On 5 November 2015 world-renowned tattoo artist Paul Booth, the owner of the Last Rites Gallery in NYC, opened a new gallery called Booth Gallery.
Booth Gallery and its program of carefully selected artists will take over the large ground floor space of 325 W 38th St. (NYC, NY 10018), and the Last Rites Gallery will be relocated to the second floor mezzanine gallery for a more focused program of Contemporary Surrealism. Booth Gallery will allow Paul to display works by an even broader selection of local and international contemporary artists.
Paul has wanted to launch a new gallery focused on the exploration of new avenues in terms of cultural significance and visual communication for years. Booth Gallery’s program has been conceived to encompass a departure from contemporary surrealism for which Paul and Last Rites Gallery have been known. Paul’s goal for his new gallery is to develop a wider audience interested in connections between historical relevance and experimentation of idea based works. Furthermore, the gallery aims to trigger discussions focusing around social, psychological and philosophical subjects in virtue of a deliberately thought-provoking approach to contemporary art. We would like to invite you all to become an active part of our ongoing dialogue and new perspective on these topics.
Booth Gallery’s inaugural exhibition, “Second Sight”, opening on November 14th at 6pm, will revolve around the connection that exists between information, perception and interpretation. This exhibition will include new works from artists Mike Cockrill, Jade Townsend, Ted Lawson, Chad Wys, Todd Lim, Johan Barrios, Ekaterina Panikanova, Ryan Hewett and Jesse Draxler. This exhibition will be pivoted on the ambiguous connection existing between information, perception and interpretation. The title of the exhibition refers to the concept indicating the extraordinary ability of certain individuals to look beyond the oftentimes deceptive immediacy of the five senses. “Second Sight” has been conceived to explore the meanings and symbols that can be identified in the work of these artists through the interpretation of a vast repertoire of images, memories and esthetic experiences. The main goal of this exhibition is to highlight the analogies and differences between reality, representation and everything in between.
All the works have been selected in virtue of a dialog-based interaction that had been previously triggered by the artists themselves. In the light of these premises, the work of Chad Wys relates perfectly to the imagery of Jesse Draxler, since they are both deeply connected to the stratagems of visual communication and culture. The juxtaposition of excess and absence of information is a topical subject that can also be individuated in the work of Ekaterina Panikanova. Jade Townsend and Johan Barrios are like modern shamans who can turn the narrative dynamism of drawing, painting and sculpture into figments of their prolific imagination. The work of Ted Lawson, focused on experimentation, revolves around scientific theories, new materials and technology. Mike Cockrill and Todd Lim, on the other hand, prefer to provoke the viewers through an intricate alternation of social political and psychological statements. Together, these artists give us the opportunity to explore our existential perceptions of our reality.
Booth Gallery will follow up its inaugural exhibition with solo exhibitions by LA artist Jesse Draxler and Brooklyn artist Mike Cockrill in 2016 with several future exhibitions to be announced as well.
For further information about Booth Gallery, please visit: www.paulboothgallery.com or email: paulboothgallery@gmail.com or call Casey Gleghorn (Gallery Director) at 570-447-5778