Category: BLOG POST 3 (Page 1 of 2)

Chelsea is oversaturated with art galleries. Each block contains open galleries for the wealthy passersby as well as the casual art student looking for some inspiration. A lot of these galleries follow the model of a “White Cube” at first glance. Upon further investigation, each gallery had its own atmosphere: specifically curated by the gallery owner. To highlight the art as much as possible: spacing, wall placement, as well as lighting is tinkered with in each gallery. This leads to a different experience in every gallery, even if the gallery just consists of white walls.

The first gallery that my group stumbled upon was not even on the list given to us. The Jim Kempner Fine Art gallery, located on the corner of w23rd st and 10th ave, was still under construction but did a nice job of highlighting the art inside. The gallery is surrounded by a large steel wall, a clear departure from the brick buildings that surround it. It reminded me a lot of Richard Serra’s “Tilted Arc”. Between the steel wall and the actual gallery was a small pathway that crossed through a “garden of stones”. This garden decreased the actual square footage of the gallery, but immersed the viewer in the gallery experience. Crossing into the gallery, I felt that I had left the loud, urban city and entered a zen temple. 

The garden was under renovation when we came. This is what it normally looks like.

Upon first glance after entering, the gallery did not show one specific artist. The gallery contained a collection of multiple artists using different mediums. Each artwork was placed within one foot of another, giving the viewer an almost jumbled affect. Everywhere we looked was art. Even on the receptionist’s desk, there was a small sculpture. If anything, this amount of art was overwhelming for a small space. There was a certain centerpiece on the first floor to which the eye naturally gravitated to, separated from the other works on that floor. This was a small version of Mt. Rushmore, very accurately carved out of history books. If everything in that gallery didn’t cost thousands of dollars, I might have bought that piece.

From the first floor to the second was a flight of stairs that seemed so impractical, we didn’t want to step on it, fearing that it was another piece of art.

Eventually, we made it up the steps and found a similar exhibition upstairs. What was really interesting about the upstairs part (which was mostly a white cube) was the second room, all the way in the corner of the building. It was separated from the main hall by a small narrow hallway. This second room again, contained tons of art crammed into a small space. It forced the viewer to take a few glances before even recognizing what was there. The centerpiece in this room, among all the art, was a signed cardboard box. This really baffled us. There was much more work in that room that took so much more effort, but the piece in the center was a postage box. It gave the room a feeling of insignificance as the “best” piece in that room was a box.  

The other artwork on the side of the postage box

Captivating postage box for sale

The second gallery we visited was C24 which was located almost at the end of 24th st. Immediately, the gallery seemed closed off as there was a party inside, and an extremely heavy door guarding the entrance. Once we realized it was open and used whatever strength we had to open that door, we strolled in to C24 and found an inviting space. On the top floor, there was a collection of hyperrealistic oil paintings by Mike Dargas. There were only about 4 paintings on the whole floor, giving each painting a dignified status. The gallery put a lot of light and focus on the paintings (that I thought were photographs) to highlight the artists skill. 

The bottom floor was a completely different beast than the first. The bottom floor was currently housing an exhibit from a group of artists called Fields Projects. SImilar to some parts of the Jim Kempner gallery, artworks here were jumbled together and stacked one on top of another, which reminded me of Morse’s “Gallery of the Louvre”. Similar to the painting, there was art everywhere the eye can go, making each one seem a bit insignificant. However, a lot of this art was so surprising or unusual it caught the eye anyway

This bottom gallery was multimedia and even included some television screens. These screens naturally grabbed the viewer’s attention and therefore were placed at eye level. One of these screens was very interesting. It showed looping video, with classical music,  of some guy moving his hands and fingers over and over.

It gave me a weirdly hypnotic affect and made me confused as to why this was being sold or how (does the purchaser get the TV? Does he get a flash drive with this video? Who knows?). The other pieces of work in this gallery were oddly sexual, including a set of clay telephones with strange texts and pictures on them, including nudes (still forged out of clay). These telephones were not hung which made the viewer look over them from the top.

