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ESTABLISHED IN SOHO, MONTSERRAT
GALLERY BEGINS A NEW ERA IN CHELSEA
For nearly two decades, Montserrat Gallery has been located in SoHo, right
across the street from the longtime location of the New Museum, where it
garmered a reputation as one of Manhattan's most consistently innovative
exhibition spaces for artists from the United States and abroad.
Discerning art collectors and critics were drawn to Montserrat Gallery for
its always stimulating roster of painters, sculptors, and artists working
in various new media, indeed, Montserrat was one of the venues that helped
to maintain the spirit of that pioneering art district by consistently
exhibiting artists who exemplified all that was new and exiting in
contemporary art.
Always aware of the fluctuating demographics of a vital and ever evolving
art market, Montserrat Gallery has recently relocated to 547 West 27th
Street, in Chelsea, the new hub of the New York art world. The gallery's
new quarters are located in one of the most actively trafficked buildings
in the district that The New York Times recently noted has entered its
"high baroque period", boasting a more vigorous and vital art scene than
even SoHo at its zenith in early 1990s.
Frequently reviewed in the art press, particularly Gallery & Studio, a
magazine widely distributed throughout the city, the relocated Montserrat Gallery will maintains the same high
standards that made its reputation formidable in its former location. With
its varied international roster of artists and an equal number of
established and emerging artists from the United States, the gallery
continues to seek out and develop talents who will make a difference in
the decades to come.
Montserrat's new location, at the center of the New York art scene,
enables it to showcase its artists even more effectively, presenting their
work to the throngs who pack the streets of Chelsea every day, eager to
make new discoveries. Montserrat Gallery presents them with a diverse
group of selectively chosen artists whose work exemplifies the exiting
pluralism of the postmodern era.
"Just as we are not limited to one style or movement in terms of the art
that we show, we do not confine ourselves to artists from one part of the
world", asserts gallery artistic director Jim Coll, graduated in Fine
Arts, who takes a keen interest in the careers of the artists he
represents. Our only real criteria is the quality of the work itself. Be
it abstract, realistic, or something we have never seen before, if it
excites us and we feel that the artist has something to say, we want to
share our enthusiasm with everyone. So we make every effort to help our
artists become successful. Artists, after all, have a terrible struggle.
All too often, they must labor in obscurity for years. For us, it is one
of the greatest satisfactions of being in this business that we can help
at least some artists to get the recognition that they deserve. Speaking
for myself personally, the chance to do this is one of the greatest
pleasures that this life has to offer".
Asked about the move to Chelsea, Jim replies, "We had some very good years
in SoHo. It was there that we first became known and built up our
credibility as a gallery worth paying attention to, a venue where there
was always something exciting to see. But now the art world has changed
and the move to Chelsea is timely. We must, after all, change with the
times in order to keep moving forward and best serve our artists". Indeed,
the personal commitment of serving its artists - giving them every
promotional opportunity; seeing to it that their exhibitions are installed
effectively; arranging for invitations; staging a gala opening reception,
and attending to all the other details that go into mounting a major show
- is part of what has made Montserrat Gallery one of New York City's most
respected exhibition spaces, both in its prior location and its present
incarnation in Chelsea. Surely these factors, along with the consistency
high quality of the work shown, have contributed to Montserrat's longevity
as an art world staple and will continue to make it a favorite destination
of collectors, critics, and others concerned with what is new, vital, and
important in contemporary art.
Ed McCormack
art critic and former Contributing
Editor of Andy Warhol's Interview |
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