Chelsea Gallerista

It's fitting that the very first entry in this blog is this "NFS" poster at the Jim Kempner gallery . Not for sale? Hard to believe, with the plethora of Obamabilia making profits of bailout proportions for the memento magnates. Yes, I'd have parted with $2.50 - maybe even $3, for a postcard of this image, but alas, it was just "something the publisher put together," according to the gallery attendant. For the uninitiated, HOPE is based on the famous LOVE poster and sculpture by famous pop artist Robert Indiana . Indiana donated all the proceeds of HOPE to the Obama campaign, raising more than $500,000. No wonder he won! I found myself dreaming of owning a LOVE/HOPE salt 'n' pepper set then slapped myself to regain my usual intolerance for contrived memorabilia. "Maybe the publisher will edition it," said the gallery assistant. If so, I hope she lets us inspect it for longer than she did the cool $380 snowglobe the staff member ups...

"Let's go to the  Banksy opening !" My Chelsea friend loves gallery openings – free food and a chance to jolt your mind out of autopilot, even if "I could paint that." Ever since  Banksy's  reverse art-smuggling stunt at the big museums he's become the coolest of the cool, and ironically for him, a commercial success. "Think I could buy one?" I asked as we slushed our way through the first dirty snow of the year. "Well, Angelina Jolie bought one," said my friend, which more or less answered my question. Rounding the corner on W27th Street, we were met by a long line stretching from the  Vanina Holasek Gallery  to a vanishing point. Bundles of clothing stood shivering, waiting, grim faces and rubber boots, to see some iconic screenprints. "I've never seen any opening with a line like this," said my friend. "Never." The crowd, for the most part, were young and low key. Hoodies under duffels, n...