This gave me a feeling that this was someone’s phone and I was reading it from the usual angle that a phone would be held. After walking around a few times, I still felt as though I missed artwork and due to the sheer volume of art in that room I definitely missed the meaning of a lot of those pieces.

The gallery space is crucial to how the artwork is viewed. If a gallery shoves tons of artwork with different mediums into one tiny space, it can throw off the viewer and if anything overwhelm him or her. However, a gallery that shows only a few paintings (such as the top floor of C24) can really give the artist a proper exhibition, on par with any museum.                                                                                                                        

This past tuesday, my group explored the Chelsea galleries on 20th and 21st street. Although each piece was beautiful and unique, there were two galleries that really stood out to me. The first one was similar to O’Doherty’s “white cube description. On a blank white canvas were two eye catching drawings. Both were created by Romare Bearden and were named All the Things You Are, 1987, and Blues for R.B.,1981. The name of the gallery is ACA galleries and is located on West 20th street. What made these paintings capture my attention was their sharp contrast to the background. The colors were popping with shades of yellow, orange, and red. Also, the depictions of saxophone players made the paintings even more artistic and beautiful. Despite how beautiful the painting is itself, I believe the true beauty of the piece is derived from its surrounding environment. There seems to be a glowing aura around the paintings while as you go farther away, the lighting gets more dull. This may be done to keep the viewers attention on the piece, but I think it adds another element of depth. This gallery was truly unique to me, and it was unlike any other I have ever seen. That is the main reason I decided to research it further and analyze it today.

After we saw visited the first gallery, my group went on to find some sculptures that would contrast the artwork we had previously seen. We came across a Japanese art gallery on 20th street and decided to go in. It was named Sato Sakura and focused on a type of Japanese art style called Nihonga. Essentially, Nihonga is a concept created “in response to the widespread influence of Western painting (or “Seiyoga”), which first made its way to Japan during the Meiji Era” according to the gallery. I found it so fascinating so I decided to walk around. After looking for ten seconds, I found a piece that was jaw dropping. Unfortunately I didn’t get the name or the artist or artwork, but I still chose to write about it due to immense beauty. Essentially, it was a white precious rock with a reddish purple rock sticking out of it. While it may not represent anything, its beauty is undeniable. Additionally, it is placed in a glass cube and the rock is put upon a white pedestal. That contributes to the grandeur of the work and makes it a focal point. Lastly, there is a beam of light shining on one side of the rock. This creates a dark and light side, adding a further dimension to the piece.

All in all, while these pieces both have white backgrounds, they couldn’t be more different. The first shows actual people and objects, while the latter is simply a part of the world. Additionally, the paintings seem to pop out of their environment, whereas the rock makes the environment . One thing is clear to me however. Despite all of their differences, the two pieces of art are equally beautiful and meaningful.

Art galleries are unique and never the same, similar to fingerprints. You may walk into galleries and they might remind you of other galleries but not one of them is the same. A traditional gallery setup is white walls, wood floors, and artificial light. This gives the appearance of a “white cube” according to O’Doherty. Unique galleries have colored walls and different types of flooring. These different types of galleries have an impact on how a viewer experiences an individual’s work.

My classmates and I were scheduled to adventure up and down 22^nd Street. Our first stop was 535 West 22^nd Street where we admired DC Moore’s gallery. Yvonne Jacquette was one of the few artists featured in this gallery. Jacquette’s beautiful works showed different aspects of New York. Her exhibit was entitled “Daytime New York” and some of her featured works were, “Brooklyn Bridge View with Double Water Towers”, “Composite of Eventi Hotel Views II”, and “Three Ages of Construction II”. In this gallery the walls are white, the floor is wooden, and there are lights centered onto the artworks. This construction of the gallery is similar to O’Doherty’s description of the “white cube”. The white walls allowed me to appreciate all the colors in the artwork. I enjoyed looking at the water in “Brooklyn Bridge View with Double Water Towers” because the dark blue color illustrated the ripples in the ocean and really grabbed my attention. The space between the paintings also allowed me to appreciate each one individually before stepping back and seeing how all of them relate to the New York environment. There was a spotlight on each painting and shade in the empty space between the paintings. This gallery did a successful job in attracting the viewers’ attention toward the artworks.

