You can often experience a lot of art, especially if those two blocks are in gallery-rich Chelsea or perhaps even around 57th Street. Pick any block or two and you can create your very own gallery walking tour, with as much or as little planning and customization as you want. And for added bonus, galleries are almost always free entry, and if you plan your tour around opening nights you might even get a free glass of wine out of the trip.

The listings at the back of New York magazine are usually a good place to get your bearings on what is going on in the city’s gallery world, though the online listings can be more thorough. Another great place to get some ideas, or at least to pick a place to start your tour, is Artlog. It has the most thorough listings I have seen around recently, and you can even search exhibits and events by zip code – which can be quite helpful when you have a general location in mind, be it Chelsea or other.

Chelsea was my destination last week, and having noted several shows I wanted to stop into, I set off to 25th Street and Ninth Avenue to start my walk, and my fight with the intense wind. My first stop was Pace Wildenstein, which currently has on display a dozen or so large-scale photographs by Richard Misrach. The introduction explains these photos are technically “negatives,” but actually positives of digital photos (not sure if I got that right?) – needless to say it is a process I wish to learn more about. Images with figures or patterns of sand were the most appealing to me, as were those that made me curious about what the “original” image was.

After a quick stop over at Yossi Milo, where there is currently a show by Jacob Aue Sobol, I went into Axelle Fine Arts. This was not on my agenda, but the door was open so I took it as a sign to go in. It’s a rather large space, with an exhibition (that has since closed) by Jean-Daniel Bouvard, featuring sun-filled paintings that made me dream of a warmer season.

Stopping at Cheim & Read was part of my original plan and reason to go to Chelsea. I remember reading and hearing about the Diane Arbus and William Eggleston shows when they first opened, and had been wanting to go see them for myself ever since. I enjoyed more the small room of photographs by Diane Arbus, which are mainly from the 1960s. Something about the photos of hotel lobbies, showing New York or other city scenes used as wallpaper attracted me that afternoon. There are about a dozen photos by Arbus but more space devoted to Eggleston.

hello, chelsea

Out of all the stops, the show I enjoyed the most on this trip was one I had not planned on seeing, Jack Tworkov at Mitchell-Innes & Nash. Untitled (P73 #4) from 1973 reminded me at times of a textile pattern, and drew me in with its repetition. I was thrilled to see this work, perhaps having seen it before but not remembering. I also enjoyed Iding II, with its subtle geometric element.

Other stops – planned or spontaneous – included Robert Miller Gallery, Stephen Haller Gallery, and 192 books – ok, not technically within the 2 block radius – but a favorite stop for book-browsing.

This is really just a small smattering of information and an account of a one time experience – as you probably know the options in Chelsea and in New York are endless. Pick a destination and make an outing of it.

Happy travels!