Updated for 2021, these galleries offer a welcome respite from the endless energy of the street
The streets of New York are filled with hugely expensive real estate; monthly rent costs for a tiny retail space on the island of Manhattan can reach into the tens of thousands of dollars. With that in mind, I was surprised to learn that New York City has more art galleries per square kilometer than any other major metropolitan area in the world. Current estimates suggest roughly 1,500 galleries are currently operating in NYC, but this number is increasing all the time.
Sure, there are art galleries in London and Paris, but these are huge government-run facilities – they are heavily subsidized, and operate more like museums. The streets of New York City, on the other hand, are filled with small boutique galleries, many of which are only open for viewing by appointment.
Amongst The Best: Eden Fine Art
One company, Eden Fine Art, operates two such galleries in Manhattan. Located in the prestigious districts of Madison Avenue and Soho, these are Eden’s flagship locations and are open daily from 9AM until 9PM. If you intend to visit New York City, a trip to at least one of these galleries should be near the top of your sightseeing inventory.
Those for whom New York City is out of reach may instead prefer to check out Eden’s online art gallery, where you can browse all of their pieces via a state of the art website. The site features 360 degree virtual tours of the Madison Avenue and Soho locations as well as high-resolution imagery and video of each of their pieces.
Eden also has several other galleries, which may be more convenient for you to visit. These are located at:
- 534 East Cooper Avenue, Aspen, Colorado, United States
- 103 New Bond Street, London, England
- The Setai Miami Beach Hotel, 2001 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, Florida, United States
- Nammos Village, Psarou Beach, Mykonos, Greece
All six of Eden’s galleries share a common aesthetic – one photograph is all you need to see to know you are looking at an Eden location. The artists they feature include Eduardo Kobra, Alec Monopoly, David Kracov, Dorit Levinstein and Angela Accardi, many of whom have created exclusive collections which are only available at Eden galleries.
As a final note, Eden further demonstrates their modern credentials by accepting payment in Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Cryptocurrency makes a lot of sense for purchasing artwork, because of the anonymity it provides the new owner of expensive pieces.
The Best of the Rest: Other New York City Galleries of Note
Gavin Brown’s Enterprise
Gavin’s two New York galleries offer a stark contrast to the clean white lines of Eden’s ultra-modern spaces. Exposed beams and red brick walls are adorned with work from Urs Fischer, Laura Owens and Rob Pruitt. You’ll find these galleries on the Lower East Side and in Harlem. There’s one in Rome, too.
Gagosian Gallery
The centerpiece of Larry Gagosian’s art empire is located at 555 West 24th Street, New York City. It’s an enormous space – 20,000 square feet – and regularly features exhibitions from the biggest names in the art world. Andy Warhol, Ed Ruscha, Anselm Kiefer, Damien Hirst, Ellen Gallagher and Julian Schnabel have all featured since the inaugural Richard Serra installation in 1999. Larry has 14 other locations dotted across the globe too, so be sure to check if there is one in your country if New York is out of reach.
Gladstone Gallery
Focusing on Conceptualist and daring talents, the Gladstone gallery in Chelsea is accompanied by another on the Upper East Side. There’s a branch in Brussels, Belgium, too. This is the place to visit if your tastes include Anish Kapoor, Sarah Lucas and Matthew Barney, but there’s plenty more to see here too.
Hungry for More?
Sadly, we don’t have the space to feature all 1,500 of New York’s galleries in this article. Let us know if you’d like to see a follow up piece, and we’ll see what we can do!