Round and round, the art galleries go spinning in New York like a washing machine.
First they came for the East Villagers in the 80s. Then they came for the SoHo-ians in the 90s. Today, they come for the Chelsean artistes.
We are in the midst of an art gallery revolution, and I mean that in the literal sense— tumbling like our humble rock Earth in the void, out of control and at the mercy of the one all-powerful force in the universe: gentrification!
We're witnessing a familiar migration pattern taking shape among Chelsea art galleries. Like those who came before, they are packing up and moving to cheaper pastures. The former real estate sweet spot for art, the High Line, lives in rooms beneath the old railroad tracks along Tenth Avenue.
But galleries are losing the war of real estate to commercial interests. The demand for original and organic, grass-fed pottery has evidently grown too high to ignore! So, while Chelsea continues filling up with extravagant homes, tourist traps, and all sorts of kitsch, art must find a new home.
And right now, Chinatown and the Lower East Side seem to be the latest havens of concentrated art, as galleries find the affordable real estate and space they're seeking.
So— to be frank, to be earnest, who cares which way the art galleries blow? Alright, alright, plenty of people do! I admit it. But who can afford to anything about this latest migration? The rich!
[anad]
Related Companies, the vaguely named developer, is not only driving the real estate market up in Chelsea, but capitalizing. They're buying a fixture in the art gallery market.
Their latest, a design by Markus Dachantschi of StudioMDA, will feature 15 futuristic new gallery spaces under the High Line between 27th and 28th streets, including the auspicious cafe-and-wine-bar-attached High Line Nine.
So while the art exodus out of Chelsea continues, these galleries at least will remain— monumental, and a far cry from the fringe elements and the experimenters who once came before.
[via TimeOut NY] [Feature Image Courtesy TimeOut NY]