August 7, 2020

NYC Art Galleries - Lower East Side

Characteristics of an LES art gallery include: one-room, shared gallery space, a discrete entrance, emerging artists that may (or may not) have promising careers ahead, a guaranteed art adventure
Published in
Lists

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: 

  1. Emerging artists - artists that maybe are having their first solo show and aren’t represented by a gallery yet, the LES is their stage! 
  2. 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. 
  3. 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/

Instagram  

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.

Nick Doyle at 56 Henry

Ashes/Ashes

Address: 55 Chrystie Street #203, New York, NY 10002

Website: https://ashesonashes.com/

Instagram 

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.

Ashes/Ashes
Anya Kielar at Ashes/Ashes

ATM Gallery

Address: 54 Henry St, New York, NY 10002

Website: https://www.atmgallery.nyc/

Instagram 

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.

ATM Gallery
Jess Valice at ATM Gallery

Bureau 

Address: 127 Henry Street, New York, NY 10002

Website: http://www.bureau-inc.com/ 

Instagram 

Harry Gould Harvey IV at Bureau

Downs & Ross 

Address: 96 Bowery, 2nd floor, New York, NY 10013

Website: http://www.downsross.com/

Instagram

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.

Rute Merk at Downs & Ross
Rute Merk at Downs and Ross

Eva Presenhuber

Address: 39 Great Jones Street, New York, NY 10012

Website: https://www.presenhuber.com/ 

Instagram

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.

Eva Presenhuber
Summer group show at Eva Presenhuber
Basement at Eva Presenhuber

Foxy Production

Address: 2 East Broadway, 200, New York, NY 10038

Website: https://www.foxyproduction.com/

Instagram 

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.

Sojourner Truth Parsons at Foxy Productions

Freight + Volume 

Address: 97 Allen St, New York, NY 10002

Website: http://www.freightandvolume.com/ 

Instagram 

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.

Summer group show at Freight + Volume
Summer Group Show at Freight + Volume

Galerie Perrotin

Address: 130 Orchard Street, New York, NY 10002

Website: https://www.perrotin.com/

Instagram

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!

Galerie Perrotin
The Secret Future of Everything at Perrotin

Half Gallery

Address: 235 E 4th St, New York, NY 10009

Website: https://halfgallery.com/

Instagram

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.

Half Gallery
Half Gallery

Jack Barrett Gallery

Address: 173 Henry Street, New York, NY, 10002

Website: http://jackbarrettgallery.com/

Instagram 

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 Barrett Gallery
Anne Minich at Jack Barrett Gallery

Jack Hanley Gallery

Address: 327 Broome Street, New York, NY 10002

Website: http://www.jackhanley.com/ 

Instagram 

Jack Hanley and Nicelle Beauchene Gallery used to share this space but now it's all Jack's.

Jack Hanley Gallery
Summer Group show at Jack Hanley

James Cohan

Address: 291 Grand Street, New York, NY 10002

Website: https://www.jamescohan.com/ 

Instagram 

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 Cohan Gallery
Grace Weaver at James Cohan Gallery

James Fuentes Gallery

Address: 55 Delancey Street, New York, NY 10002

Website: http://jamesfuentes.com/

Instagram 

James Fuentes Gallery
Keegan Monaghan at James Fuentes

JTT 

Address: 191 Chrystie St #2F, New York, NY 10002 

Website:  http://www.jttnyc.com/6953

Instagram 

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.

Pathway to JTT
Elaine Cameron-Weir at JTT

Karma 

Address: 188 E 2nd St, New York, NY 10009 

Website:  https://karmakarma.org/

Instagram 

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.

Karma Gallery
Matthew Wong at Karma Gallery

Lubov Gallery

Address: 5 E Broadway #402, New York, NY 10038 

Website: https://lubov.nyc/

Instagram 

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.

Entrance to Lubov Gallery
Other door you have to go to for Lubov Gallery
Shannon Cartier Lucy at Lubov Gallery

Lyles & King

Address: 21 Catherine St, New York, NY 10002

Website: http://www.lylesandking.com/

Instagram 

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.

Lyles & King
Farley Aguilar at Lyles & King
Farley Aguilar at Lyles & King
Back area at Lyles & King

Magenta Plains

Address: 94 Allen Street, New York, NY 10002

Website: http://magentaplains.com/

Instagram 

Ebecho Muslimova at Magenta Plains Gallery

Marc Straus Gallery

Address: 299 Grand St, New York, NY 10002 

Website: https://www.marcstraus.com/

Instagram

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.

Marc Straus Gallery
Sandro Chia at Marc Straus Gallery

Marinaro 

Address: 1 Oliver St, New York, NY 10038 

Website: https://www.marinaro.biz/

Instagram 

This gallery is super underrated. It's right across the street from Foxy Production and has two gallery spaces upstairs and in the basement.

Marinaro Gallery
Marinaro Gallery
Marinaro Gallery

Nathalie Karg Gallery

Address: 291 Grand Street, 4th Floor New York, NY 10002

Website: https://nathaliekarg.com/ 

Instagram 

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.

Nathalie Karg Gallery
Heidi Hahn at Nathalie Karg Gallery
Nathalie Karg Gallery

Proxyco Gallery

Address: 121 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002

Website: https://www.proxycogallery.com/ 

Instagram 

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.

Summer Show at Proxyco Gallery

Rachel Uffner Gallery

Address: 170 Suffolk Street, New York, NY 10002 

Website: https://www.racheluffnergallery.com/ 

Instagram 

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.

Rachel Uffner Gallery
Joanne Greenbaum at Rachel Uffner Gallery
Curtis Talwst Santiago at Rachel Uffner Gallery

Sargent's Daughters

Address: 179 East Broadway, New York, NY 10002

Website: https://www.sargentsdaughters.com/ 

Instagram 

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.

Jemima Kirk at Sargent's Daughters

Shrine

Address: 179 East Broadway, New York, NY 10002

Website: https://www.shrine.nyc/ 

Instagram 

Shrine is an awesome LES gallery for discovery emerging artists and outsider art.

Sarah Schechter at Shrine Gallery

The Hole

Address: 312 Bowery, New York, NY 10012 

Website: http://theholenyc.com/ 

Instagram 

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
Pedro Pedro at The Hole

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.

Dan Attoe at The Hole

Totah

Address: 183 Stanton St, New York, NY 10002

Website: http://davidtotah.com/ 

Instagram 

Kenny Scharf at Totah
Kenny Scharf at Totah

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.


More images

No items found.

Join my mailing list for updates on my latest posts and videos.

Thank you for subscribing!
Something went wrong, please fill out the required fields

Latest posts

View all
September 16, 2021
The Armory Show 2021

The Armory Show 2021

August 18, 2021
Helen Frankenthaler at Gagosian 2021

Helen Frankenthaler at Gagosian

August 3, 2021
Rachel Kneebone at White Cube Gallery 2021

Rachel Kneebone at White Cube Gallery