Gallery sights in New York City
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Metropolitan Museum of Art
With more than five million visitors per year, the Met is New York’s most popular single-site tourist attraction, with one of the richest coffers in the arts world. The Met is a self-contained cultural city-state, with two million individual objects in its collection and an annual budget of over $120 million. Since completing a multimillion-dollar remodeling project that brought works out of storage, renovated the halls of 19th- and early 20th-century paintings and sculptures, expanded the Ancient Hellenistic and Roman areas and sparklingly remade the American Wing, the place is looking more divine than ever – despite operating in the midst of a financial crisis that has…
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Frick Collection
This spectacular art collection sits in a mansion built by prickly steel magnate Henry Clay Frick, one of the many such residences that made up Millionaires’ Row. The museum has 12 splendid rooms that display masterpieces by Titian, Vermeer, Gilbert Stuart, El Greco and Goya. The Oval Room is graced by Jean-Antoine Houdon’s stunning figure ‘Diana the Huntress.’
This museum is a treat for a number of reasons. One, it resides in a lovely, rambling beaux arts structure built from 1913 to 14 by Carrère and Hastings. Two, it is generally not crowded. And, three, it feels refreshingly intimate, with a trickling indoor courtyard fountain and gardens that can be explored…
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Museum of Modern Art
Founded in 1929, MoMA is one of NYC’s most popular museums, home to more than 100,000 pieces of modern artwork, most by A-listers – Van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso, Warhol, Lichtenstein, Rothko, Pollock, Bourgeois and many others. It’s dedicated to showcasing artwork based on the emerging creative ideas of the late 19th century through to those that dominate today. It’s easy to get lost in the vast collection for an entire day; if you want to maximize your time and create a plan of attack ahead of time, download the museum’s floor plan and visitor guide from the website beforehand. MoMA's permanent collection spans four levels, with prints, illustrated books and the unmissable…
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Philadelphia Museum of Art
Just two short hours outside of NYC sits one of the most historic cities on the eastern seaboard, fairly overflowing with important sites from America’s colonial days and its fight for independence. But for most people, Philly is famous for one thing and one thing only: it was the gritty city that served as a backdrop for fictional underdog boxer Rocky Balboa. Who can resist temptation to shadow-box at the top of the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, just like Rocky did?
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Lower East Side Art Galleries
Though Chelsea may be the heavy hitter when it comes to the New York art gallery scene, the LES has its very own collection of about a dozen quality showplaces, thank you very much. Some have actually relocated here from Chelsea in recent years, and all are now anchored by the New Museum (235 Bowery). Participant Inc, showcasing emerging talent and hosting varied performances, was one of the places hailed as jump-starting the gallery trend here when it opened several years ago. Other popular, contemporary spaces include Gallery Onetwentyeight, Reena Spaulings Fine Art, Lehmann Maupin and the new Angel Orensanz Foundation, housed in a soaring, gorgeous former synagogue…
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Sperone Westwater
The Sperone Westwater gallery represents heavy hitters like William Wegman and Richard Long, and its new home was designed by the famed Norman Foster, who’s already made a big impact on NYC with the Hearst Building and his plans for the new Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center.
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Mary Boone Gallery
Among the showcases that create the most buzz in these parts are the so-called ‘blue-chip’ galleries, including the Mary Boone Gallery, whose owner found fame in the ’80s with her eye for Jean-Michel Basquiat and Julian Schnabel in SoHo.
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MoMA PS1
Sorry, Gaga, but New York's true icon of edge is MoMA PS1. This smaller, hipper relative of Manhattan's Museum of Modern Art is a master at hunting down fresh, bold contemporary art and serving it up in a Berlin-esque, ex-school locale. Forget about pretty lily ponds in gilded frames. Here you'll be peering at videos through floorboards, schmoozing at DJ-pimped parties, and debating the meaning of nonstatic structures while staring through a hole in the wall. Expect over 50 exhibitions a year, exploring anything from Middle Eastern video art to giant mounds of thread. Nothing is predictable. Even a 2011 exhibition honoring the 10-year anniversary of 9/11 took a different…
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Alexander & Bonin
Since moving to Chelsea from Soho in 1997, this three-story gallery has made excellent use of its airy space with a stellar roster of artists, including several prestigious Turner Prize winners. Carolyn Alexander and Ted Bonin, the directors, can sometimes be seen at their 2nd-story desks. Recent shows include Willie Cole and the videos of Willie Doherty.
