The special low airfare didn’t sound so good after spending most of our first day in Rochester but the plane to the train trip went smoothly and Duane’s vegetarian curry made everything right in Brooklyn.
We headed into Chelsea earlier than usual the next morning with no notes. We usually have a short list of galleries but this time we wandered up and down 22nd to 26th between ninth and tenth and struck gold with a stimulating mix of familiar and new names.
We stopped for coffee at the diner on 9th Avenue. The place has undergone a deep reboot. Peggi spotted an avocado open face on someone’s plate so we ordered a couple of those. A thick slice of sour dough toast was topped with fresh avocado, thin slices of radish and cilantro leaves. A work of art.
Hauser and Wirth on 22nd does everything right. They’re building a brand new facility while they carry on in a rented space next door. Prime gallery space for their stable of living and dead all stars. Geta Brătescu showing currently with Philip Guston and Eva Hesse in the deceased category. They have a choice bookstore, a cafe and – a real rarity – a bathroom.
We worked our way uptown to the Met Breuer where a cross section of Edward Munch’s life’s work filled the third floor. He painted for most of his eighty years and got better and better all the way. The self portrait above, one that looks like it could have been painted today, was completed a year before his death.
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