I met Jeffrey Dietch the other day at his gallery in Soho and was immediately taken by the impressive mural of Keith Haring hanging on his walls. For those of you who don’t know, Jeffrey is one of the biggest enthusiasts for street and contemporary art. He was very nice and friendly with an unassuming demeanor. (This is quite interesting because he is a major force in the art world.)

He was one of the main guys who spearheaded the collaborations between art and fashion, like the Stephen Sprouse and Louis Vuitton collection. But I think is he is mainly known for bringing a lot of the street artists to the forefront of the art world- Shepard Fairey, Barry McGee, Ryan McGuiness, and Keith Haring.

From his gallery we wandered over a few blocks to have lunch at one of his favorite restaurants called Lure. As we skipped over the ice and snow to the restaurant, he started to give me a brief summary of what he’s been up to lately which is the Kehinde Wiley exhibit. During lunch, Jeffrey shared stories of his friends Dennis Hopper, Francesco Clamente, Alexander McQueen as well as what goes on during the dinner parties he throws for artists.

Just recently he was appointed to the director of Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles (which is so awesome). I remember, I used to go to MOCA when I was in high school. I pitched some ideas to him on some exhibits they can do, but I’m sure he’s got it covered. -R