look book

The Look Book Goes to Dia Chelsea

After a two-year renovation, the gallery reopened with an exhibition of works by artist Lucy Raven.

Myonggi Sul. Photo: DeSean McClinton-Holland
Myonggi Sul. Photo: DeSean McClinton-Holland

Myonggi Sul (pictured above), Retired, Upper West Side.

Who did you come see the show with?
My former student Eric — I’m a retired Pratt professor. I think that, aesthetically, we are kind of in agreement on what’s good and what’s not so good.

What did you teach?
Interior design. I had a bachelor’s degree in English literature, but it didn’t hold my interest enough for me to pursue that field. I minored in art, and I’m still a painter. My brother is a fine artist. I keep sending my paintings to him, hoping for a critique, and he just says, “Okay, it’s good.”

An-My Lê, Artist and teacher, Carroll Gardens. Photo: DeSean McClinton-Holland
Simone Shields, Associate gallery director, East Village. Photo: DeSean McClinton-Holland
Tara Fireball, Artist and activist, Crown Heights. Photo: DeSean McClinton-Holland

Any favorite pieces?
The video in the second room of a truck mixing cement. It was an assault on my senses, but at the same time, it was meditative.

David Anaya Maya, Gallery attendant, Upper East Side. Photo: DeSean McClinton-Holland

You’re a gallery attendant?
Yes. In Colombia, where I’m from, I had my own gallery, and then I won a fellowship with the Drawing Center. I fell in love with my now-husband and ended up at Dia. My husband is from Wyoming. He is an optimist. That’s something I really love about him.

Jessica Morgan, Dia Art Foundation director, Soho. Photo: DeSean McClinton-Holland
Luis Urribarri, Visual artist, Hell’s Kitchen. Photo: DeSean McClinton-Holland
Chris Ruffin, Illustrator, Bedford-Stuyvesant. Photo: DeSean McClinton-Holland
Dominique Boyer, Artist, Chelsea. Photo: DeSean McClinton-Holland
David Morehouse, Dia Art Foundation deputy director, East Village. Photo: DeSean McClinton-Holland
Orlando Cervantes, Author, East Harlem. Photo: DeSean McClinton-Holland
Eve Sussman, Artist, South Williamsburg. Photo: DeSean McClinton-Holland
Lisa Spellman, Gallery founder, Soho. Photo: DeSean McClinton-Holland

What did you think of the exhibition?
Spectacular. Before COVID, there were rumors that Chelsea was dying. This is proof there’s so much life. It was almost like last year — not that it didn’t happen, but this has made it feel worth it. And with the beautiful new David Hammons sculpture on the Hudson, and the Whitney showing Dan Graham on the terrace, and the return of the Armory art fair at Javits! I got my vaccine there because I wanted the full circular experience.

Maggie Lee, Video artist, Chinatown. Photo: DeSean McClinton-Holland
Patrick Pauley, Student, Bedford-Stuyvesant. Photo: DeSean McClinton-Holland
Toshiaki Noda, Artist, Long Island City. Photo: DeSean McClinton-Holland
Nathalie de Gunzburg, Dia Art Foundation board chair, Upper East Side. Photo: DeSean McClinton-Holland

Nice outfit.
It’s Saint Laurent. I was in the country, in the Hamptons, and this was the only shirt and skirt I had. I’d never worn the skirt before. So I put it on and came to New York.

Eleanor Lovinsky, Unemployed, Williamsburg. Photo: DeSean McClinton-Holland
Antwyone Ingram, DJ, Bushwick. Photo: DeSean McClinton-Holland

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The Look Book Goes to Dia Chelsea