New York Art Galleries - Lower East Side
I can say without a doubt New York has more art galleries than any other city. Because of this, I’ve had to split my lists up by neighborhood. While these are not ALL of the galleries in a particular neighborhood, these are the galleries I go to regularly because they have an interesting program and are more likely than not to put on a great exhibit.
Lower East Side (and East Village) galleries have a very different vibe than their neighbors. Some recognizable traits of a lower east side gallery are the following:
- Emerging artists - artists that maybe are having their first solo show and aren’t represented by a gallery yet, the LES is their stage!
- Very challenging to find - many of these galleries are tucked away in residential buildings (that frankly look like they’re abandoned). If you feel like it’s the start of a horror movie, you’re probably in the right place.
- No sign or obvious indication it’s a gallery at all - some like to be ironic with this, like Totah gallery, which displays the outline of a sign but with no contents. Karma has just a store window, but other than that, zero indications that random visitors are welcome. The purpose of this seems less of the side of elitism and more on the side of that of a hipster explaining “we care just enough, but not too much.”
So if you’re down for an adventure and to discover future talent, the LES is a great place to go gallery hopping. Plus, unlike the wasteland that is Chelsea, there are lots of great places to eat and drink if you need a break.
List of LES Galleries
You can find a Google map here of all galleries mentioned below.
56 Henry
Ashes/Ashes
ATM Gallery
Bureau
Downs & Ross
Eva Presenhuber
Foxy Production
Freight + Volume
Galerie Perrotin
Half Gallery
Jack Barrett gallery
Jack Hanley Gallery
James Cohan
James Fuentes Gallery
JTT
Karma
Lubov Gallery
Lyles & King Gallery
Magenta Plains
Marc Straus Gallery
Marinaro
Nathalie Karg
Proxyco Gallery
Rachel Uffner Gallery
Sargent's Daughters
Shrine
The Hole
LES Art Galleries
56 Henry
Address: 56 Henry Street, Ground Floor, Unit W, New York, NY 10002
Website: https://www.56henry.nyc/
56 Henry has some great shows, but warning it's so tiny we couldn't take a "normal" full body shot so we had to do a close up. No biggie.
Ashes/Ashes
Address: 55 Chrystie Street #203, New York, NY 10002
Website: https://ashesonashes.com/
Ashes/Ashes is another one-room gallery the LES is known for, however it's always worth stopping in, and the gallery attendee always will give you privacy.
ATM Gallery
Address: 54 Henry St, New York, NY 10002
Website: https://www.atmgallery.nyc/
ATM Gallery is a newer LES art gallery that's located right next to 56 Henry (at 54 Henry St). Their program features super emerging artists and they have shorter shows (3-4 weeks) at a more regular cadence.
Bureau
Address: 127 Henry Street, New York, NY 10002
Website: http://www.bureau-inc.com/
Downs & Ross
Address: 96 Bowery, 2nd floor, New York, NY 10013
Website: http://www.downsross.com/
It's a pity I didn't visit Downs & Ross for years because honestly I couldn't find it...the elevator lobby looks like it's part of a restaurant so it's super confusing. But if you see that, take the elevator to the second floor. The gallery is beautiful and modern and spacious and I've never seen another human there so if you want to just be with your thoughts and enjoy art, this is a great place to go.
Eva Presenhuber
Address: 39 Great Jones Street, New York, NY 10012
Website: https://www.presenhuber.com/
Eva Presenhuber is a deceivingly large gallery that's more in the East Village than LES, but it's conveniently close to things like Kith (see Arsham Fieg Gallery above) as well as popular NYC destinations like The Smile in Noho. Also be sure to check out the basement.
Foxy Production
Address: 2 East Broadway, 200, New York, NY 10038
Website: https://www.foxyproduction.com/
Similar to Downs & Ross...and right down the street, Foxy Production is a little tricky to find...it's tucked away on the 2nd floor of a building in Chinatown, but once you're inside it's super light, clean and modern.
Freight + Volume
Address: 97 Allen St, New York, NY 10002
Website: http://www.freightandvolume.com/
Freight + Volume is right next to Empanada Mama as well as Magenta Plains which is across the street. At first glance it looks more like a shop than a gallery, but they always have an interesting show.
Galerie Perrotin
Address: 130 Orchard Street, New York, NY 10002
Website: https://www.perrotin.com/
Galerie Perrotin is a modern compound in the LES, for lack of a better word. It's three floors with a book shop attached on the ground floor. Each gallery space is MASSIVE, and having three spaces is great because sometimes it means you get three exhibits with jjust one visit. Efficiency at it's finest!
Half Gallery
Address: 235 E 4th St, New York, NY 10009
Website: https://halfgallery.com/
Half Gallery has a super underrated program which is run by the famous art dealer Bill Powers. You still get emerging artists that the East Village is known for those, but these are the ones that end up getting poached by the mega galleries because they're so good.
