an artist. Kelly spoke in great detail about his artistic process as well as his use of materials.Our final destination was Axelle Fine Arts, across the street from Pleiades. At the time of our tour, Axelle had several exhibitions hung simultaneously; however, I chose to show the group several works by a French artist named Patrick Pietropoli who creates realistic and very architecturally savvy scenes of the NYC skyline. I thought the group would appreciate seeing painted architectural vistas before we walked to the High Line to see it firsthand.
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