New York City is filled with fantastic art galleries. From Brooklyn and Queens to Chelsea and the Lower and Upper East Side, each neighborhood has an astounding number of galleries. It’s said that there are around 1,500 art galleries in the city that cover all periods of art history and all genres of art. The following are just a few of the top galleries located in the city.
Gagosian Gallery
Larry Gagosian is no stranger to curating engaging spaces. With 15 galleries worldwide (six of which are based in New York City) specializing in contemporary artwork, you might even call him something of a master at it. A grand 20,000-square-foot space at 24th Street proudly gleams as the largest of his roster and has been gleaming proudly since its launch in 1999. Exhibitions have included everyone from Andy Warhol and Ellen Gallagher to Damien Hirst, Anselm Kiefer, Ed Ruscha, and Julian Schnabel. If bold color palettes, 35mm photography, and abstract sculpture are your thing, you’ll click happily with one of the many Gagosian Gallery locations.
CLEARING
All caps title caught your eye? As it should! An extension of the original Brussels, Belgium-based gallery, CLEARING makes a second home for itself in Brooklyn, where it keeps audiences keen on emerging artists to know. While unsuspecting outside, CLEARING boasts a surprisingly large space and a delightful array of cutting-edge pieces.
David Zwirner
Perhaps best known for bringing Yayoi Kusama’s incredibly Instagrammable, envy-worthy Infinity Rooms to N.Y.C. back in 2017, David Zwirner makes an excellent case for itself as one of the best blue-chip galleries in all of New York. Pay a visit to this Chelsea-based space to see work from the likes of prominent names, including Donald Judd, Ad Reinhardt, Paul Klee, Diane Arbus, Dan Flavin, Bill Traylor, and Richard Serra. Can’t make it there in person but still want a dose of art history and art history in the making? Check out the gallery’s podcast!
Lévy Gorvy
Gallerist Dominique Lévy first founded her space in 2012 but ultimately joined forces with fellow gallerist Brett Gorvy in 2017 to create the sensational Lévy Gorvy— an Upper East Side space with a penchant for post-war, modern, and contemporary art.
A.I.R. Gallery
Founded in 1972, A.I.R. holds the honorable title of being the first all-female co-op gallery in the United States and one of the first galleries in Soho. The gallery has occupied numerous locations but currently resides in DUMBO, Brooklyn. Beyond exhibiting the work of more than 100 women artists each year, the gallery also hosts a variety of lectures, workshops, and symposiums on the intersection of feminism and art.