For a change, we enjoyed a very civilized evening last Monday (May 7), attending the “Soiree with Bruce Sargeant & Friends,” at the John Stevenson Gallery on West 23rd, a block over from the Chelsea Hotel. Between bites of cheese and sips of wine we gazed upon Sargeant’s portraits of shirtless youths, and enjoyed four dance vignettes inspired by Sargeant's (aka Mark Beard's) poems. 
The Chelsea connection was of course Gerald Busby, who composed the music for his The Beard Songs. If you attended, you of course remember these songs as a highlight of Gerald’s 70th Anniversary concert at Carnegie Hall, and they were just as entrancing this time around. I particularly like the lively and comedic “The Boxer” and the more somberly expressive “Evening Tragedy”. The dancers, Luke Gutgsell and Brandin Steffensen were strong and athletic, and performed powerfully. So did the gallery cat, a friendly calico who periodically sauntered onto the dance floor just to let everybody know who owned the place.
For the second half of the program we heard another piece by Gerald, Speak -- Suite for Saxophone Quartet, and no one was disappointed by the delightful composition, by turns melodious and discordant. The Manhattan School of Music Ensemble performed the piece with a practiced exuberance.
Although, the Sargeant show is coming down, the gallery is worth a visit anyway. In a beautiful Greek Revival building, the high ceilings allows the vertical space to be put to good use, with the paintings ascending one on top another in a artful decorative touch. The gallery staff, as well, must receive kudos for a wonderful party which soundly trumpeted most gallery events. -- Ed Hamilton
(Photo: Gerald and Mark Beard, photo by Joe)
Chelsea Hotel residents current, past & future.
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