A-C: What are you looking to add to the Chelsea art scene?
Accola Griefen: Our prior experiences - both with commercial galleries and not-for-profit institutions - have given us a desire to forge long-term relationships with artists. We look forward to working closely with the artists we represent to build their careers over time. All of the artists we exhibit have been chosen for the quality of their work. Some have also been chosen for their historical importance and unique contributions to various genres and movements (Installation Art, Pattern & Decoration, Light Art, Feminist Art.) For our other artists who are emerging to mid career, we look forward to nurturing their careers as they make important contributions now and in the future. These artists are, for us, among the best visual voices working today.
A-C: Why did you choose Chelsea as the destination for your gallery?
Accola Griefen: In many ways it is still the center of the art world in the United States. We wanted to be located where our artists would have maximum exposure. Also, we both live in NYC and love the city. Kat was born and raised in TriBeCa and her father, John Griefen, is an artist.
About the founders:
Kristen Accola began working in the NYC art world at Lefebre Gallery on Madison Avenue in 1978. She spent 15 years working for two NYC art galleries and 15 years as a curator, ten of which were as the Curator and Director of Exhibitions at the Hunterdon Art Museum, a major contemporary art space in New Jersey. In addition to the over 100 or so exhibitions she has curated in the past 30 years, many of which were reviewed by the New York Times, Accola has also lectured on her curatorial projects, written multiple exhibition catalogue texts, organized and moderated numerous exhibition panel discussions, juried other institutions’ exhibitions and written hundreds of didactic wall texts for museum exhibitions. In 2008, Accola opened her first NYC gallery - Accola Contemporary, which she closed in 2009 to begin working on Accola Griefen Gallery with Kat Griefen.
Before opening Accola Griefen Gallery, Kat Griefen was the Director of A.I.R. Gallery, which was founded in 1972 as the first gallery for women artists in the United States. Between 2006 and 2011, under her directorship, the gallery presented more than 100 solo and group exhibitions, which were reviewed by publications including The New York Times, Art in America, Sculpture Magazine, The Brooklyn Rail and ArtNews . She has also worked as an independent curator for New York University, Sideshow Gallery and the University of Chicago’s DOVA Gallery. Ms. Griefen has lectured widely at institutions and conferences including The College Art Association, The American Studies Association and The Brooklyn Museum. She is the New York Coordinator for The Feminist Art Project (TFAP) and a member of Arttable.
Mses. Accola and Griefen met at an ArtTable dinner in 2008. ArtTable is a national organization of women professionals in the arts. The pair connected immediately on many levels and discovered a mutual interest in, among other things, women artists and feminist artists. They are both attracted to contemporary art that reflects our times, evolves art history and presents insights into our society and culture.
Accola Griefen Gallery (accolagriefen.com)
547 W 27th Street #634 (between 10th & 11th Ave)
Hours: Tuesday - Saturday: 11:00am - 6:00pm
Current exhibition live until October 15, 2011Public reception: Thursday, September 15, 6-9pm
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Contact Accola Griefen Gallery: (646) 532-3488 or info(at)accolagriefen.com
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***for a listing of all receptions at Chelsea NYC art galleries, click the logo below***
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