During our experience on 22^nd Street we also encountered a gallery that was unique from the others. Most galleries followed the recipe to look like a “white cube” but there was an outlier. The Joanne Artman Gallery, located on 511 A West 22^nd Street, was a refreshing gallery to walk into. This gallery called their exhibit “TheWildBunch” and had works from Billy Schenck and Greg Miller. This gallery had a theme of the wild west which was obvious from their paintings and decorative choices. Some artworks that represented the theme are, “2 Feathers in Violet and Beige”, “Man with Blanket”, and “Woman Outlaws”. This gallery was unique because of the yellow wall, yellow couch, black pipes, and natural light. The natural lighting was the necessary amount to fill the entire room due to the small size of the gallery. I believe the size of the gallery plays a role in the decision on how it is structured. The gallery wants to push forward the theme and show off the artworks. The yellow wall fits the theme of the wild west and I think it maximizes the space to its fullest potential. The uniqueness of the gallery was appreciated and I believe the clear windows drew audiences in. I think that this strategy is bold and can work with certain artworks and spaces.

The way in which a gallery is created affects how the audience views the artwork. A “white cube” environment allows the audience to focus on individual paintings and admire their excellence. However, these galleries tend to blend in with other galleries and do not stand out. Unique and different galleries are enjoyable and can help promote a theme. They can also become overwhelming and cause the audience to overlook certain artworks. Both environments can work but I believe its effectiveness depends on what artwork is being displayed.

Gallery space acts as the backdrop for works of art featured in it. While we direct most of our attention towards the works of art themselves, the space around them helps set the tone of the artwork. In some cases, the space around it is even more critical in that the artwork would not be complete without its environment to complement it. Depending on the features of its gallery, a piece of art can be perceived differently.

The DC Moore Gallery on 22nd Street in Manhattan features a collection of contemporary and 20th Century American art. It has a shiny, wooden-plank floor and blank, white walls.

Most of the work in the galley like Yvonne Jacquette’s paintings of Daytime New York is spaced substantially apart, allowing the viewer to observe each painting in isolation. Daytime New York, in particular, is relatively isolated, situated at the edge of one of the walls. The white background doesn’t offer anything to the painting and allows the viewer to focus solely on what’s on the canvas: a skyscraper under construction, most likely in downtown Manhattan. Aside from another building bordering the right of the painting, the main skyscraper stands tall and in isolation–a similar dynamic to the painting in relation to the rest of the gallery. In this way, the painting is physically and virtually an accurate depiction of a skyscraper.

Another of Jaquette’s Daytime in New York paintings features a view of the Brooklyn Bridge coupled with some auxiliary buildings. Here, the white background forces the viewer to fully appreciate a snapshot of New York City’s environment in singularity, without any outside influences. The irony of the painting is that NYC is typically seen as a very busy area, with a lot of activities going on at once, but in the painting there is none–no cars, no people, and no seagulls flying across the river. In this painting, it appears the sun is setting and the city is settling from its usual hustle-bustle pace. The slight amber glow of the painting exudes comfort and relaxation.

Although most of the galleries we visited employed white backgrounds for the paintings, the JoAnne Artman Gallery on 22nd Street contained a section in the back featuring a yellow background. In this case, the artwork was ingrained with its background.

For instance, America Martin’s 2 Feathers in Violet and Beige blends well with the yellow background and is even accompanied by a soft, yellow sofa. Yellow exudes tranquility and comfort, and the relatively large size of the painting gives viewers the impression that the woman in the painting is watching over the entire room. She has a calm, motherly gaze that fits well with the overall mood of the painting. The fact that the area is dimly lit gives the impression of the painting being a familiar setting: late at night, at home, relaxing on the sofa.