Jack Barrett Gallery
Address: 173 Henry Street, New York, NY, 10002
Website: http://jackbarrettgallery.com/
These pictures don't really do the gallery justice, it's actually quite spacious with two large rooms and a smaller room in the back (pictured below).
Jack Hanley Gallery
Address: 327 Broome Street, New York, NY 10002
Website: http://www.jackhanley.com/
Jack Hanley and Nicelle Beauchene Gallery used to share this space but now it's all Jack's.
James Cohan
Address: 291 Grand Street, New York, NY 10002
Website: https://www.jamescohan.com/
James Cohan has two locations in NYC, one in Tribeca and this one in the LES. It's conveniently located under Nathalie Karg Gallery as well as right down the street from Marc Strauss, so you can see a few shows within a few steps.
James Fuentes Gallery
Address: 55 Delancey Street, New York, NY 10002
Website: http://jamesfuentes.com/
JTT
Address: 191 Chrystie St #2F, New York, NY 10002
Website: http://www.jttnyc.com/6953
I have mixed feelings about JTT but I'm including them because they do have some great artists like Issy Wood. However, they're they only gallery I've EVER been to that's told me I can't take a photo with the art. So they don't have the most welcoming environment. Once you make it through the murder hallway below and up the stairs the actual gallery space is beautiful and light...all one room.
Karma
Address: 188 E 2nd St, New York, NY 10009
Website: https://karmakarma.org/
Karma is the perfect example of a LES gallery having a super discreet front...that often leaves people wondering "can I go in?" The answer is yes and you'll be happy you did.
Lubov Gallery
Address: 5 E Broadway #402, New York, NY 10038
Website: https://lubov.nyc/
Lubov is another tricky one to find, thankfully I took lots of pictures for reference! Just be warned it is tiny, so you'll be very intimate with the gallery attendant when you're there, but they're very nice and welcoming.
Lyles & King
Address: 21 Catherine St, New York, NY 10002
Website: http://www.lylesandking.com/
Lyles & King used to be further up towards Magenta Plains, but they just moved to a beautiful space down on Catherine Street in the Chinatown Area. They now have a great back outdoor space that can house larger sculptures...and hopefully opening parties one day.
Magenta Plains
Address: 94 Allen Street, New York, NY 10002
Website: http://magentaplains.com/
Marc Straus Gallery
Address: 299 Grand St, New York, NY 10002
Website: https://www.marcstraus.com/
Marc Straus is right down the street from James Cohan and Nathalie Karg and is massive (for an LES gallery) with three floors of gallery space.
Marinaro
Address: 1 Oliver St, New York, NY 10038
Website: https://www.marinaro.biz/
This gallery is super underrated. It's right across the street from Foxy Production and has two gallery spaces upstairs and in the basement.
Nathalie Karg Gallery
Address: 291 Grand Street, 4th Floor New York, NY 10002
Website: https://nathaliekarg.com/
Be prepared for a mini-workout when visiting Nathalie Karg Gallery. It's at the very top of the same building as James Cohan on the 4th floor, but trust me the hike is worth it. The space is the most beautiful mix of modern and old and has tons of natural light.
Proxyco Gallery
Address: 121 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002
Website: https://www.proxycogallery.com/
Proxyco used to be right next door to Rachel Uffner Gallery, but now they've moved across the street from Galerie Perrotin. They have a special focus on artist from Latin America.
Rachel Uffner Gallery
Address: 170 Suffolk Street, New York, NY 10002
Website: https://www.racheluffnergallery.com/
Rachel Uffner Gallery recently expanded their space to now include a third gallery space at the front of the gallery, which is very complementary to other ground floor exhibit area as well as the 'attic' on the second floor.
Sargent's Daughters
Address: 179 East Broadway, New York, NY 10002
Website: https://www.sargentsdaughters.com/
Another 'team' gallery space...Sargent's Daughters shares a space with Shrine Gallery. Shrine puts on shows at the front of the gallery and Sargent's Daughters commands the back.
Shrine
Address: 179 East Broadway, New York, NY 10002
Website: https://www.shrine.nyc/
Shrine is an awesome LES gallery for discovery emerging artists and outsider art.
The Hole
Address: 312 Bowery, New York, NY 10012
Website: http://theholenyc.com/
The Hole is a great gallery, period, but it's also great for taking friends to that may not know anything about art because they always have a great show and it's in a location that's super close to many popular bars and restaurants in the East Village.
The Hole has two main gallery spaces pictured above and below, and usually have two different shows on view at a time. The also have an artist studio in the basement where artists will carry out residencies.
Totah
Address: 183 Stanton St, New York, NY 10002
Website: http://davidtotah.com/
Given the variable real estate situation in New York because of Covid it seems a lot of galleries are shaking up their locations, so I'll try to keep this updated as changes are made.
