Thursday nights in Chelsea always buzz with excitement as art lovers flock to the neighborhood for exhibition openings. Some make a bee line for a specific target; other stroll down the sidewalk, peering into open doors and casually popping into whichever galleries pique their interest. Last night, I was one of the former and my destination of choice was Axelle Fine Art (535 W. 25th St., btw 10th & 11th aves., 212-226-2262) for the opening of Patrick Pietropoli’s latest exhibition of oils on linen.
Walking into the spacious, industrial gallery was like entering a veritable United Nations of the art world. I could hear at least four languages bouncing off the crisp white walls as the showgoers animatedly discussed the paintings before them. Scanning the room, I could easily understand what all the fuss was about: Pietropoli’s paintings were stunning.
The French artist’s oeuvre consists mostly of cityscapes and figurative paintings, all in muted tones of grey, blue and brown. This particular exhibition focuses on Paris and New York (the two cities he splits his time between), as well as their inhabitants.
Here are two of my favorite pieces:
"Upper West Side," 38 in. x 76 in.; Courtesy of the artist and Axelle Fine Art
"Les piétons," 46 in. x 46 in.; Courtesy of the artist and Axelle Fine Art
What do you think? Personally, I’m drawn to them because of the way they capture the mood of the person or place they depict. To wax poetic: I don’t just see what Pietropoli was seeing; it’s almost like I feel what he was feeling.
Don’t take my word for it, though — go see the exhibition for yourself! Pietropoli’s work will be up until about mid-April.
In the interest of full disclosure, I’d like to kick things off with a small confession: I haven’t always been interested in art. I’ve never been particularly gifted in any sort of visual media, and my teacher for 9th grade studio art (a required class, mind you) told me I lacked any talent whatsoever, which pretty much killed the iota of subject appreciation I’d managed to muster up until that point.