UPTOWNflavor

While some may question the beauty of The Kalahari on the outside, there is no doubt about the beauty of the interior space –more specifically, the lobby.  In an effort to compete with luxury downtown buildings, The Kalahari offers an in-house custom curated art gallery designed by Cheryl Riley.  Apparently it is working:

“It was lovely,” said Ms. Silberberg, a former art teacher who with her husband has amassed a collection of African and Japanese art over the years. “It was certainly a draw.”

The couple purchased a three-bedroom apartment at the Kalahari, and Ms. Silberberg is aiming for a spot on the committee that manages the building’s art.

The Kalahari’s collection, assembled by curator Cheryl Riley with a budget of some $500,000, is a far cry from the cookie-cutter landscape paintings that were once ubiquitous in the lobbies of New York apartment buildings.

The works that Ms. Riley chose for the Kalahari range from established artists like Mr. Anatsui to emerging artists, and will be thematically related to the building’s sub-Saharan Africa-inspired aesthetic and its Harlem location, Walter Edwards, the chief executive officer of Full Spectrum NY, which developed the project, said.

“Anyone can do four walls. We’re developing a lifestyle,” he said.

The robust art market of recent years, in which living artists have fetched astronomical prices for their work, has heightened awareness of contemporary art, Ms. Riley said, broadening its appeal to a wider audience.

“It has reached the masses,” she said. “It’s not some dead person from Europe — there’s a real connection to people’s lives.”

The Kalahari is the first apartment building Ms. Riley has curated a collection for, she said, and the project challenging because the works must appeal to residents with varying backgrounds, political persuasions, and knowledge of art history. “You want it to make you think, but you don’t want it to be confrontational,” she said of the works she chose.

Read the whole article [NYSun]