Last night’s opening for No New Tale to Tell marked not just an impressive, thought-provoking exhibit, but also 31GRAND’s first show in their new gallery at 143 Ludlow Street in Manhattan.  And the masses came out to celebrate.

Whether they knew about the event beforehand or just happened to pop in to see what all the fuss was about, the downtown twenty-something gang was out in all its glory.  It was a calm, cool crowd that packed the multi-room gallery.  The type that sprung one self-absorbed guy who thought it would be okay to light a cigarette in an oppressively hot room filled with sweaty bodies, when common gallery-going experience clearly dictates otherwise.  Backs practically pressed up againts the paintings, well-dressed people stood obstructing the view of the artwork.  Networking, flirting, socializing, the masses spilled out onto the sidewalk and across the street.

The crowd gathered with good reason: the rather large collection of works clinging to the walls inspire the imagination.  Anthony Pontius’ The Great Rescue drifts towards the surreal if not postmodern in its collaging of reality and the illogical.  Ryan McLennan’s Gather and Adam Stennett’s Underwater Mouse 2 evoke auras of fantasy through its soft, mesmerizing style even though they are clearly rooted in perillous realities.  Ursual Brookbank’s BR.FLR. has a captivating movie-like quality of beautifully capturing a moment in time.  Alessandra and Alex Exposito each paint animal skulls bubble-gum pink as if they were designing wall adornments for a bratty teenage girl in the Southwest.  Meanwhile, Magalie Guerin’s Montreal/Afternoons  and Damaged seem ripped from a Victorian leatherbound book.

Those are the highlights, but there are many other multi-media artworks on display. There was enough there to intrigue me that I would go again to get a better look when the crowds are busy at some other opening.