Just in time for Fashion Week, tomorrow night is the first ever "Lower East Side Opening Night: Art + Fashion," a mass fiesta of the opening receptions of more than 25 art galleries located in that unmistakably hip quarter of downtown New York. Some fancy retail places will be open too — but what we can guarantee is that attending enough of these opening receptions will get you more free wine than a traveling mohel could drink.
From 6 pm to 9 pm some of the most unique art spaces in Manhattan's reigning cool neighborhood will open their doors to celebrate the power of art and fashion — it's kind thing that the best tourists hope to stumble upon by accident.
One of the more eclectic galleries hosting tomorow will be Recession Art, at 9 Clinton Street, who will show the work of the terribly clever performance artist and painter Jennifer Mills.
"Recession Art is all about connecting emerging artists and aspiring collectors," says Emma Katz, the executive director. "Our reason to be is to make going to a gallery and buying art fun and accessible. Anyone can come off the street, they don't need to know about art, find something you can afford and have in your house."
"It's always been a solid emerging area for galleries," says Ronni Anderson, director of the Mayson Gallery, of the Lower East Side. She is mostly excited about combining the emerging art that propegates in the area.
Her gallery, at 254 Broome Street, will host a soft opening to preview the work of contemporary painter Luis Burgos of Spain, who celebrated his American debut this past spring at the Showroom de Coolture Spain of New York (the official opening is September 19). Aside from landing talented foreign artists, Anderson also boasted of the Beecher's cheese that will be served at the reception (we can't be mad at local fare!), for which she was almost as excited as LES Opening Night. Almost.
