LONG ISLAND CITY — Eduardo Anievas isn't one for stuffy gallery openings.
The Long Island City artist says he always found the best way to sell his art was through word of mouth and his own personal connections, rather than conventional art world-routes.
"I hate openings...it's not my thing," Anievas said recently, as he stood in his 48th Avenue studio wearing paint-splattered clothes, flanked by dozens of his brightly-colored pieces.
"My experience through the years is that most of the money that I make painting, for me — it hasn’t been through galleries."
Now, the 39-year-old painter is taking that casual approach to his new studio, at 10-15 48th Ave. just off of Vernon Boulevard, which serves as both a work site and his own gallery.
Anievas has set public hours every Saturday afternoon, and the rest of the time he has an open-door policy — if he happens to be in, visitors are welcome to drop by for a tour or a chat, simply by knocking on his two large windows, which look out onto 48th Avenue.
"I'm here mostly every day," Anievas said. "People can see when I’m working. If they want to step in, step in."
Anievas said his earlier works were realistic portraits, but he's been drawn to more abstract pieces in recent years, painting dreamy female nudes, street scenes and roofscapes.
"I've been doing a lot of cityscapes, roofscapes, people walking in the streets," he said.
Originally from northern Spain, Anievas started his art career in his early 20s, living in Germany and Portugal before moving to New York 14 years ago. After over a decade living and working in Williamsburg, he moved to Long Island City in 2010.
His first work space in the neighborhood was a loft on 5th Street, where he and his wife, an actress, hosted a number of casual "Open Studio," events, doling out tapas and free sangria to visitors. He moved to his 48th Avenue studio this fall, and lives just a few blocks away. He participated in Bushwick Open Studios and the LIC Arts Open festival.
Anievas has had solo exhibits at Long Island City's Standard Motor Products Building and Ten10 Studios, and has displayed his work at a number of alternative galleries across the city, in addition to many neighborhood shops and restaurants. One of his most recent commissions was 17-by-8 foot mural new Upper West Side tapas joint Casa Pomona.
All of his work is for sale, and paintings range from $100 to $2,000, while commissioned pieces cost up to $5,000.
