Olfactory Art Keller

olfactory. adjective. ol·fac·to·ry äl-ˈfak-t(ə-)rē ōl- : of, relating to, or concerned with the sense of smell. -Merriam-Webster

Did you know that if you plug your nose when you eat jelly beans, they lost their flavor and all taste the same? Try it.

That’s the power of scent.

Olfactory Art Keller is not your average gallery. You can’t stand around and take in the art with only your eyes. You need to sniff it out. Open lids. Unscrew bottles. Call upon memories. And breathe

The interior is a 9 x 23 ft former barbershop-turned-exhibition space which owner and director, Andreas Keller, fills with scented objects, olfactory experiences, and smell performances (as fabulous as they sound) to awaken and tease your sense of smell.

Each exhibition is a tiny act of self-destruction — every time you take in a new smell, you’re destroying the little molecules that fly into your nose, bind to your receptors, and break. This isn’t lost on Andreas. It’s curated.

A neurologist from Germany, Andreas moved to New York to work in a lab. Along the way, he completed a second PhD in the philosophy of smell.

He calls himself “the smell guy,” which is kind of ironic since he treats each and every piece of scent art like a rare, antique book–even if it only costs $30.

Andreas is on a mission to get people to stop looking and start smelling. Be sure to say hello when you pop in. He knows all the best places in the city working with perfumes and scents.