W 24th St - New! PLAYCONICS, Double Crescent, Brooklyn Bronx Queens

West 24th Street, specifically the block between 10th & 11th Aves, has a disproportionately high concentration of VIP art galleries, and C24 is the new kid on the block. This gallery's ballsy mission is to bring new energy to the New York art scene starting with this, their inaugural show. Double Crescent: Art from Istanbul and New Orleans is exactly as it sounds, a massive compilation of work by emerging and established artists from these disparate regions. The highlight for me is a mesmerizing video montage of a clerk stamping through stacks of papers by Ali Kazma. You’ve simply got to see it! Bruce Davenport Jr’s marker and pencil drawings of NoLa marching bands are also pretty incredible.

One glimpse through the massive glass windows next door at Galerie Richard will draw you right in. (Incidentally, this is also an inaugural show, marking the Paris gallery’s New York debut.) PLAYCONICS is Paul Henry Ramirez’s mischievously fun mash-up of bright geometric shapes and abstracted male and female unmentionables. His vibrant, fluid compositions are like party shots: guaranteed to put a spring in your step.

Skip on down to Lyon Wier and behold the powerful, regal women of Bronx • Brooklyn • Queens. Painter Tim Okamura celebrates the “royal” status of New York’s urban women by focusing on their expressive faces and presenting their portraits amid urban graffiti motifs. In the particularly emotional HMS he transcribes a haiku by Japanese poet Hokushi:

ashes my burnt hut

but wonderful the cherry

blooming on my

hill

There are a ton shows opening in NYC right now and this block has some real winners. As you make your way crosstown, jot down all the galleries you’d like to come back to. (Even if you don't have the time to make it back, you can at least check out their websites.) Then, head over to Co. for the Stracciatella pizza pie. Yum.  

Ingredients:

Venues: C24; Galerie Richard; Lyon Wier

Artists: Ali Kazma; Bruce Davenport Jr.; Paul Henry Ramirez; Tim Okamura

Streets: W 24th St, 10th - 11th Aves

Eats: Co.

Map: