If you're in Brooklyn, or anywhere near the NYC area tonight, Saturday, 1/23, then come to the grand opening of Muriel Guepin Gallery. Easy to get to by taking the F/G train to Bergen Street. You can also take the 2/3, 4, M or R trains to Court Street/Borough Hall and walk on Court to Bergen Street, about 6 blocks. Muriel Guepin Gallery
47 Bergen Street between Smith St and Court Street
Cobble Hill, Brooklyn
Tonight's opening features the work of Arpie Gennetian Najarian, Michiyo Ihara, and Paula Overbay. Arpie Gennetian Najarian creates delicate collages with paper and thread. She also has some "punched" drawings, which look as though she used needles to poke holes in paper, and some pieces made with ink.
Michiyo Ihara is a master at fine detail and hand-drawn symmetries. She creates snowflakes with layers of small images that cohere into a large, drawn doily. Her work is meticulous, precise, and utterly awe-inspiring in its consistency and precision.
Paula Overbay is a painter whose work has a quiet, celestial feeling. The many dots on a deeply colored ground cohere into abstract patterns that remind me of textile designs. She draws inspiration from her hikes on Mount Hood. Her work is meditative and reflective.
The new gallery space has an open, airy feeling, and retains the warmth of the former Shop Art Gallery space. Wooden floors give it a rustic feel, and full-length glass windows beckon you in from outside.
If you can't make it to tonight's opening, I recommend visiting during regular gallery hours:
Wednesday-Saturday 11am-7pm
Sunday 12-5pm
Muriel regularly includes in the gallery the work of the other artists she represents. There are myriad opportunities to discover the work of primarily Brooklyn-based artists, so come on by when you can!
Last Friday night, I was out with some girlfriends at a bar in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Of the three of us, two (including me) are single and searching. One of us is dating someone who seems just right for her. In the context of talking about her previous boyfriends, including the one she moved to New York for, I said to her, "He (her current boyfriend) cleared a forest to get to you."