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New York Earth Room
Since 1980 the oddity of the New York Earth Room, the work of artist Walter De Maria, has been wooing the curious with something not easily found in the city: dirt (250 cu yd, or 280,000lb, of it, to be exact). Walking into the small space is a heady experience, as the scent will make you feel like you’ve entered a wet forest; the sight of such beautiful, pure earth in the midst of this crazy city is surprisingly moving.
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Reena Spaulings Fine Art
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Andrea Rosen Gallery
Oversized installations are the norm at this spacious gallery, where curators fill every inch of space (and the annex Gallery 2 next door) in interesting ways. Rosen opened her gallery in 1990 and quickly made a name for herself. She's showcased John Currin's 'pale portraits,' Felix Gonzalez-Torres's 'Vultures' and Tetsumi Kudo's oil paintings, to name just a few of her artists.
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Lehmann Maupin
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International Center of Photography
ICP is New York's paramount showcase for photography, with a strong emphasis on photojournalism and changing exhibitions focused on a wide range of creative themes. Past shows in its two-floor space have included work by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Man Ray and Robert Capa. The center is also a school, offering coursework (for credit) and a public lecture series.
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Pierogi 2000
A gallery that's grown in reputation and scope since its start in 2000, Pierogi 2000 handles about 1000 artists from Williamsburg and elsewhere, displaying most of their works in the front room. People can flip through drawings and other artist renderings in the back room if they wish. The back room is also a community center/meeting space for cultural gatherings.
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Artists Space
One of the first alternative spaces in New York, Artists Space was founded in 1972 to support contemporary artists working in the visual arts, including video, electronic media, performance, architecture and design. It offers an exhibition space for new art and artists, and tries to foster an appreciation for the role artists play in communities.
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Participant Inc
Participant Inc showcases emerging talent and hosts varied performances. It was one of the places hailed as a LES gallery pioneer when it opened several years back.
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Paul Kasmin
Expect the unexpected at Paul Kasmin. After all, the gallery does represent the legendary Frank Stella. All media are accepted here: collages, paintings, photography, sculptures and more. Shows at this gallery are wide-ranging, expansive and thought-provoking. There's a second branch at 511 W 27th St.
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Barbara Gladstone Gallery
The curator of this eponymous gallery has learned a thing or two after 27 years in the Manhattan art world. Ms Gladstone consistently puts together the most talked-about and well-critiqued displays, and artists such as Shirin Neshat, Magnus von Plessen and Anish Kapoor are frequently shown.
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Gallery Onetwentyeight
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Cheim & Read
Sculptures of every shape, size and material abound at Cheim & Read, and monthly changes keep the exhibits fresh. If the timing is right, you might catch William Eggleston's bouncy color photographs hanging on the wall.
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111 Front Street Galleries
Local artists exhibit their latest works in this orange-colored mega-gallery – a restored factory that actually houses about 11 galleries and ateliers. There's also a dash of international flair from visiting artists-in-residence; Dumbo runs several such programs a year.
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Exhibit 1A Gallery
Exhibit 1A Gallery is the city’s first all-graffiti art gallery, housed in a residential building, and shows ‘Graffiti Uptown: You Can’t Shut Us Down’ every year in November; check www.graffiti.org for upcoming events.
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Greene Naftali
Sharp, edgy and youth-oriented Greene Naftali has an ever-rotating display of art in all kinds of media: film/video, installation, painting, drawing and performance art.
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Drawing Center
Here since 1977, this is the only nonprofit institute in the country to focus solely on drawings, using work by masters as well as unknowns to show the juxtaposition of various styles. Historical exhibitions have included work by Michelangelo, James Ensor and Marcel Duchamp, while contemporary shows have focused on Richard Serra, Ellsworth Kelly and Richard Tuttle; exhibits can range from the whimsical to the politically controversial. Artist lectures and performance-art programs are hot tickets here – as is the new Big Draw event (usually in summer), which invites folks of all ages to bring a sketchpad to any of several artist-led, hands-on happenings at locations around…
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