Chelsea Galleries

For John and I, trips to big, culturally rich cities like New York involve essentially a busy itinerary of the museums and art galleries. To see contemporary work we head to the Chelsea galleries. The Chelsea neighbourhood between 10th and 11th Avenues from West 20th St up to West 29th Streets is the preferred location for the top end art galleries including Pace, Gagosian and Sonnabend these days. The area was once the center for factories, sweat shops and storage facilities.  

The streets are a constant flux of art lovers darting between delivery trucks and construction. Above we see the surreal construction site for the extension of New York's subway system.

Soon separating the "art" from installations on the street can get difficult.

This accidental collage can often rival the art within the buildings. But again, maybe it's the "art" affecting one's view of the commonplace.

Some of the old, industrial buildings make perfect shells for art institutions. The Cedar Lake Contemporary Dance Company is installed at 547 West 26th Street. Looks like a perfect match, doesn't it?

We left the gallery neighbourhood with fresh eyes for the art and performance on the streets of the Big Apple.