Within the same area is Matt Devine’s a x b #3, an aluminum sculpture covered with a yellow powder coat. This sculpture does not fit with its background as well as 2 Feathers in Violet and Beige. While their only similarity is their matching colors, however, there may be a deeper reasoning behind this. a x b #3 can be classified as abstract art, since it’s not immediately obvious what it represents. Perhaps the anomaly was meant to blend in with the yellow backdrop, symbolizing how strange things appear in life, if we go looking for them. It’d be easy to miss this sculpture if it wasn’t being looked for. Or maybe Devine simply wanted his viewers to think hard about what his creation is.

During the trip to the High Line, my group and I were assigned to visit the art galleries on the 25th street of the Chelsea area. I’ve been to the High Line and Hudson Yards before so that was not new to me, but I never visited the art galleries in Chelsea before so this was a very interesting experience. Two galleries caught my attention because of their different interactions between the artworks and the environment of the art galleries. 

The first gallery my group and I went to was the Amsterdam Whitney Gallery inside this building that also hosted other galleries. What was fascinating was that inside the gallery different sections had dramatically different styles of artworks, making it look like the gallery had galleries inside of it. The gallery’s environment was considered white cube but the interactions weren’t just between the artworks and the surrounding wall. Inside the Amsterdam Whitney, there was antique furniture in every section of the gallery. There would be antique chairs and tables in every corner of the gallery, luring us to sit on one of them. In some way, these antiques also provided a contrast to the artworks the gallery offered.

As we entered the gallery, the paintings to the left and right were abstract paintings by an artist called Francesca Scesa. His style focused on the color and shape between strings and the vibrant colors of his paintings were brought out by the white walls and the white lights. Another interesting painting of his was his self-portrait on the top of the wall. The feature that captured my interest was that the painting was tilted and it reminded me of the discussion we had on the High Line before the class separated when we discussed why artworks located on the top are tilted since the angle of our view would be distorted if the painting was upright. Hence, the installers of the gallery used their space very efficiently to bring out the colors of their artworks and also minimizing the space used for all these artworks. I still wonder about the meaning behind the furniture if it is also supposed to offer a contrast to the abstract artworks or complement them.

The second gallery my group and I visited was called, Gallery Henoch, and it was by far the best gallery on the street. Once we walked in, we took a small flight of stairs that lead us to the entrance of the gallery and we were struck with this cozy vibe. The gallery was still standard white-cube but the ceiling was made of bricks instead of the regular white surface. Another difference is the lighting of the gallery because Gallery Henoch has orange, dimmer lights compared to the Amsterdam Whitney’s LED bright lights. My eyes were less-strained in the orange lighted environment and I felt more mellow while studying the artworks. My favorite artwork was a painting called “Allure” by Alexandra Averbach. It was a realistic painting of flowers and grapes in a big glass goblet. I personally like nature and any natural things found in nature. The dim-lights and brick ceiling matched the artwork the gallery offered because nature goes best with a countryside environment and it gave me a very relaxing experience.

During our gallery crawl activity I noticed a different aura in the neighborhood. Almost every block I went too, I saw a different form of art, whether that be through conventional art galleries as “white cubes” or a room full of sculptures that radiates a sense of exploration and curiosity. One of the art galleries my group and I visited was ACA Galleries located 529 W. 20th street. This building was comprised of multiple galleries per floor. This was a very unique experience for me because personally, I was never the type of person to visit art galleries. Every floor we visited gave us a new sense of adventure and exploration. 

