Julio Gaggia begins his week-long performance at BoConcepts in Chelsea (Patrick McMullan)

"I am very inspired by Marina Abramovic," 26-year-old Venenezualan artist Julio Gaggia told The Observer yesterday as he prepared for his life in the fishbowl of Chelsea's BoConcept store. The young man would be slightly tweaking the "live-in" performances of Ms. Abramovic, including "The Artist is Present" (where she spent 730 hours in a chair at the MoMa, letting people sit facing her and stare into her face), or the much more grueling "Balkan Baroque" for the 1997 Venice Biennale, wherein she spent four days in a broiling basement, cleaning cow bones and weeping.

"Oh shit, someone is drinking my rosé!" He suddenly exclaimed, as friends and gawkers mingled around his new "living" room. He quickly ran to get a glass before it ran out.

Although he may be living in the relative lap of luxury--who among us hasn't imagined just living in one of those prefab rooms at IKEA, a la 500 Days of Summer?-- Mr. Gaggia doesn't expect his performance, "Living Art; Chelsea Boy Apartment," to be easy. There is a webcam placed in the "apartment" storefront, so you can watch his life streamed at all times. Then there are the window-shoppers on 18th St., who are sure to gape at the spectacle of Mr. Gaggia's life through the plexiglass.

Mr. Gaggia plans to live his life as normally as possible: "entertaining friends, photographing, painting, and eating" according to the invitation. He had a small cooler near his bed, filled with Arizona Iced Tea (they were also sponsoring the opening night party), and when asked about food, he shrugged and replied, "It's called delivery."

We were planning to ask Mr. Gaggia about what he planned to do about...you know...bodily functions, when Patrick McMullan appeared at our side.

"Julio! Strip down on the bed! I need some pictures of you jumping around without clothes on your new bed!" The photographer demanded. Mr. Gaggia blushingly demurred, saying he's need more alcohol first.

Which reminded us: Mr. Gaggia is the boyfriend of famed plastic surgeon Mark Warfel. How would they...you know...be intimate?

"People will only see movement under the covers," Mr. Gaggia replied, clearly embarrassed by the line of questioning.

For someone so demure in person, Mr. Gaggia's art--which he kept rearranging around his new "apartment"--was shockingly candid. A man (possibly the artist) sucking on a penis-shaped ice-pop, close-ups of male models' faces, and a woman holding a tissue up to her nose in a way that suggested the staunching of a nose bleed.

Niki and Shaokao Cheng, owners of eight BoConcept stores in the city, proudly greeted guests. Obviously, this would be good for business, but more importantly, it was art.

"This is a very unique idea, and we're happy to be a part of it," Ms. Cheng said. The phrase "free advertising" was never uttered.

The eclectic guest list included Warhol Factory alum Susan Blond, Alliance for the Arts President Randall Bourscheidt, "Gatsbaby" Tabber Benedict, actresses Adele Thibodeaux and Cassandra Seidenfeld, Ms. New York 2012 Leah Vartos, artist Ross Bleckner, plastic surgeon Dr. Matthew Kaufman, and Elie Tahari's digital editor Natalie Zfat.