ART IN THE CITY WITH ENEAS CAPALBO
Eneas Capalbo
Everyone in New York has an opinion about him. Almost none of them agree.
Eneas Capalbo belongs to a disappearing New York type: the dealer-curator whose gallery is less a business than an extension of his personality.
Eneas the mischievous, is a self-deprecating downtown aesthete who answers a question about essentials in New York by saying that a chic man should own one of his paintings. His gallery is interesting, but the character behind it is really the story here.
Artist · Dealer · Curator · Observer
Some describe him as a modern-day Andy Warhol. Others dismiss him as a socialite with a sketchbook. The truth, as usual, is that probably nobody really has a clue.
Artist. Dealer. Curator. Observer.
Capalbo built a career drawing the very people he spends his evenings with: collectors, heiresses, socialites, downtown fixtures and uptown regulars. His portraits often feel less like likenesses and more like visual gossip. Quick, elegant, slightly irreverent observations of the people who populate New York's social ecosystem.
At the time of our conversation, his drawings were attracting increasing attention and were soon to be published in a limited-edition Valentino project.
His portraits occupy a strange space between affection and satire. He celebrates his subjects while simultaneously exposing the absurdity of the world they inhabit.
There was a persistent rumor that he occasionally painted collectors' names into works for a simple reason: so they would have to buy them. Whether true or not, the story feels perfectly Capalbo. Half joke. Half business strategy.
names into his drawings
The National Exemplar
Keith Sonnier & Nate Lowman, Stockprops
a show he co-curated · 2010
The National Exemplar is one of those very New York art-world projects that has always felt slightly elusive by design. It was founded and directed by Eneas Capalbo, an Argentine-born artist, dealer, curator, and social fixture who launched the gallery in 2011 as a highly personal exhibition space rather than a conventional commercial gallery. (Home.)
What made it interesting was that Capalbo never seemed particularly interested in following the standard gallery playbook. Early on, the gallery occupied an unusual Midtown location on East 54th Street before moving downtown to Tribeca, and later evolved into a more nomadic, project-based model. His stated interest was often in presenting overlooked bodies of work, unexpected juxtapositions, and artists from different generations rather than chasing market trends.
Some of the notable shows- An opening exhibition by Adam McEwen featuring his famous "AC Paintings," created through an intentionally provocative collaboration involving painted reproductions of air-conditioning units. The show helped establish the gallery's irreverent tone.
- Presentations of work by Richard Artschwager, whose late-career work Capalbo intentionally exhibited alongside much younger artists to create unexpected conversations across generations.
- A solo exhibition of Sebastian Black shortly after the gallery relocated downtown, at a time when Black was still considered an emerging artist.
- The 2014 group exhibition LEGS, which brought together artists including Justin Adian, Adam McEwen, Keith Sonnier, Julia Benjamin, and Hanneline Røgeberg.
- Other rooms made space for Leo Fitzpatrick (yes, the kid from Kids) and the photographer Todd Eberle.
He has curated well beyond his own walls, too. In 2010 he co-curated a group show at Galerie Gmurzynska in St. Moritz, hanging Nate Lowman and Dan Colen alongside Jenny Holzer, Barbara Kruger and Kurt Schwitters.
What is perhaps most interesting about Eneas is that he has always existed in several worlds simultaneously: artist, curator, dealer, party guy, and just a big personality in a small body. Long before "micro- or pop-up galleries" became fashionable, The National Exemplar functioned almost like an extension of his taste and network. The gallery gained a reputation for intimate shows, dinner gatherings and projects that blurred the boundaries between art and New York social life.
What fascinated me most about Eneas was not the social scene surrounding him. It was the fact that he seemed completely aware of how ridiculous it all was.
New York has always produced cultural observers who document wealth and status. Capalbo belongs to a smaller category: artists who participate in the spectacle while simply laughing at it.
A few questions for Eneas
QWho is Eneas Capalbo?
AThis guy you ran into one day Leila.
QWhat's a day in the life of Eneas like?
AWould entail ideally church in the morning, although so rarely do I actually make it (but maybe that makes it that much nicer when I do go). Those rooms and the dim light from the windows are so inspiring, the one on park and 64th st is quite lovely. My day always entails Central Park and then either drawing or painting.
QWhat can a guy not live without in New York City?
AIt would depend on the guy I suppose.... A chic one would own one of my paintings in his apt. Other types I presume would have a big screen TV or something like that, but I wouldn't really know...
QFavorite brands?
- Cartier from the 70's for watches and lighters
- New Balance for sneakers
- Belgian shoes for shoes
- Bucellatti for cuff links and silver trays
- Oh! and Nantucket reds for summer pants.
QFavorite place to socialize during the day?
AGinos
QAt night?
AElaine's for dinner and Sheik and Beik after.
QBest drinks in NY?
AAt my apt
QBest stores for men?
ANo men should walk into one, except maybe for socks and boxers.
QWho makes the best suits?
AEvery guy would mention a different tailor. Whomever it is, it MUST be a tailor.
QIf u could retire now where would you go?
AI would just stay home reading. Perhaps to a bigger apt with a library i guess.
QChicest girls?
AThe ones i draw
QHighlights in your career so far?
ANone!I'm a very dissatisfied person...nothing ever is enough, and I believe it wholeheartedly
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With affection, and just a little satire, in equal measure,