2022 Wrap Up

It’s been a crazy year here at West Eden, from our trial run in May in a yet-to-be-completed space to our soft opening that turned into a huge party to being lucky enough to show a world famous artist within a few months of opening our doors.

Although so many have contributed to our success, I’d like to single out a few who have been integral to our work. Of course we would not be an art gallery without our artists! We opened mid year with Korn, who we took our firsts steps towards building a business together. It was a chaotic time but we made it a success. I know that I will miss our late night painting and Isao sessions.

Marco, who gave us a shot despite us being a total newcomer to the scene. He is a man of extreme juxtaposition: his art forces you to confront the unfortunate realities that we face but after I have had the privilege of spending the past few months working with him, I can assure you that there are few who exude a warmth and kindness like him.

Our gallery manager Francois who has been with us from the start. I remember musing to him a few years ago about wanting to open a gallery, and here we are! I could not have done this with out him. We’ve also been lucky to have had a few staff who have helped us out along the way, especially Ploy, Lynn and Bowling who have manned the front lines for us. We’ve also been fortunate to have a few good friends in the press who believe in our mission.

I also need to thank all of my friends who have been so supportive, they even come hours (and in some cases days) before exhibitions open to help clean and prepare.

I’ve included a few photos from the past year that I found to be of permanent memory, they’re not professional photos from our photographers but they represent a behind the scenes look at our treasured memories:

The night before our soft opening, our team worked late into the night to install the glass in our bay doors, fueled by KFC and coca cola. At one point I was so exhausted after a series of 16 hour work days, all I could do was sit in silence in the corner.

My colleagues from the Phillipines and Indonesia came to help set up our trial run which was an underwater photography exhibition sponsored by Solitude Resorts and Liveaboards. Here you can see Patrick attempting to grab a shot of Nu and the gear for Nauticam's social media.... and Pernilla being Pernilla.

The first time we had pieces up on the wall, even though the floor hadn't even been installed yet!

The first time Korn brought her pieces to the gallery for testing.

Late night installations and shooting/documentation. Korn's partner was an invaluable source of unpaid labour during this time. In the middle is Ploy who helped coordinate the production and opening night.

Our gallery staff on opening night for Korn.

A Danish dinner made by Marco and his partner before he went back to Demark for the new year! I've still got bread in the freezer!

This year has been a little crazy, a little hectic and full of surprises. I'm indebt to my friends and my team for helping me get this thing off the ground, thank you very much!

I wish everyone a happy holidays and we'll see you in 2023 for a mind boggling series of exhibitions.

Jeen Gallerist