Art Exhibitions/Gatherings

A friend of mine is an artist (still life oils). Each spring he has a one man show in the Soho district in NYC. Most of the folks who show show up are people who do these things regularly, whether they know the artist or not. I suppose it's not a bad way to spend and evening, munching on crackers and drinking inexpensive wine. Some are true art lovers, but as might be expected, others are cruising for love, connections or a free dinner invitation.
Most men dress in either shabby chic (expensive but rumpled slacks and Armani sweaters (jumpers, for our UK friends) or business suits ( after work, before dinner dress).
The female dress is much more varied, from near sheer cocktail dresses /w silk shawls, to pleated skirts w/ silk blouses, to shimmering pant outfits. Jewelry is always glittery, but not showy. After all, this is about the art.
My artist friend dresses in faded jeans, white dress shirt and camel hair blazer. The venue is a large ground floor room, brightly lit with highly polished pale oak floors. Paintings are arranged on exposed red brick walls, or on very tall, hinged blank screens. A small table is at the entrance with pamphlets listing each painting and its price. That way no one has to ask "How much?"
The affair is catered--waiters in black pants, white shirt and those awful adjustable black bow ties.

Aside: Every man should learn how to tie a bow tie for himself, or find a woman who can do it for him.

One painting my friend did, and I coveted, was a monochrome (white and gray) interior still w/ pots, jugs, and flowers. $10k, a steal. It was sold by the time I arrived at that particular show.
If you want more about this please PM me.

I got to a lot of art shows and gallery openings here, usually it's just a room full of people wandering around and drinking awful wine.

Sometimes it's all the work of one artist, sometimes several, or in the case of a new gallery, it can be many.

Most of the people there will know someone connected with teh show, but often they are publically advertised events, open to all.

The art gallery where I used to work (not in New York, in a University town, so your mileage may vary) used to do this thing called "First Night Fridays." Basically, the first Friday night of every month, entrance to all the galleries was free and they provided drinks and munchies. Anyone could come, but these were mostly attended by the same crowd of people - aka, those who had some sort of connection to the art community.

I forgot to mention that many museums hold fund raisers. The Art Museum in Wilmington DE has an annual Beaux Arts ball. Dancing, fine food and conversation amid the largest collection of Pre-Raphalite art outside of the UK can't be beat. Of course anybody who's anybody is there. Even I get to go!

A village not far from where I live has an annual art exhibition. It is held in the village hall over the Easter weekend and it gets VERY crowded. There is an admissions fee - I can't remember how much - but the entrance ticket gets you a glass of reasonable wine. I went on the first evening, with friends, about five years ago. About half of the works had been sold. Some of them were amazing - one artist painted villages just after a rain fall. All of his works were sold. It was very busy and very buzzy. There was a whole range of people there - the local Rector, farm workers who had come straight from fields and barns in their work clothes, some young upwardly mobile 'out of towners', professionals - docs, teachers, local solicitors, it really was a cross section of society. If you stood in front of a work with a complete stranger it seemed to be the expected thing to have a conversation - or if your glass was empty would get you a fresh glass of wine. What I remember most was the complete lack of pretension of most people. There was one person who was sounding off about his painting. I saw a lovely landscape and decided that I wanted it. The people who were doing sales greeted me as if I was going to spend millions! They all agreed I had made a very good choice of painting. I had to go back on the Monday evening to pick it up. The hall was in natural daylight and seemed cold and empty after the hubbub of Friday. It was very different from the exhibitions I went to in London - there was an ambiance that was hard to define. I later realized that it was the art that was important as most people were talking about it.

I would just say the opening of an exhibit. I went to a university with a famous art school (I was a math major, but my two best friends were both art majors) and all the exhibits (senior shows, year-end shows, one-man shows, whatever) began with an opening where people schmoozed and boozed and gnoshed on stuff like veggies and dip, brie and crackers, nuts, fruit platters, etc etc etc. This was on the afternoon the exhibit went up, and it was just called an "opening." Then the exhibit stayed up for maybe a week or two, but it was just there for people to see, no more events.

idempotent1729 said:

I would just say the opening of an exhibit. I went to a university with a famous art school (I was a math major, but my two best friends were both art majors) and all the exhibits (senior shows, year-end shows, one-man shows, whatever) began with an opening where people schmoozed and boozed and gnoshed on stuff like veggies and dip, brie and crackers, nuts, fruit platters, etc etc etc. This was on the afternoon the exhibit went up, and it was just called an "opening." Then the exhibit stayed up for maybe a week or two, but it was just there for people to see, no more events.

