TOTAH

A few minutes inside TOTAH’s doors, and we’re reminded of the reasons why we love spending time with art. It’s always a breath of fresh air here. Or a gratifying deep sigh, at least.

The gallery often displays unusual artist pairings, combining two perspectives with alchemy and love. Past shows have included generations blended: Kenny Scharf and Mel Bochner, Alighiero Boetti and Mel Bochner, Robert Feinstuch and Saul Steinberg. The approach stirs up unexpected stories and conversations, bringing together past and present with a new gasp of life.

The art itself might not always dig into representations of nature, but it always manages to feel natural. You might see something that looks like the light of a sunset without being a sunset. Or swaths of color on canvas that feel like being bathed in ethereal light when you get close enough to them. There are environments inside these paintings—places, experiences, and moods you’ll recognize and want to live in.

Speaking of which. While you’re there, ask to see the Kenny Scharf psychedelic, Day-Glo Cosmic Cavern in the basement. It is truly a portal to another dimension.

David Totah is a true next-generation art dealer. His father and uncle were both art dealers, working from New York City and London, respectively. His mother ran a gallery showing Sumerian and Mesopotamian art. After years of working in finance, he started dealing on the independent market. Picasso, Rothko, Richter. Those were his wheelhouse. He founded TOTAH on Stanton Street in 2016, making his way back into the world that runs through his blood.