Edward Tyler Nahem: Art Dealer.
Art Response

One, of the many, beauty’s of art is the fact that the possibilities of meaning are limitless.  For some, it’s hard to pinpoint the exact of what struck them about art but nonetheless, just as with anything, you’ll know when you’ve been touched. It is then that your soul awakens with an unpredictable response.

The conversations surrounding art are always debatable. What to make of it? What was the artist’s initial vision and process? And then there are times where silence plays a key role in the art visual experience, leaving one to relish in the feelings of the heart or dialogue internally.

Art speaks to the eyes, heart and intellect.

“I think that all in all, it’s about the dialogue and sometimes that dialogue is an inner-dialogue,” states New York art dealer Edward Tyler Nahem. “Sometimes people don’t want to talk about it. Even verbalizing, for some people, takes away from the visual experience that can also go directly to the heart or to the intellect. Sometimes, words, with some people, when you try to define things, those words can get in the way.”

The Brooklyn-bred art enthusiast, who admittedly states that he “started off with nothing and [I] wasn’t born with a silver spoon or nothing like that,” fell into the arts after walking into the Museum of Modern Art and experiencing a painting by Mark Rothko, a troubled but talented modern artist in the 1930s.

He describes, “It’s very hard to say some times, to say a verbal or particular finger on what attracts us and why we respond to a painting. I’ve told before of how the first time I walked into the Museum of Modern Art and saw a painting by Mark Rothko and I was so struck with chills down my back and not having much of a basis while looking at this work but looking at peels of color and just being so taken by this that I couldn’t control the shutter going down my back. I don’t know how you explain that.”

Well, I think he just may have. There are times when the explanation resides in being verbally unexplainable. Edward physically responded to the work of Rothko. He experienced it.

Rothko’s work explored abstract expressionism and dealt heavily with colors. There is an intense nature about his work that may puzzle you while also providing a new meaning as to how color relates to mood and feeling. Art in all aspects represents creativity and a nurturing adherence to the world around you. It’s intriguing in that way.

“Then you know, there are other people who look at this work and walk away from it flat and I can’t blame somebody for  that because I think everybody has a heart experience,” Nahem says. “It’s something which you can’t explain why you respond to one and why you don’t respond to the next. That’s what’s makes it interesting, because if everyone responded to the same thing then what would life be like?”

Another Side of Art:

For one dealing the arts, their skill examines various forms of paintings, sculptures, photography and the likes.  All pieces are handled with care and pride as they present works to possible consumers. One can look at the job as an adrenaline rush. Studying, buying and selling.

“I love the chase!,” Edward ignites.

The art dealer is strategic in approach. Typically they seek out various artists to represent while building relationships with collectors and museums whose interests connect with their artist.

“I love finding works of art. I know where there are collections and I’ll see people and try to get somebody to sell something because I have a specific client interested in work by that artist. So, sometimes it’s a bit of a schmoozing game and sometimes it’s a bit of a cat and dog game in the sense of you’re trying to find works of art and hoping to get people to sell and then getting people to buy.”

His gallery, Edward Tyler Nahem Fine Art, LLC, located on 57th street, specializes in 20th century and contemporary art. These works highlight expressionist and abstract artists. It explores futuristic thinking by entangling the ideals of a modern society.

“We organize theme shows from time to time based on a particular theme or idea. For example, [beginning September 27] we’ll be showing new work by the artist Andres Serrano who’s fairly well-known and a sometimes controversial photographer.”

Serrano’s work exposes his spin on the human body. The controversy Edward speaks of derives from Serrano’s use of corpses and bodily fluids in his photographs, in which many cases has caused his work to be vandalized and protested against.

The gallery also includes artists’ works from the likes of Jean-Michel Basquait, Franz Kline and Joan Mitchell, to name a few.

“We try to come up with concepts and exhibitions that will engage people and get people to the gallery and to get a sense of what there is.  It’s not only always about selling things; it’s about trying to put exhibitions that have a certain cache to them, that have a certain engagement to them.”

Edwards love for the arts extends to production as well. An infatuation with African arts and culture began at an early age and is rooted through the music of Fela, Youssour Ndour, Salif Keita and others. In fact, a little something you may not have known; Edward produced the Tony Award Winning- Broadway production of Fela!  and served as the executive producer of the award winning documentary, ‘I Bring What I Love‘ which focused on Senegalese singer and social activist, Youssour Ndour.

“For me, listening to that music for the first time just felt like something phenomenal like something I’d never heard before and that music continued to play a bigger and bigger role in my life. So did the politics that went behind the music and I just can’t help getting engaged, politically, when you look at the injustices, you look at the political systems that are present and taking advantage of everybody in a sense.”

Visit the Gallery: www.edwardtylernahemfineart.com.