LES Galleries Reaction

The galleries of the Lower East Side were different—to say the least—from those in Chelsea. The Chelsea galleries seemed more official in standing. The artists featured there were more prominent than those on display at the galleries on the Lower East Side. Most of the galleries appeared to be foreclosed storefronts. The windows were plain and undecorated. Passing by casually, I could not distinguish the galleries from stores. Signs above the galleries were those from previous stores. The first gallery I visited was the Joe Sheftel Gallery. The images were by different artists and I felt them to be unrelated. The piece titled “Black Mirror” by artist Sherrie Levine grabbed my attention. The trick was the glass reflecting an image. Light was not able to bounce back off the black mirror as easily as a normal mirror. I almost “got lost” in gazing at the piece. The gallery Untitled featured many works that were without a titled. These pieces were distinct from normal modern pieces because they were made from shattered glass, metal, and wood. The pieces seemed to capture the moment when the three materials crashed into each other. The Stephan Stoyanov Gallery featured artist Greg Goldberg. These paintings were abstract in the fact that the only noticeable features were colors. The shapes these colors formed separated one painting from the other paintings in the room. A gallery manager said the paintings seem to change color with the seasons, since the colors reflect natural light so well. I took her word for it. Each gallery on the Lower East Side had at least one piece that appeared to go against the grain of classic art (such as sculpture and painting). The sculptures at Untitled were aesthetically unpleasing to the eye, yet intriguing enough to deserve a second look. The art presented in these galleries might not cater to the desires of those “shopping” in Chelsea. Many of those galleries were hosting prominent artists with expensive pieces. Perhaps if a piece was cheaper, to a Chelsea shopper, it would have less artistic value. The surrounding area might also not please those who favor Chelsea galleries. The strong smell of the subway combined with the smell of fish on the streets might be too much for those shoppers. I feel the art on the Lower East Side to be more down to earth and realistic because of the surrounding area. The artists did not go with some artistic norms and decided to create their own path.