Geographical Suggestions for Custom Tours

Tribeca       

The “triangle below Canal Street” is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city and its newest “art-hood.” A shipping and industrial district till World War II, housing conversions and artist lofts took over after. Galleries have now followed, ranging from the well-known (Anton Kern, Nicelle Beauchene, and PPOW) to newcomers (such as Chart, David Lewis, and JTT).  With over thirty galleries on a handful of city blocks, this is the most abundant gallery experience per linear foot in NYC.   

Chelsea      

With 250 galleries, Chelsea is the contemporary art capital of the world.  The Día Center was the trendsetter in 1987, followed in the 1990s by established SoHo dealers such as Paula Cooper and Metro Pictures, consolidated in the 2010s by The Shed and the Whitney Museum, and all along, drawing adventurous galleries from across the city. The High Line, restaurants, Chelsea Market, and starchitecture buildings (Diller Scofidio, Frank Gehry, and Jean Novel) combine with the art scene to create a destination for what’s new in NYC.  

Madison Avenue  

Since the Gilded Age, NYC’s wealthiest have lived on the Upper East Side. Their largesse created the Museum Mile and has sustained the world’s leading art auction houses and a roster of established fine art galleries. Among tiny boutiques hidden in townhouses, galleries like Mnuchin, Craig Starr, and Jack Tilton offer intimate and relaxed viewing in elegant surroundings. There are surprises here, too: The Second Avenue Subway stations feature among the finest contemporary public art in the nation, with mosaics by Chuck Close and Vik Muniz, among others.                

Brooklyn and Queens

Brooklyn is not just a brand—it is an art destination. Below the Brooklyn Bridge are the Dumbo Arts Center, Smack Mellon, and a concentration of artist studios near the scenic Brooklyn Bridge Park. There are even more “off the grid” viewing opportunities in the gritty Red Hook and Gowanus Canal neighborhoods, including Pioneer Works and other alternative nonprofit venues for contemporary art. And, of course, there is the Brooklyn Museum.

“The next Brooklyn is Queens.” In Long Island City and Astoria, a short subway ride from Midtown Manhattan, are PS 1 (which serves as MoMA’s experimental annex), the Noguchi Museum (his former studio), the Sculpture Center (created in 1928, now housed in a May Lin building), Socrates Park (the ever-changing playground for sculptors), and nearby, the Welling Court Mural Project (a national destination for graffiti art). These venues are less crowded, more down-to-earth, and typically cutting-edge. They often “try harder” because they are harder to get to. And with that in mind: Directions and lunch spots are always preferred.