Starting tonight, 24 Lower East Side galleries, all within walking distance of each other, will kick off the inaugural L.E.S. Art Week, featuring exhibits with a special emphasis on female artists or groups of female artists – both emerging and established. From Oct. 17 – 21, 2018, many of the galleries will present special events, including artists talks, tours, performance and panel discussions devoted to the featured artists.
L.E.S. Art Week was conceived by Lesley Heller of Lesley Heller Gallery (54 Orchard Street) and Bart Keijsers Koning of LMAK Gallery (298 Grand Street) as “a way of emphasizing both brick and mortar galleries and the vibrant neighborhoods in which they are located.”
The duo has teamed up with the savvy audio guide developers, The Two Percent, to offer a customized audio tour featuring eight of the participating galleries that is as enjoyable as any podcast experience – but promises to be more interactive. The hour-long audio tour is available for download on your smartphone this week only, Thursday – Sunday from 12pm – 6pm.
Galleries included in the audio tour are: Lesley Heller, Foley Gallery, Front Room Gallery, LMAK Gallery, High Noon Gallery, Denny Dimin Gallery, Empirical Nonsense and a bonus architecture tour at Perrotin Gallery.
Gallery owner Lesley Heller says she was inspired by a similar event, Berlin Art Week, held each fall in the German capital for the past seven years. In the past, Lower East Side galleries have banded together for an annual “Gallery Walk” for one afternoon or evening, but this year, Heller says, they wanted to elevate the Lower East Side gallery experience to be something a bit more special.
Curated highlights include:
• A feature wall, outdoor work by artist Tamara Gayer located at 54 Orchard St, New York.
• Protest signs from the Women’s March, Still They Persist presented by LMAK Gallery
• A solo by Mary Beth Edelson presented by David Lewis Gallery
• A solo by Rachel Monosov, presented by Catinca Tabacaru Gallery
• A solo by Jessee Edelman at Denny Gallery
• A window display by Cal Lane and gallery show by Sherry Parker at Foley Gallery
• A solo by Despina Stokou at Derek Eller
• Erika Keck and Carole Cole at Feature Hudson Foundation
• A solo by Amy Hill at Front Room Gallery
• A solo by Grace Weaver at James Cohan Gallery
• A solo by Drew Shiflett at Lesley Heller Gallery
• A solo by Jill Baroff at Pablo’s Birthday
• A solo by Coady Brown at 1969 Gallery
• A solo by Dania Mattis at High Noon Gallery
• A group show featuring Elaine Reichek at Marc Straus
• A solo by Maureen Mcquillan at Mackenzie Fine Art
• Emily Mae Smith and Genesis Belanger at Galerie Perrotin
• A solo by Umber Majeed at Rubber Factory
• Hyon Guyon and Loredana Sperini at Shin Gallery
• A solo by Heather Guertin at Brennan and Griffin
• A solo by Barb Smith at Step Sister
• A solo by Joyce J. Scott at Peter Blum Gallery
