Art openings are a great place to meet interesting people and feel the pulse of a creative community, but they are a terrible place to actually look at art.
On Friday, April 10, I found myself at the opening reception for “NEXT” at the Jamestown Art Center with the goal of looking at all the art.
“NEXT,” a group exhibition featuring artists aged 19 to 39 “with roots in Jamestown, Rhode Island,” filled the Center’s main gallery space as did the many, many people who came to see the show.
Making my way through the crowd, it always seemed like a group of people having a raucous shoulder-to-shoulder conversation appeared directly in front of whichever artwork I was trying to look at. I’m the type of guy who likes to really take his time and sit in an exhibition space, jotting down notes, looking at things close up, far away and from as many angles as I can. The cards were stacked against me at this opening.