Specifically, one painting automatically caught my attention because of its sheer size. It is an oil on canvas painting by Earl H. Brewster called “Women with Violin.” The reason this painting struck out to me was because of the instant sense of calmness that I felt from seeing it. The painting had large gold borders with fancy etchings on them. In the picture itself, it shows a man sitting on a chair with his legs crossed while reading a book. This man is dressed nicely in a black suit and his hair parted in the middle. He has a blank expression on his face, that of someone who is very concentrated on what they are doing. Right behind him, there are two women, both dressed in white who are playing instruments. One woman is standing up playing the violin while the other women on the right was playing the piano. This painting overall gave me an angelic tone with sophistication and class. Additionally, what really helped the artwork to be admired, was definitely the setting. It was a traditional “white cube” environment but I truly believe that is what made the artwork stand out. The white walls, white ceilings, dark cement floors, with nothing but space, made all the emphasis go on the painting itself. The artwork had its own wall and that helped to bring the soft calming tone of the art to fruition. The emptiness and the lack of color within the room itself, gives all the attention and focus to the painting. The painting itself being very calm and sophisticated, it resonates with the minimal environment to create a very holistic experience.

While walking throughout the ACA galleries, I stumbled upon this one exhibit in a small isolated room. In a way it looked like the room was not part of the exhibit. In the corner of the room I see a huge pile of wood and nails all bolted together, thinking it was a disposal area for the exhibit, but the more I looked at the clump of what I thought was a mess, I started to see a shape and an overall pattern. The sculpture was created by Olu Amoda from Nigeria in 2009. Although there is alot going on within the structure itself, ironically there seems to be a certain level of control and organization throughout the sculpture. This exhibit really feeds off the environment because of the fact that it claims attention to itself. I feel as if being in a room of what I thought was secluded, brought the element of surprise. This sculpture really caught my eyes. When I saw the sculpture being originated from Nigeria, it was very enlightening to understand the different styles of art all throughout the world. This sculpture is made out of common materials, but the way it was pierced is what truly makes it unique, compared to everything else in the exhibit. The painting about the man reading a book on the chair, is completely different than this sculpture, but both of them at the same time calls attention to themselves in unique ways. The wooden artwork calls attention by being so different compared to its quiet and soft white surroundings, and the painting calls attention to itself by the vibe and message it is protrying. Being in a white cube environment provides more attention to the artwork rather than the environment. Personally, I believe to truly view and understand the art, a controlled and minimal environment is needed. Overall, this experience was a very fulfilling experience for me as it was something out of the ordinary. It was very interesting to see how an environment can have such drastic effects on artwork and how one perceives them.     

The display of art in a gallery space draws the attention of the people as they walk past the building. Artists fully use the space to express their artwork in a way that can bring out the aesthetic view of the art. Chelsea, New York, is one of the greatest visual pleasing places to find rich works of art exhibitions. The display of art is inseparable in the expression of the artist’s vision for the artwork. Factors that can be considered when displaying a work of art can consist of spacing, background, lighting, and even the size of the building. On 24th street, Anna Zorina and C24 have to both presented exhibitions of powerful art in galleries. Both galleries are displayed in a traditional white cube style where all the walls are painted white, the floors are polished, lights coming from the ceiling, and no window in sight. 

Anna Zorina Gallery showcase artwork of artists that promotes a powerfully positive image. These artists interact with the world by expressing their artworks with joy and a sense of humor. Jay Stuckey’s art was on display in the gallery on the day that I visited. His work of art is composed of abstract elements that visual disturbs many. When looking at these paintings, the viewers are hit by intricate and unique images. These images are familiar to the audience as it represents realism in which people interact and yet unrealistic through exaggeration of violence. The paintings in the galleries each possess their own set of walls. Undisrupted by other paintings, each painting is presented on a singular white wall. 

C24 gallery exhibits contemporary and international art that holds the mission of diversifying art displays and broadening their community. On the ground floor of the gallery, every one of the artworks on display is completely unique to itself. Each represents its own set of ideas as they vary in size, shape, and color. Some artworks are vibrant in color, while others are neutral and monocolored. One is shaped like the leg of a human, another is shaped like the bottom of a cow. All the art is clustered on the wall randomly showing the intention of promoting underrepresented artists and address current political and social issues through diversity. One piece of art that appealed to me was the table that consisted of multiple modern models of phones. On the screen of the phones, there were text messages that show how current society communicates with one another. The ground floor has thoroughly utilized the space and displays multiple artworks within one area. Visually, it is appealing to the viewer giving off an aesthetic strike to the eye.

