Though this is the single worst winter weather-wise since I started leading gallery tours 13 years ago, the art in the Chelsea galleries is absolutely exceptional for my all-new Chelsea “Best Exhibits” tour Sat. March 7.  The New York Times made it official recently: February 2015 was the coldest winter in NYC since 1934, and the 3rd coldest on record.  And the snow and rain seems not to let up.  Nevertheless, we’re at the peak of the gallery season, and so the current exhibits are not to be missed.  This summer, when the weather will no doubt be wonderful, is precisely when the quality of gallery art will dip, and when galleries are closed weekends, my most popular time for tours.  So NOW is the time for seeing the most thrilling art.  Winter be damned.

Highlights of my Sat. March 7 Chelsea tour: (1) artist Rachel Owens, who’ll speak to us when we visit her dazzling, subversive exhibit of broken glass sculptures that comment on her employment in luxury stores, (2) a Korean artist’s huge 94-screen video art piece about Mozart, selling for $2.5 million, and (3) a young artist who makes gorgeous pointillist paintings in a completely new way, using syringes.  These are just 3 of 7 shows we’ll visit.  Rachel speaking to our group is breaking news.  And there’s a second artist who’s thinking about speaking to us as well.

There’s only 3 weeks left of winter, officially.  So it’s a matter of waiting things out.  Meanwhile, the art we see is all indoors.  Not a single of the city’s 600 galleries cancelled any exhibits this winter, or (as far as I know) closed even for one day due to the weather.  I know that all my Saturday tours and private tours took place as scheduled.

Bring your boots, or your umbrella, and your thermal underwear, or whatever you need to keep warm and dry while we wait for more normal conditions to return.  No one moves to New York for the weather.  A lot of us are here because it’s the world’s art capital.  Take advantage.

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