Hackley is fortunate to be only 25 miles away from one of the biggest art capitals of the world, and Hackley’s visual art program uses this favorable location to its benefit. Students in Intermediate Studio Art recently traveled into the maze of Chelsea art galleries to explore a multitude of independent art galleries in the area.

“I like how we didn’t spend the day at a museum. All the galleries were so interesting and the trip was a pleasant surprise,” said sophomore Lucia Yanuzzi.

The day started off with a quick breakfast and coffee in the Chelsea Market, followed by a brisk walk to the first of many art galleries in the Chelsea area. Students observed the art, took photos, and talked to the gallery caretakers. As the visitors moved from gallery to gallery, they got to experience the different styles and diverse cultures of the neighborhood.

Around midday, students picked where they wanted to go for lunch and headed off, taking time afterward to see the surrounding neighborhood or explore the High Line overhead. After lunch, the group explored a few more galleries before heading home.  

“The art trip’s purpose is so that students can experience art in its true scale, surface quality, value and color,” said art teacher Mark Green. Seeing the finished product hanging up in a gallery, allows students to see what their art can become and gives the big picture effect for aspiring artists.

“The Art trip was amazing and allowed me to relate what I am learning to professional artist and their work,” said a Sophomore Max Tannenbaum. Students can also see how the mediums and subjects they are currently studying can be used in new ways, and will often find inspiration among the many different works they see.

“The art trip to Chelsea was a great experience. Visiting the galleries gave me a sense of different art styles, mediums, and techniques. I was really intrigued by the different concepts the artists focused on. Some concepts were abstract and others were focused and intricately planned. Something that really inspired me was one artist that focused on refractions and distortions in glass bottles, which is something that I also want to work on,” said sophomore Hanna Mark.

“Each gallery exhibition was carefully chosen for its relevance to art currently being done in my classes.  Because our classwork is realistic in nature, many of the art shows involve some kind of relation to realism,” said art teacher Mark Green.

The Advanced and AP Art classes will be taking trips to Chelsea to explore the galleries in the area. The AP trip focuses on the students’ AP concentrations. “I select the galleries we visit based on the senior portfolios. Each gallery that we visit is hand picked to match a senior portfolio. We’ll go to a gallery and talk about how the art relates to or inspires a specific senior concentration portfolio,” said art teacher Greg Cice.

By choosing galleries with art to which students can relate their work, the Advanced Studio Art students can gain inspiration for the concentrations next year, and the AP students can gain new insights for their current concentrations. “I’m excited for the trip because it’s a fun day and it’s cool to go to all the galleries and see the different styles of artwork,” said senior Ally Petitti, an AP art student.