My new year of gallery tours will begin on Jan. 4 with a very special event: young artist  Danielle Durchslag will speak to us when we visit her brand new Lower East Side gallery exhibit.  When I first walked into her gallery, I thought I was seeing photographs of Jewish families and schools from bygone eras.  But no, when I got closer I saw they were photo-realistic paintings.  But NO AGAIN!!  Gallery owner Elizabeth Denny informed me that there wasn’t a drop of paint on the artwork, nor were they actual photographs (though they sure looked like photos).  Rather, the artwork was made entirely of torn paper, collaged together.  I was immediately impressed, and I asked Elizabeth if she could invite the artist to speak to my tour group.  A few days later, I got the e-mail that Danielle would be there this coming Saturday!  Hers is just one of 7 exhibits we’ll visit, though Danielle will be the only artist we’ll meet.

As it turns out, the artwork is based on pictures from the artist’s family’s photo albums, and they’re of the lesser-known father’s side of the family.  The dates of the original photos span from the 1800s to the 1950s.  Most are formal group scenes, rather than informal cellphone shots that are so ubiquitous today.  It’s the story of the Jewish Diaspora in America, though almost all the subjects are anonymous.  It’s fitting that these should be displayed in the Lower East Side, which at the turn of the 20th century was the gateway neighborhood for thousands upon thousands of newly-arrived Jewish immigrants, who later spread throughout the U.S.

I love the way that Danielle’s artwork combines a wonderfully innovative technique – photorealistic collage (something I’d never heard of before) – with important subject matter, and one that is so personal to the artist.  I’m looking forward to asking her about both her process and emotional connection to the artwork, and participants will also get to ask their own questions.

Two other highlights on the Jan. 4 tour: dazzling psychedelic paintings based on an artist’s background in molecular biology, and a surreal sculpture exhibit that its artist likens to a musical composition.  Though Chelsea is still the most “extraordinary” tour I lead, the Lower East Side is now my “favorite” tour, as the artists and gallery owners there are, on average, 20 years or so younger than their counterparts in Chelsea.  What you see in Chelsea is the latest work by the world’s greatest artists.  What you see in the Lower East Side is new work by the world’s FUTURE great artists.  And on this particular tour, you’ll actually get to meet one.

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