Merge Gallery

If you have but a half hour in Chelsea, you should spend it on W. 20^th between 7^th and 8^th avenues. There you can indulge in a fresh brewed cup of coffee at Café Grumpy, and stop in for a glimpse of artwork at Merge Gallery.
Merge is a small, intimate space, featuring just a few pieces by a single artist. Currently they are exhibiting their second solo show of Clara Fialho… a snazzy show entitled «The Intolerable White Sun» that is up until June 21^st.
The artwork was fun and spunky, conceptual but beautiful… and the gallery attendant, well, he attended to us! (This is a small miracle among galleries, to be not ignored…) The young man was very friendly– greeted us instantly, showed us the artist’s statement and told us a little about her and the gallery, and even joined in our discussion of the work. He alone deserves five stars, and I’ll definitely be stopping back to this little nook. We caught them on a Monday even— normally their hours are Tuesday– Saturday, 11 – 6:00. It was a perk to find them open while en route to Café Grumpy on a Monday!
Their website is
(though they didn’t have future exhibitions posted when I checked…).