Midtown West is perfect for an afternoon of gallery hopping

With so many private art galleries nestled amidst posh shopping destinations, Midtown West can quicken the pulse of any art lover. But when seeking to maximize their art quotas in the most economical fashion, art junkies need look no further than the dozens of galleries displaying an array of art media on 57th Street and Fifth Avenue.

The Marian Goodman Gallery, located on the fourth floor of 24 W. 57th St., is situated in a spacious room with tall ceilings. The sun streams through the large glass-paneled windows, and pairs with the paint-splattered floor to embody the spirit of an artist’s working space. Adhering to its tradition of displaying contemporary works, the gallery’s current Jeff Wall exhibit features photographs showing the gritty details of urban life, contrasted and infused with naturalism. The large colored photograph entitled “Knife Throw” presents a shirtless, tattooed man in a dim garage propelling a kitchen knife into a battered wall, while his companions calmly gaze. Hung neatly on the gallery’s spotless white walls, Wall’s photographs shed new light on urban elements.

Up on the seventh floor is the Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, which is currently displaying abstract expressionistic sculptures. The small and intimate gallery provides just enough space for viewers to get up close to the scattered metallic works. In the main viewing room, Theodore Roszak’s sculpture “Exploding Star” commands absolute attention with its elongated cones and symmetrical extensions. This unique mixed media piece combined with the amorphous steel sculptures highlights the futuristic and unsettling aspects of 3-D artworks.

Up the block along Fifth Avenue is a ritzy building with red carpet and gold linings, home of the Greenberg Van Doren Gallery. The current exhibition, “The New Antiquity,” displays the works of American photographer Tim Davis. As the title suggests, Davis’ photographs employ a fusion of modernity and antiquity, while illuminating the transitional phase of industrialization. In “Statue of Pants,” Davis depicts the hazy skyline of Shanghai with skyscrapers in the far distance in stark contrast to old cement buildings about to be razed. Davis’ works express a silent exasperation on the rapidity of such cultural and technological change—they show the discordant clash between the past and the future.

In the matter of a few hours, these three Midtown art galleries provide introductions to the urban, futuristic, and ancient facets of modern and contemporary art, creating an avant-garde journey.