Chelsea Tonight
Despite the grey clouds and stray drips from the sky threatening rain this evening, people were out and about in Chelsea for openings tonight. The mood was certainly pleasant and chatting to several galleries, the general consensus was that maybe, just maybe, things may be turning around or at least not getting significantly worse. There was even talk about a few sales, nothing like the beginning of 2008, but certainly better than the end of last year. It’s hard to tell really though because June is that time of year in Chelsea when things start to get quiet anyway and openings tend to be largely for summer group shows.
I think that Chelsea is in a great flux at the moment. Galleries are still closing at a frightening rate and I think we will see more of that as the summer progresses. Yet amongst that gloom, buildings, both commercial and residential, and believe it or not new galleries are being built or refurbished.
The work on the subway system to run along 11th Avenue seems to be continuing. Mayor Bloomberg promised at a press conference back in February reported by Chelsea Now, that the No. 7 line to Hudson Yards would be operating by 2013.
The Highline Section1 opens next week, allowing the general public to walk along its newly planted gardens. $20million was donated just a few days ago at a fund-raising event making the $50million target only $10million away.
Hopefully many of the older galleries who have weathered other bad storms will have the know-how and contingency to ride out this one out too. Many non-for-profits seem to be surviving too, despite many losing long time benefactors and at the very least seeing significant drops in their funding. The big concern are the newer mid and entry level galleries. How many of them will survive?
We walked into one such gallery, the Charles Cowles Gallery on 24th Street, owned by a former publisher of Artforum Magazine and curator of Fine Art at the Seattle Art Museum. They are currently doing a show of sculptor James Surls. His work depicts elegant natural forms using metal and wood, hanging, wall-mounted or free-standing. His larger works have also been installed on Park Avenue NY (between 50th and 57th Streets) until July 1 2009 as a joint effort between the New York City Parks Public Art Program and the Fund for Park Avenue. They’re both worth a visit.