On the upper level of the gallery, there is a solo exhibition for the artist, Mike Dargas. This exhibition focuses on the theme of “ Reflection of dreams,” consisting of oil paintings of women. One of the paintings that showed honey running down a woman’s face reflects the intimacy and personal experience that explores different emotions. His photorealistic painting draws the viewer in as if they are actually looking at a picture. This hyperrealistic style is created through extreme attention to detail and focus on the texture of the painting. Only 2 to 3 of Mike’s paintings on each white wall; However, these paintings cover nearly the wall entire space. Unlike the ground floor, the focus of the upper floor completely lies in Mike’s paintings with reasonable spacing between each artwork. Different use of the gallery space can express art in different ways. Some might be spaced evenly while others can be clustered in one area. Display of art in space can affect the viewer’s perspective of the art. One can closely observe a single painting on one wall but they can also enjoy the colorful and diverse display of multiple arts.

Contrary to the natural ambiance of Manhattan, West 26th Street (near The High Line) is a relatively peaceful area. Walking around, one may feel the tranquility in the air. It is almost as if you went down a rabbit hole and were exposed to the “other” side of Manhattan. A side rich in culture and beauty but, defined by the peculiar galleries and exhibits surrounding it. 

Stepping into the Fergus McCaffrey and Paula Cooper galleries, one is fascinated by the great differences in which artworks are presented. The Fergus McCaffrey gallery isn’t traditional in any sense. It strays away from the “white cube” setting of a gallery, as described by Brian O’Doherty. The Paula Cooper Gallery mimics the standards set by the “white cube” setting but has some dark undertones that give off an uneasy aura.

The Fergus McCaffrey Gallery – Ishiuchi Miyako

The Paula Cooper Gallery – Christian Marclay

When visiting the Fergus McCaffrey gallery, the photographs of Ishiuchi Miyako were on display. As mentioned, prior, the gallery wasn’t set up as a traditional “white cube”. It was rather colorful actually. Each section of the gallery had a differently painted wall. The colors of the walls were either black, dark blue, light blue, gray, and or pink. Lighting wise, not every photograph had a LED bulb pointed towards it. Some pieces utilized the natural light coming from the tall windows of the building instead. The placement of the works of art on the walls was also extremely peculiar. They weren’t totally aligned with one another. They were put up on the walls in an intentionally random manner.

The Fergus McCaffrey Gallery – Ishiuchi Miyako

The space affected the way I viewed individual artworks greatly. For example when I saw “From Yokosuka Third Position” c. 1981, hung upon a black wall I fell into a state of despair and emptiness. The photograph was of a large abandoned building. The windows of the building were boarded up, the structure was being chipped away slowly by nature, and refuse was surrounding it. What once may have been an area filled with frequent visitors was now vacant and noiseless. The black walls added to this feeling of desolation and despair. But, the one light shining upon the photograph gave off the idea that it was once a place loved by many. If the photograph was hung upon, say a white wall, I may have had a different initial impression. I would’ve thought the piece reflected the past, focusing on memorable memories made near the building. But the black wall just gave off a sense of immeasurable sadness.

