Tête-à-Tête.

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We stop by the Yancey Richardson Gallery in Chelsea on Wednesday to see Tête-à-Tête, a new show of works by African and African-American artists, curated by the artist Mickalene Thomas. We had heard about the show’s opening last Thursday (Jul 12th) but were unavailable to attend. This week we were determined to see the collectives works come hell or high water; mother nature opted for high water.

We hurried to the gallery hoping to have a look around, assess some of the works and then be back in our comfy homes in time to beat the storm. The folks at YR were extremely accommodating, allowing us to take our fair photos and asked our fair share of questions. The pieces were each their own but they all sung a song of unification — from Zanele Muholi’s window into to South Africa’s gay community to Thomas’ staged polaroids. By time we were done gawking at each work, we stepped outside to find that we were Noahs without an ark.

“Power walking” from awning to awning, we finally to decided to take refuge in New York Burger Co. on 23rd. Somewhat soaked and thankful for shelter, we had doubt that it was all worth it.

“Pucker Up!” by Unknown Photographer. (Courtesy of Quiet Lunch Magazine.)

“Landscape 2 Women” by Xaviera Simmons. (Courtesy of Quiet Lunch Magazine.)

According to The New York Times and the Yancey Richardson press release, the idea for Tête-à-Tête, has its roots in an event at MOMA called “Conversations: Among Friends.” The event included Thomas alongside other artists such as Derrick Adams, Xaviera Simmons, and Clifford Owens.

Thomas explained to the Times, “I wanted to bring this discussion to a visual platform and space… A ’tête-à-tête’ is one-on-one conversation between two people, back and forth. This type of call and response is the title and subject of the exhibition.”

Tête-à-Tête will run through August 31st. Click-through for a selection of the work: http://nyr.kr/MAWByL

“Static/Distortion/Interference” by Derrick Adams. (Courtesy of Quiet Lunch Magazine.)

“Polaroid Series #1” by Mickalene Thomas. (Courtesy of Quiet Lunch Magazine.)

“Polaroid Series #4” by Mickalene Thomas. (Courtesy of Quiet Lunch Magazine.)

Works by Malick Sidibe. (Courtesy of Quiet Lunch Magazine.)

“Anthology (Nsenga Knight)”. (Courtesy of Quiet Lunch Magazine.)

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