With a destination in mind and a mission to accomplish, my group and I headed out of the Highline and towards twenty-second street. The street was hectic with the sound of jackhammers and construction. The first gallery we walked into would be the first “white cube” archetype of the many others we soon will discover. However, D.C. Moore’s gallery is one of multiple in an upstairs department of the 525 building complex. Upon exiting the industrial elevator and arriving to the third floor, we were greeted by a bright glean of white and distilled beauty, which was quite the contrast from the busy environment outside. In it, there were rectangular frames of differing sizes on the white walls that depicted “Daytime New York” by Yvonne Jacquette. The empty space around the frames created a serene effect. Due to this, viewers can take in and understand the beauty of New York in daytime. By limiting the sensation to our eyes and our brains, the artist is effectively able to separate the other factors associated with viewing these buildings regularly. The gallery space isolates the paintings from the everyday bustle inherent to New York while simultaneously displaying this very bustle. This was only one of multiple artists showcased in the gallery. The other artist’s works are devoted to particular sections within the space, branching off of the main central opening, thus permitting viewers to roam freely to their heart’s content. After experiencing only one gallery in a building filled with them, I was quite thrilled to enter the other different “art worlds” within this space. Unfortunately, the other galleries were all either closed or were to be available in the distant future.

 

 

The next gallery amidst the many other “white cubes” in twenty-second street, although also a “white cube” itself, effectively made each artist showcased feel like a new “art world” through the use of narrow hallways separating each open area. This layout of the Mitch Epstein gallery at the 530 building made the viewing experience one continuous flow from artist to artist, since in order to access the artwork at the end, one must go through all the artworks from hallway to hallway. The overall aesthetic is similar to the first gallery, yet the viewing experience was different. This gallery is more streamlined and mostly has photographs while the first was open, branching, and mostly had paintings. The final wall of photographs, after going through the many passageways of traditional photo print, subverts all expectations. This final space at the very back stuck out like a sore thumb. On it lies five images by Jeffrey Gibson, which all blare with bright and intrusive colors. Such images include “IF I RULED THE WORLD” and “THE FUTURE IS PRESENT”. The sharp contrast between the bright frames and the solid white walls causes the viewers to try and discern the messages which the collage is attempting to convey. The plain white color in the background only aids at honing in the artwork’s unorthodox and “nonplain” font. While the other framed art pieces leading up to this point contained printed photographs conveying a message through an image, this one contained collages with messages printed out in a wacky font.