Vito Schnabel Gallery, New York, October 24 to 24 February 2024
Gallery openings are the ultimate “choose your own adventure” of social events.
There’s a specific kind of magic in that environment—it’s one of the few places where you can find a tech CEO, a starving student, and a professional socialite all standing in the same ten-foot radius, all pretending to understand the same strange object. The “you never know” factor works so well: Sometimes you walk away with a new best friend or a lead on a cool project; other times, you just walk away with a slight buzz and a very confusing brochure.
Then there is the occasional massive upgrade from “free wine and random networking.” Like you get to hang with a global icon of dissent and one of the most influential figures in contemporary culture.
In fairness, Ai Weiwei is known for being surprisingly accessible at his own openings, despite his “larger than life” reputation. He’s often seen wandering around, taking selfies with everyone (it’s basically part of his artistic practice at this point), and being incredibly observant. Anyway, he’s a cool cat.