Don't blink or you'll miss five galleries!

They say that a visit to any major museum is at least a 3 day event - if done correctly.  Well, okay... a museum takes 3 days but the galleries of New York take a lifetime.  I once heard that the Golden Gate Bridge is constantly being worked on - that the minute they finish painting it they must begin again just due to the sheer size of the thing.  This is how I feel the New York Gallery scene is - and following it is as though you're chasing your own tail - it's always two steps ahead.



Yesterday was a simple day with weather you couldn't customize to be any better.  My "SuperPhone" told me it maxed out at 78 degrees - scarcely a cloud in the sky and a breeze that blew softly through the afternoon.  So it was a day that I was happy to be out and about with a Jamba Juice in hand ready to put an ever so small dent into the district located in Chelsea.  20 plus galleries later and I didn't even scratch the surface on anything but the soles of my feet.  That said I was able to see a mixture of art which I loved, art that I questioned and art that I simply found myself staring at with tilted head and what I'm sure was a huge question mark looming over my head. 

Omar Chacon - "Untitled #209"

I won't walk you through every gallery but I can give you a few highlights that I truly enjoyed.  The day started in the abstract and grew more figurative into the afternoon.  I won't lie, I did see two massive white canvas' bolted together and on display.  Yep, bet that took a really long to conceptualize and realize.... or not.   But then I found this piece (pictured to the left) in the back nook of a smallish gallery and it drew me right in.  The artist's name is Omar Chacon and this piece is entitled "Untitled #209" and is a mix of resin and pigment on canvas that measures 11" x 7.5" - so it's on the smaller side - and it has this complex layering of colors that bring you right back to childhood.  To me it gave new meaning to the term "eye candy".

Daniel Ochoa - "Lados of Cuerto"

Later in the day I stopped by a gallery that seemed almost a sister to Evan's space and asthetic.  Every single piece of art in there was something that I could see hanging in Carmel but one of my favorite's was Daniel Ochoa pictured to the right.   This piece, entitled "Lados of Cuerto" and measuring 48 x 36, is figurative oil on canvas and used incredible brush work (and some palette knife work perhaps) to create a certain kind of humanity I found engrossing. 

Michael Fitts - "Operation"

After a dinner with my family, I was able to meet up with Michael Fitts late into the night for a cocktail and discussion about his newest work which I'm very excited to see today.  On today's agenda is The Affordable Art Fair - an event that I've never been to but am quite anxious to see. As for last night - Michael and I sat in a lovely little Irish bar near the Empire State Building with a wonderfully pleasant bartender who could easily get a job as an Edward Norton body double.  What I enjoy most about my job, aside from the subject matter obviously, is the people.  I love being with the people in my industry. What makes an artist particularly enjoyable company is their nature of observation.  They listen, they engage, they smile and for the most part they banter.  They are a breed of human being that works from a passion to create beauty. It's an unselfish quality and truly one of the most pleasant aspects a human being can have.  Michael is very much like this. (If you've been in our gallery you've likely seen his work but I'm posting a picture of it to the left here.)  I don't know - perhaps it was growing up in a family of artist's that makes me feel so at home among them - but whatever it is, whoever the artist and whatever their medium, I know that when you see a piece of their work or hear a chord of their solo or experience a minute of their film - any kind of artist is showing you a small piece of their soul.  Being immersed in so much art this week I feel as though along with my wonderful discussions with folks like Mr. Fitts,  I'm also meeting hundreds of new people and I have to say, I'm honored.

Until my next post - I hope all is well in your "neck of the woods" - have a great day!