Sitting on the beach, David Craig Ellis took a deep breath. The artist and curator had contracted COVID-19 April 2021. And in turn, long COVID – with symptoms ranging from sleeping problems to problems concentrating and thinking — set in. Ellis flew from New York to Miami in hopes that the sunshine would improve his state of being. While the sun didn’t improve his symptoms, something else affected him — alongside the Miami breeze, a feeling cascaded over him. Something he now considers a calling: A vision of creating a gallery where he could exhibit his’ and his friends’ artwork, a communal gathering of the world he had spent the last 30 years building.
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During the 7-hour New Year’s Eve opening reception, Ellis detailed the specificities around his new group art show, titled, The Brand New New Year Show. “It gives me the feeling I would get as a kid after hitting the record store, heading home riding — no hands — on my 10 speed, a new KISS album under my arm.” Looking around the space, it was clear to me that Ellis was incredibly intentional about art and the environment it’s displayed in. From fine art photography, to dramatic paintings and insanely stimulating collages, 46 visual artists’ work scattered the wall, including names like Rick Prol, Ivy Supersonic, Paul Kostabi, Friday Jones, Bingo Sanatra, Anna Gabriel, Karyn Mannix, Mark Kostabi. “When I laid out the show, I put Anna Gabriel’s close up eye photograph [of Annie Lennox] at the front because it’s so perfect when you walk in the door,” Ellis said. “It’s just looking at you.” Walking past the gallery, Prol and Kostabi’s art stretches the length of the gallery’s windows, a design choice of Ellis’ that allowed anybody walking by to feel the essence of the exhibit, even if they didn’t step foot inside.
The artists behind the show are also Ellis’ close friends, collected over the span of his stint in the art world. As I looked around the exhibit, with its buzzing pulse from the 70s-themed Rock and Roll albums playing in the background, clusters of people milling around the space, I recognized how essential connection is –– to each other, to the world, and to expression. A response to the life we’ve lived. For Ellis, that meant both nostalgia for the past and appreciation for the present. “[The Brand New New Year Show] has a real, legitimate rock and roll feel to it.” There’s a similar feeling to the galleries of Soho in the 90s. A lot of the artists were the same,” Ellis said. “In the 90s, we powered through using copious quantities of alcohol and drugs, but we’ve matured. This gallery was built on massive amounts of caffeine and tuna fish sandwiches on whole wheat. Ellis added, “Everyone showed up and worked together to make it all worthwhile. From the Canucks in Ontario—all the way to Los Angeles, from bad ass New Yorkers, to the hippies in the desert—everyone in this show is equally important.”
While speaking to Ellis, Jackson Pawlick, the painting purebred Boston Terrier, sat perched to Ellis’ side like a trusty sidekick. Or a fellow collaborator. The two found each other shortly after Ellis’ trip to Miami. Ellis specifically recalls his vision including a “photogenic dog,” whom Ellis would connect with over painting. At just 15 months old, the puppy already has a penchant for painting and taking photos. “I was working in the studio and he just gravitated to a blank canvas next to me and began to create,” Ellis said. “He’s similar to me in the way that he’s quite mellow, but also playful and energetic.” The “photogenic dog” Ellis saw in his vision has a piece on display at The Brand New New Year Show and will have his own solo exhibition in the near future.
It wasn’t some special antidote or trip that began to heal Ellis’ — but creating with a purpose was. “I’m lucky to be alive,” Ellis shared. “I’ve had long COVID for almost two years. I started to feel better once I started putting everything into this gallery. I was happy to be able to bring all these people together in one room.” Whether he realizes it or not, Ellis’ curation at Not Another GALLERY! recreates the energy of Ellis’ childhood. “As a kid, you would stare at the album cover as you listened,” he said. “Read all the liner notes. Look at the pictures inside. [Here, you can] walk around and get lost, staring at the paintings while you’re listening to an album. It’s a full experience.”
So what would young Ellis, who felt the most alive leaving the record store, album in hand, think about his future self –– the gallery owner, artist, and curator, holding 6-week long gallery exhibits in Brooklyn, New York surrounded by collaborators, artists, and friends? According to Ellis, “That kid would be really excited, especially because I’m playing Rock and Roll.” In my opinion, “that kid” would be equally excited to know Ellis is doing what Ellis does best: Responding to life, through art — expression.
The Brand New New Year Show is a free show, open Tuesday–Sunday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Not Another GALLERY!, located at 109 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11249. Its closing reception is Saturday, February 11, 2023 from 6–9 p.m.
