The art gallery perched on top of Paulie's Restaurant is what one would expect from 1950s residential architecture. Partitioned into a few commercial spaces, a side door leads upwards to an impeccable loft with lightly-stained original hardwoods, exposed beams and crisp white walls.
This is the new home of Hunter Gorham Gallery, where infinity-mounted exotic images from to-die-for destinations morph the atelier into a beachy resort, far removed from the hum of the city.
When financial tycoon-in-the-making-turned-fine-art-photographer Hunter Gorham welcomed the art-loving public into his salon for the first time, he pulled out the red carpet — literally. A few years back he had left a lucrative Wall Street career in New York to pursue his passion.
And at this art gathering, he was as giddy as a school boy knowing he had made the right decision.
When financial tycoon-in-the-making-turned-fine-art-photographer Hunter Gorham welcomed the art-loving public into his salon for the first time, he pulled out the red carpet, literally.
As if the floors were tropical sands, what greeted guests was a rowdy social where the vibrant cultures of Guatemala, Ibiza and Cuba mingled freely with sassy Latin beats dished by DJ Sun. Add a cardamom-infused potent concoction from Haven and an open, fully-stocked bar and this populous party was well on its way to rocking out south-of-the-border style.
Before long, more than 120 travelers roamed through the space, took in the art and grabbed their fair share of monogrammed cookies from Paulie's, colorful macarons by Rebecca Mason and more sinful sugary sweets. Others opted to lounge around a large screen and watch short films of Gorham explaining the back-story behind each picture, or scan QR codes to learn more about the location and how he captured each exposure.
In the mix were Jenni Rebecca Stephenson, Brian Block, Jeff Hoffman, Glenn Dubin, Andrea Villareal, Mustafa Durrani, Chuck Holloman, David Tong, Michael Lugo, Jennifer Rushing, Jennifer Vickers, Kirk Guy, Helen McCarron, Brooke Drake, Annika Bermudez, Nikole Simon, Casey Hall, Sheldon Kramer, Chris Everson, Alex Wells, David Rosen, Ana Catania, Olivia Hasse, Derek Jones and Chris Valdez.
