The gallery season that began in September 2011, and wraps up with my ALL-NEW Chelsea “End-of-Season” tour on Sat. June 30, has been the most remarkable in the 10 years I’ve been leading gallery tours.  I’m glad to report that my final scheduled tour is going to be wonderful, with highlights including: (1) a Korean artist’s gorgeous fabric installations with motion sensors that respond to people’s movements, (2) a French artist’s portrait paintings that are a searing commentary on mass-produced bodily perfection, and (3) whimsical found-object assemblages that a NY Times review called “freewheeling” and “crazed.”  These are just 3 of 7 visits we’ll make.

Truth be told, I’ll still be leading gallery tours all summer long, but only private tours, not my Saturday afternoon scheduled tours.  That’s because galleries will be closed on weekends in July and August, and many exhibits that will be up in the galleries those months will be extensions of shows that I already included in my Spring scheduled tours – several of them extraordinary.  I’ll supplement those with the new summer shows that I deem are most worthy.  So if you want to book a private gallery tour over the summer on a weekday, you’ll have a terrific experience.

I’m charging the same for gallery tours that I’ve charged for the last 7 years, and I have no plans to make any changes in that regard next season.  I believe I’m New York City’s biggest cultural bargain: the quality of art that I show on gallery tours is the equivalent of the most innovative Broadway theater, while the cost is decidedly off-off Broadway.

Next season, when my scheduled tours resume in September, I’ll continue leading monthly Chelsea “Best Exhibits” tours, LGBT tours, and Lower East Side tours.  And I’ll supplement those with occasional tours in the Upper East Side, Midtown, a somewhat resurgent Soho, and the West Village and Tribeca, whenever the art in those neighborhoods warrants attention.

For those of you who attended my tours this past season, I hope to see you one last time on June 30 before the long hiatus begins.  THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT, AND HAVE A WONDERFUL SUMMER!

Rafael Risemberg, Ph.D.
Founder and Director
New York Gallery Tours