Today I visited a number of galleries in Chelsea. It was exciting and sad simultaneously.
Exciting because I got to see work by Robert Adams, Tokihiro Sato, and Ursula Von Rydingsvard.
Sad because it seems that the only way to get into the NYC art world is to already be in the NYC art world.
[The rational part of me recognizes that it must be possible for a person to find a way in if they are willing to put in the effort required, no matter how great. The real girl inside of me wonders if it is really worth it, especially after being rebuffed by a number of gallerists at places which were not “scheduled visits.”]
Maybe it was all the rain that made people cranky? It was pouring out for most of the day, and my shoes acted like large sponges as we dashed back and forth between 20th Street and 29th Street repeatedly. By the end, my socks were holding more water than I imagined possible.
One bright point amongst the rain was during our visit at Frederieke Taylor Gallery. In a small room Marion Wilson had an exhibition of her miniature oil paintings, which were created on glass slides. “Artificially Free of Nature, New Paintings” depicted the Solvay Waste Beds, 1,400 acres of contaminated and sterile land, a superfund site near Syracuse, where the artist had a residency. The paintings were rendered in an almost fantastical manner, with a bright palette, and I felt that I could have spent hours among them.
I took a couple of photographs of Wilson’s tiny paintings, but seeing them in person is much better!