In Hudson, taste of big city arts scene

Hudson

What's new in Hudson and its famed Warren Street warren of galleries, boutiques, and antique niches? Oodles.

This mile long slope continues to evolve into a sizzling, congenial, increasingly haute and increasingly ebullient echo of edgy Williamsburg in Brooklyn.

Though perhaps without so much edge.

There are real art galleries, for sure — 10 or 20, depending how you count — and this was my draw. Ten or 20 is an embarrassing abundance for any small upstate city. There is no Dia Beacon or MASS MoCA to anchor the scene, but this helps Hudson become a diverse jumble of seemingly co-equal galleries in repurposed historic buildings, intermixed with a growing number of eateries and other welcome distractions.

The edgiest venue might be September gallery above the tantalizing Olde Hudson Market and Cafe in the center of Warren Street. Iranian-American artist Laleh Khorramian's complex wood and clear multi-colored plastic installation pushes against every surface in the single large room. The geometry and the spatial play of layer, color, symbolism, and eventually improbable metaphoric fantasy make it an exploratory must see.

Carrie Haddad Gallery at the top of the street is certainly one of the most venerable commercial galleries in town. John Davis Gallery is another, and with more varied space, especially with its fabulous multi-story carriage house open by late May. Both venues serve as bellwethers for the best kind of fine art in town.

It is surely impossible to generalize what that kind of fine art is, but it tends to be well-crafted, visually commanding, and physically tactile, with individual styles keenly honed. There are paintings, prints, photographs and sculptures in sizes you can fit into your car. There is little to upset a viewer, and also little...