Lights Out in Chelsea

    The rain is not responsible for the bleakness that soaks Chelsea galleries this summer. The economic recession is guilty, and is not only affecting the starving artists that dream of solo shows. It is safe to say Chelsea’s elite are also biting their paintbrushes.

    Chelsea, home to New York’s largest art district, has been slapped by the economic downfall. Thirty-seven established galleries, exhibiting some of New York’s finest artists, have closed this year, according to James Kalm, art critic and producer of the James Kalm Report, an online video series that covers New York art events.

    â€œMost of the galleries are closing with no signs of reopening” Kalms said. Twenty-five out of the 37 galleries are permanently closed, while the other 12 galleries were forced to sell their spaces in Chelsea. Prominent galleries, such as Cohan and Leslie, Salander- O’Reilly, Feature, and Clementine have closed in the past few months. Remaining galleries are weathering the economic storm by increasing exhibition lengths, cutting employees, limiting advertising, and participating in fewer art fairs.

    â€œIn two years, if you walk down the streets in Chelsea, two-thirds of the businesses that are open now will no longer exist,” art economist David Kusin reported to PSFK, an online company and news site that reports on arts & culture, advertising and business.

    But that’s just Chelsea. Well-known artists such as Mark Kostabi and Tom Christopher are slowly accepting America’s dead-end market, and are thanking the god of fine art for overseas collectors. According to “Art in America,” at a recent Christie’s auction of Post-War and Contemporary art in London, British and other European collectors exceeded the pre-sale estimate of $24 million for a total take of $31.77 million.

    â€œGermans seem more in tune to art. They appreciate it more and do not seem to buy for status or to be noticed as much as Americans,” Christopher noted. He is currently relying on his exhibitions in Europe and Asia since his New York gallery closed.

    Painter Will Cotton, who shows at the Mary Boone Gallery, is looking past that gallery after it sold its space in Chelsea; he eagerly awaits his upcoming shows in Paris and Berlin.

    Most artists agree that they would not be in the business if it required painting only to satisfy collectors. “If I start feeling the crunch I’ll deal with it, but not by bastardizing something that I love,” said artist Nicole Eisenman. Modifying work to attract new and old collectors is not the answer to increasing sales. “They have all vanished!” Christopher exclaimed, referring to buyers.

    During the current recession, the price of paintings is not necessarily the issue; the hard part is finding collectors. At a New York Christie’s auction in February, seats and slots were empty, unlike auctions in early 2008 when billionaires fell over themselves to claim the next Damien Hirst series. According to the New York Times, in early January Christie’s let go 100 employers in New York, and 300 in Europe.

    But an economic recession does not always translate into disaster. Mark Kostabi, well-known for his art enterprise “Kostabi World,” knew how to prepare for the recession after experiencing the economic meltdown in the 1990s. “I actually enjoy the challenge of problem solving to conquer the new obstacles of this recession. I imagine this might sound a little privileged like ‘Well, that’s easy for you to say because you’re rich and famous,’ but there was a time when I was totally broke and behind with the rent and I remember being happy nonetheless and enjoying the challenge then too.”