OK Harris Works of Art – The End of an Era

When I was in Soho last week, I was feeling a little sad and nostalgic because OK Harris had closed after 45 years. I missed my old routine including a regular stop at OK Harris, either to drop off new work or simply to view the five compelling solo exhibits which were typically mounted throughout the year in this huge space – a forerunner to the Chelsea museum-galleries. When I brought my family with me, everyone always found something that appealed to them. I particularly loved seeing the stable of food artists, such as Ralph Goings.

This probably shouldn’t have surprised me since I attended the 2012 memorial service of Ivan Karp, the founder and director. What a marvelous tribute it was to Ivan, a charismatic person and giant in the art world! Ivan helped launch the careers of pop artist such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Robert Rauschenberg as co-director of Leo Castelli Gallery from 1959-1969. Then Ivan launched his own gallery in SoHo , the first one on West Broadway. Ivan continued to uncover and mentor new artists throughout his entire career, and I am proud to say that I was one of them.

OK Harris was at the forefront of the Photo Realist movement, and was one of the first galleries to exhibit the work of Duane Hanson, one of my all time favorite sculptors. I remember the first time my daughter, Laura, confronted one of Hanson’s guards posted in the gallery.

The memorial service was packed full of video clips and interviews, one of my favorites showing Ivan and Andy Warhol having a great time. Another memorable moment was when Jim Zagat gave Ivan, a connoisseur of food and wine, credit for suggesting the concept of a restaurant guide at dinner one night. To my delight, I just found the service online.

The visual introducing the memorial service show silhouettes of Ivan smoking his ever-present cigar. OK Harris was probably the only art gallery with a cigar store in it. In fact, I first introduced myself to Ivan in the cigar store in 2001, which led to my first show with the gallery – and I still think of Ivan every time I see someone smoking a cigar. The details of that first show will be the subject of a future post.

For now, I want to express my appreciation to Ivan, Ethan, and Marilyn Karp, and the rest of the OK Harris team, especially to Suzanne Kreps and Rick Witter, as well as Ana Menezes and Amy Fishman, for their friendship and support for over a decade. I have nothing but good things to say about all of you, the extremely high quality of the numerous OK Harris shows that I savored through the years, and the professionalism of the gallery – of which I was honored to be a part.

Thank you, OK Harris!