It’s tough to think of a more entertaining or more recession-proof way to spend a Saturday afternoon in New York City than strolling through the gallery district of Chelsea.
The Manhattan art world might be in tumult due to the Wall Street collapse — and the fact that even rich people are finding themselves with much less disposable income — but there are still dozens of interesting galleries to cruise through on the far west side between 14th St. and the high 20s.
Last week, on one of the wonderful summer-like spring days we’ve been having recently, I went with a group of friends on a tour of about 10 galleries, including the fantastic Picasso show (above) at the huge Gagosian gallery — with almost 100 pieces of art it’s more like a small museum show than a gallery exhibit — and the fascinating collection of Polaroids by Patti Smith at the Robert Miller gallery.
It’s so much fun to people watch in Chelsea — where the folks looking at the art can be almost as interesting as what’s hanging on the walls — and the diversity of work that you can see free of charge in a few hours is quite dizzying.
The only money I spent that afternoon was for a few drinks and a snack at the very reasonable and very cozy Half King bar (co-owned by journalist Sebastian Junger) smack in the middle of the action at 23rd St. and Tenth Ave.
While we were walking through a gallery one of my journalist friends started asking me about the mechanics of the gallery business — how do they make money, how do you get your work shown there, who are all those pretty young things manning the front desk — and I was very happy to be able to refer him to a terrific book that had landed on my desk a few days earlier, “Art/Work” (Free Press) by Heather Darcy Bhandari and Jonathan Melber.
The savvy duo — she’s director and curator at Mixed Greens Gallery in New York, he’s a lawyer who does volunteer work for artists — take us through the business of art from how galleries operate to the nuts-and-bolts of setting up art Web sites and landing residencies and grants.
The book is designed to help artists make sense of the business end of their work, but it’s also a fascinating read for anyone who would like to be taken behind the scenes to read the comments and advice from the dozens of professionals the authors interviewed.
The book is artfully laid out with each page mixing practical information along with boldface advice quotes from artists, curators, gallery owners and tax preparers.
The book’s bottom line is that a real career in art involves the constant juggling of creativity and practicality.
It’s a self-help book that never loses sight of the real objective of any artist. Right near the beginning, the authors devote a full page to just five sentences from New York artist Stephanie Diamond: “Make your work. Make your work constantly. Love it. And hate it. But make it.”
(The Gagosian gallery is at 522 West 21st St. The Picasso show will be there through June 6.)