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PS forgot to say, admission to these openings was free (maybe because it was a university), and the booze was always wine, usually white wine, I think.

My aunt has a gallery and every time she opens a new exhibitions, she has a get-together for the artists and other interested people. You know, finger foods, drinks and polite conversation.

The name is unfortunately quite boring. When I get the card on the doormat it simply says "opening".

I usually hear any particular event called by its own title, instead of an opening, show, exhibition, etc. NYC might be way more upscale, but one that's held here a couple of times a year is called "The Artwalk," which is free of charge and open to the public.

It's in an area where there are lots of galleries and also trolleys. People walk or ride the trolley from one gallery to the next and people working at the event toss Mardi Gras beads at everyone outside. It's a party atmosphere and quite the mix of people: Well-dressed patrons and buyers, hippies, and people like me who just want a night out. It's pseudo-classy, free cheap wine in plastic cups and hors d'oeuvres. Snootery and reverse snootery is abundant.

You never know what to expect with the galleries themselves or the art either. One gallery looks like somebody's basement and has kitschy stuff, the next has art that's unique but too out there for your average living room, the next is formal and expensive.

And then there are the smaller individual gallery things or things at colleges and so on. Maybe you could go to one near your home for some real life flavor to add to your story.

At the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, when they open a new exhibition they have an "Opening", usually the night before the exhibition actually opens, to which members only are invited. (I'm a member.) We get invitions by mail and email and are asked to RSVP. You give your name at the the door and if you aren't already there you are admitted. There are hors d'oeuvres, wines, cakes and such. Often there is an artsy movie - I saw Please Exit Through The Gift Shop there - and usually the artist makes an appearance. We move freely through the exhibition, hobnobbing with the glitterati of the moment, artists, the filthy rich, poor starving artists like me and my companion. One can make friends with anyone one can make friends with. I think many gallerys and other institutes do the same thing.

In my other life, I'm a professional artist in Arizona, so I get to go to a lot of these things. They come in different flavors:

The small, intimate art show opening at a new or unsuccessful gallery, where by 7:30 in the evening the director looks at the five people milling around not buying anything and announces she's going for a pizza. Often spiced up with garage bands, Two-Buck Chuck, and Cheetos in paper bowls. If enough sympathetic friends are present, along with decent-enough music, these often devolve into a party. Dress, and even clothing at some points, may be optional.

The small, intimate art show opening at a successful gallery, where the gallery director is desperately trying to keep the featured artist(s) circulating among well-heeled clients. Other artists are just as desperately trying to snag said clients. There will be wine and fingerfoods, and probably a band. May be free, may be invite-only. Dress is business-casual to evening, but artists are strange creatures and may show up in farmwear to make a 'statement.'

The ArtWalk extravaganza held on a single night each month, where all the galleries stay open late and try to steal sales from each other, while being oh so cordial in public. Free entry. Clothing required by state law, but types of clothing vary wildly.

The Big Tent Shows, where hundreds of artist shun galleries altogether and pay an entry fee to have a booth for between one weekend and three months, depending on the show. Small one-time entry charge to the public, after that they keep their passes and come back for free. Local galleries hate these, because they usually don't pay local taxes and siphon away clients. Dress is casual to business-casual, since these happen during the day. Artists wear smocks and overalls to provide paint-splashed verisimilitude.

Art trade shows like SOFA (Sculptural Objects and Functional Art) that take up a week or two in a major convention center, with several swank hotels handling the population. Even in a bad economy, millions of dollars change hands at these shows, because they are where most of the major galleries go to find new artists. They have the same gatekeeper function as literary agencies, weeding out the artists whose skill and production habits don't measure up yet. Business casual to formal, depending on the event and its timing.

City-wide art events (Venice Biennale, Miami Basel, Tucson Rock & Gem Show, etc) where art events, exhibitions, and dealers are all over the place. Great fun for every folks and pretentious twits alike, and many events are free.

Hope this helps a little.

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