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Chelsea Frames is a staple in New York’s luxury, custom-framing sector – and there’s no better framer to handle your precious art or momento with love and care. In fact, Chelsea Frames has been around for decades and, aside from handling some of the city’s most valuable and difficult framing projects, the company has cemented itself as a champion of the local community. This year, 2020, has been incredibly difficult and one where much needed change has begun to present itself and happen throughout New York City and the United States as a whole. Chelsea Frames has stood in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, and supported the peaceful protests in their neighborhood of Chelsea.
Working with Chelsea Frames for years, we know their commitment to framing each project with incredible detail. On a recent trip to Rwanda, we acquired two paintings by artist Patrick Nizeyimana, the managing director of Ivuka Arts in Kigali. Patrick is an incredible artist who often paints through references of the Rwandan Genocide, which happened in 1994, as well as the country’s appreciation and respect of women, the mothers of their society. We purchased two paintings from Patrick that depict well-known daytime and nighttime gatherings of women in Rwandan villages – which are common occurrences across the country. These gatherings stem from the women’s desire and purpose to discuss community issues and create change in their immediate environment. We thought this meaning and reference an appropriate correlation with Chelsea Frames, their dedication to BLM, and their own efforts in supporting change in their community.
We’ve spoken to Daniel Beauchemin on many occasions about this topic and the passion he has for his spot on 9th Avenue in Chelsea. Meeting with him to show these paintings and tell his team the artist’s story, sparked emotion in Daniel. He so passionately believes in the BLM movement and has witnessed, firsthand, oppression and marginalization of some of the residents of nearby buildings to his Chelsea Frames storefront. Speaking about the artist, Patrick Nizeyimana, and his depiction of Rwandan women meeting for change, sparked Daniel to share his experiences during the height of the protests in New York and his joining in the streets in solidarity to all those fighting to see a different future.
Daniel and Chelsea Frames work on large-scale and small-scale projects, but put the same effort, love and care into each piece. In fact, whether it’s a piece worth tens of thousands of dollars, or art created by a child living in a nearby housing project – there’s nothing Chelsea Frames will refuse. This is a rarity in the competitive New York City framing space, and takes an operation with true heart to operate from this enlightened principal.
The Chelsea Frames team framed our two paintings with beautiful, thick silver metal framing and left the front of the paintings glass-free and exposed for their viewers to see the brushstroke detail up-close. The pieces turned out beautiful and, more importantly, were framed by the best framing operation in New York City.