The Fergus McCaffrey Gallery – Ishiuchi Miyako – “From Yokosuka Third Position” c. 1981

Another piece in the McCaffrey gallery by Miyako, that I viewed was called “Innocence”. It was a black/white photograph of an individual’s hand and wrist. It was a relatively small print and was hung up alone on a gray wall. Directly next to and across from the photograph were pink walls. The pink walls contrary to the gray one were filled with pictures. Seeing the lone photograph on the gray wall drew me in. I paused to view it and noticed a scar on the lower portion of the wrist. Continuing upwards, I saw what seemed to be a clenched fist slowly letting go. Maybe this signifies growth and acceptance. The photograph might’ve been a reflection on past mistakes. And those pasts mistakes are being “let go of” as the individual slowly unclenches its fists. If the walls were not different colors and the photograph wasn’t alone on the wall, I might’ve not paused to look at it. The way the space was set up affected me, by intriguing me into viewing the specific artwork. The contrast and differences between how the photographs were set up led me to view them. If the space wasn’t set up the way it was, I may have ignored or brushed off one of the most important pieces in the gallery.

The Fergus McCaffrey Gallery – Ishiuchi Miyako – “Innocence”

When visiting the Paula Cooper Gallery, the works of Christian Marclay were on display. When first going into the gallery I saw countless woodcuts. The woodcuts took the Japanese manga style and Western style of comic books and combined them together to create artworks of still and silent faces. The space itself mimicked the “white cube” setting but wasn’t fully lit. There was a mysterious darkness to the space.

The Paula Cooper Gallery – Christian Marclay

When walking around I heard a faint noise coming from a dark room. In awe, I slowly walked into the room to experience the video attached below. 

Confused and in shock I quickly left the room and asked one of the employees of the Gallery some questions. I asked them about the artwork and what it meant. They explained to me that Marclay titled the exhibit “48 War Movies & Screams”. The video above, 48 War Movies (2019) is a single-channel video that collapses conflicts from the Civil War to Iraq into a horrifying aggregate spectacle of war. That is the video I walked into and heard all throughout the gallery. In response to this kaleidoscope of continuous conflict were a series of screaming faces frozen in perpetual terror. These are the large woodcuts that I saw all around the gallery. The traditional “white cube” setting had a new addition… sound. The creepy sound of the 48 War Movies video was heard all around the gallery and it reeled me in slowly to its origin. The setting affected me in a great way as I kind of became a detective for a while. Confused by the eerie noise, I was enticed into exploring the whole gallery. The journey I went on to find the origin of the eerie noise was a great way for me to explore the works of Marclay. The video was a clever addition to the gallery overall. 

The Paula Cooper Gallery – Christian Marclay

All in all, gallery space affects the viewer in a great way. The color of the walls, the lighting, and the general atmosphere may change the way a viewer decodes and experiences artwork. As evident in the encounters I had with the specific artworks in the gallery, if even one detail of the space was changed, I may have viewed the piece in a different way. If the wall was white for “From Yokosuka Third Position” by Miyako, I may have felt a different way. If “Innocence” by Miyako was surrounded with other photographs I may have not noticed it. And lastly, if the 48 War Movies video wasn’t playing, giving off the eerie noise, I may have not explored the Paula Cooper Gallery meticulously in search for it. The way in which art is displayed truly affects how the viewer may perceive it. 

Chelsea has been a burgeoning art scene for many years, more specifically after SoHo became too expensive and retail-oriented for art galleries to remain in the area. All along 11^th avenue, from 20^th street to 26^th, there are art galleries. Many of them appear, at first, to be the traditional white cube but after walking around and taking in the art space itself they reveal themselves to be subversions of the white cube art gallery. These take cues from the original white cube galleries and somehow manage to avoid the emotionless feeling they tend to evoke.

One such art gallery was Gallery Henoch. When first walking in it appears to be the traditional white cube, but as you explore further you realize that it is, in reality, quite different. The gallery displayed its paintings on white walls, but still kept much of the preexisting interior design of the space. It had an exposed brick ceiling with viewable pipes and warm yellow lighting. The normal makeup of the white cube lends itself to the feeling of sterility, a cold detachment from the art. But the structure of Gallery Henoch allowed for a warmer and homier aura; the gallery felt smaller and more intimate, almost as if I were in someone’s home looking at pictures they had painted. The paintings themselves are so detailed that they look photographs, further adding to the hominess of the art gallery and the warm yellow light helps to enhance the colors in the paintings.  There was a cityscape painting that emphasized the bright lights of the city and the warm light of the gallery made the painted lights look LEDs. The art pieces and the gallery space work with one another to create a homey, more comfortable soothing viewing experience.

