Whitdel Arts

I like the location of this gallery. It’s tucked away in an apartment building basement in a residential neighborhood. I think I’ve only been to 3 shows here but every time there’s been people just hanging out outside, drinking and socializing.
There’s always wine, water and hors d’oeuvres at a little table by the side door entrance with a glass vase for donations. It’s brightly lit and antiseptic looking. There are 3 rooms and it seems like one artist always gets the run of the last one which is down half a flight of stairs. The show before last there was a female artist showing in there who made these awesomely kitschy shrine worthy dioramas. They were a mix of religious imagery and 50’s and pop culture ephemera. Weird John Waters looking stuff. I grabbed one of her business cards but lost it. It’s too bad I can’t remember her name. If I come across it again I’ll update this. The rest of that show was a mixed bag.
The latest show I went to last night and was surprisingly uninteresting to me, considering the theme was mental illness. There was only one piece that I liked alot, but even that was extremely derivative of Basquiat.
It’s not a very big gallery but they seem to get a lot of work in the space. And it’s not the best gallery, but it’s worth checking out.

Nice space, but they need to work on their presentation. The lighting at the show I went to was awful — you blocked the light every time you walked up to an exhibit. There was also some precariously — placed artwork that I’d be surprised if it wasn’t broken by the end of the night. Keep working on it, Whitdel Arts… and you’ll get more stars from me.