What a great weekend! On Saturday we took a group through Chelsea and on Sunday another group through the heart of the Lower East Side.
The art is different and the neighborhoods so very different but there are a few things the two tours had in common. The first was perfect weather. The second was the wonderful participation of the gallery people– owners, directors, staff and, in a couple of cases, the artists themselves. Their knowledge of the art and the passion and appreciation for the work was so completely in evidence. And it was infectious. The groups became more lively and animated with each new gallery. And what the two trips also shared was the open-mindedness, inquisitiveness and joy in discovery that the participants brought to the tours.
The Chelsea tour began at one of the entrances to the Highline, New York’s latest tourist attraction, and took us from West 26th to West 24th Street—two blocks with virtually nothing but art galleries on both sides of the street. The LES tour began with a sampling of rugalach from Russ & Daughters Appetizing on Houston Street and proceeded up Orchard Street, the Main Street of the LES art scene, with additional stops on Broome, Delancey and Grand. Here the galleries are separated by restaurants, coffee shops, bars, tailors, lingerie and luggage stores. Chelsea at street level is Art and nothing but Art. The LES is Life and art fits in wherever it can.
The artwork we saw and were educated in ranged from the most basic oil on canvas paintings to some of the most original takes on the photographic process to objects so fantastic we can barely find words to describe them. Just happy to have photographs to recall them.
These were two delightful groups and I look forward to seeing some of these same people on again on future tours. And to our guest from Holland, our thanks for adding your own special flavor to the mix. (And please tell your friends about us.)
Many thanks to the galleries:
In Chelsea: Ana Cristea, Johannes Vogt, Mitchell-Innes & Nash, Yossi Milo, Mike Weiss, Susan Inglett, Andrea Meislin and The International Print Center NY.
On The Lower East Side: The Y Gallery, Anastasia Photography, Van Der Plas,
Project 155, Catinca Tabacaru, Lesley Heller, Callicoon Fine Arts, Essex Street and Marc Straus.

The next weekend of tours is scheduled for May 16th and 17th. Please contact us if you’d like to participate.