It is my duty to inform you of two original and fresh opposite-ended emissions into the creative ethers. Behold, a virtual heaven and an unsupervised earthen playground:

The UK-based design deities at Universal Everything have launched Advanced Beauty this week. For months it existed only as a mysterious tab connected to the UE/Everyone Forever empire, but has finally been consecrated with content for the enjoyment of us mere mortals.

Paintings by Adam Stanforth

Coming as it does, from a person who detests the Chelsea gallery format (clinical white walls, beady-eyed receptionists, neatly summarized and stacked press releases, requisite silences, track lighting!) and other infirmary-like vestiges of the so-called "art world," you will be kind to permit my enthusiasm for Thomas Beale's Honey Space.

From Nonsense NYC:

A new space opens its doors for business in Chelsea, though no business is planned. Honey Space, founded and operated by artist Thomas Beale, will present site-specific installations in an unmonitored former warehouse set in the heart of Chelsea. The space is decidedly raw: ceiling tiles are falling down, the back wall is shot up with masonry nails, the floor is uneven. Having invested minimal money in the space itself, Beale has no plans to broker sales of work by the artists exhibited, instead directing interested collectors to the artists themselves, and he has no plans to spend much time operating the space either, for that matter. Every Tuesday through Saturday when installations are on view, he will open metal security gates in the morning, close them in the evening, and during the day be in his own private studio working, while the space is open to the public, unattended. Most striking, the space, on the West Side Highway between 21st and 22nd streets, is dead center in the middle of Chelsea, making it, in a sense, in the center of the contemporary art world itself.

The hyper-development of Chelsea has given Beale the opportunity to create this space. The building is owned by developer Alf Naman, who in the near future plans to develop a luxury residential project on the site. In the meanwhile, Naman has granted Beale and a group of other artists use of the building for studios, in exchange for artwork. Last year he negotiated with Naman to transform his space into an installation of his own work, and open his doors to the public for two separate exhibitions. Based upon the success of these experiences, Beale decided to reduce his own studio space by half, and dedicate the remaining 800 square feet to presenting other people's work.

Honey Space hosts its first opening on Valentine's Day, featuring an installation of paintings by Adam Stanforth, and a rock and roll performance by Mickey Western.

For further proof of that Beale is destined for artistic sainthood see visual evidence below.

Dream Raft

Universal Everthing [UE]
Advanced Beauty [AB]
Thomas Beale [Portfolio]
Honey Space [HS]
Nonsense NYC, weekly NYC oddball events listings [Subscribe]
Adam Stanforth [Portfolio]
Mickey Western [Myspace]