Another gallery that subverts the white cube is the Malborough. The Malborough replicates the white cube formula, almost, exactly. The sterile white walls, the bright white lights, the wide-open expansiveness, the Malborough has it all. Despite this, the Malborough makes great use of the space and helps to enhance the art it is displaying. Each artist and piece has its room and space and as you move through each room it feels as though you are walking into a new gallery. You can take in each piece of art on its own without any distractions from other paintings or from the space in and of itself. The first art piece that you see when you walk into the Malborough, is a 100 ft long installation along the wall. It’s one long painting, or rather, a series of vertical paintings placed together along the wall. Some of these sections have a 3D aspect, some have weaving, and some of them are bright and colorful. The white cube aspect of the gallery serves to enhance the piece because there is nothing else to look at besides it. Your eyes are immediately drawn to it because there is nothing else to look at.

The art galleries of Chelsea take cues from and mimic the traditional white cube art galleries, but still manage to subvert expectations. But when you think about it, it’s fitting that Chelsea’s art galleries aren’t what you first expect, much like Chelsea itself. An old factory district that’s, in reality, a burgeoning art scene and home to galleries that appear to be traditional but turn out to be anything but.

Having grown up around the arts, it would be difficult for me not to be critical about the curation of a show. While most people may enter a gallery and solely see the art pieces themselves, I instinctually take note of the way the art was hung, how the lighting affects each work, and the placement of the works in comparison to one another. All these components are meant to appear effortless as the entire ambiance of space affects the way art is consumed by the viewer. Any variation from the “white cube” notion of exhibition space, therefore, alters the consumption of the art, ideally to suit the curators’ and artists’ intent. 

Alexander Gray Associates at 520 West 26th Street, the first gallery we located, exemplifies the “white cube” idea of a gallery space. All the walls, except one, are polished white with small pieces of work hanging and a few pieces of sculpture in the middle of the room. One wall, however, has an abstraction of buildings stenciled onto it directly. The wall itself seems to be an enlarged version of the small piece “Insomnia (10)” framed on the wall to the left of the “Insomnia (10) Wall Drawing”.  There is an ease of cohesiveness in the space due to the uniform placement of the works as well as the fact that there is solely one artist Teresa Burga on display. While the white, clean appearance lends to attracting the viewer to the art in that it doesn’t distract him or her, enlarging “Insomnia (10)” onto the actual gallery wall has the same effect. Personally, I quickly scanned the smaller pieces on the wall before making my way towards “Insomnia (10) Wall Drawing”, and thereafter went back to each of the smaller pieces once realizing it had been duplicated. Therefore, the inclusion of the larger piece served to get the viewer to consider how all the works work together. Overall, the “white cube” asserts that the art is solely meant to interact with the art, thus creating a semblance of cohesiveness. 

Next, the group and I entered a very different space at 514 West 26th Street, Fergus McCaffrey. Whereas the previous gallery had completely white walls with a goal of parallelism in its curation, artists Ishiuchi Miyako went for a contrasting effect. On the bottom floor, the walls are black, grey, and dark blue, and the works are all framed differently as well as hung irregularly. I believe the intent as to why these works were curated this way is because each work demonstrates some type of imperfection, therefore the way the works are displayed should maintain that as well. For instance, “Scars #31” can be found on the grey wall to the right of three other framed photographs, each displaying the body of someone with some sort of abnormality. While there are two pieces hung parallel to each other, “Scars #31” is hung slightly lower as to coincide with this notion of imperfection. Additionally, the fact the walls are each colored differently and none are white adds to its imperfection because having plain, white walls would be too pristine for the nature of the show. Conclusively, the gallery space was deliberately manipulated so that it would interact with the art, producing this theme of abnormality.