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Something wonderful is happening in the once and future art neighborhood of Tribeca.
But the smell of money, hustling collectors, and deal-makers was nowhere to be found.
A batch of galleries opened for the very first time that night.
Others had been there for a while.
Can a claim be staked here?
Against all odds, can New York have a good art neighborhood with a walkable density of galleries?
And, unlike Chelsea and Upper East Side and elsewhere, Tribeca spaces come with basements for storage.
Its like the old Soho scene but with a weird renewed energy.
As always with New York, some of these opportunities were born of tragic and dispiriting circumstances.
Numerous Tribeca businesses shuttered after 9/11, and retail has basically died more recently.
The leases arent bad either and usually ten years or longer.
That will give the galleries a chance to withstand market blows and maybe grow.
It was like being in New York City again.
None of this means the other art neighborhoods are bad.
But this Tribeca (ish) scene doesnt feel too cool or closed.
Theres an emotionalspiritual-metaphysical warmth to the spaces, the art, the people.
These galleries show lots of women artists and are finally getting better at representing artists of color.
(Right now, however, the audience is still mainly white.
This must change otherwise this scene will be a dead duck before it begins.)
AlexanderandBonin
47 Walker St. A contender for the heavyweight crown.
apexart
291 Church St.
Here since 1994, this oldest of Tribeca residents is also one of the better independent not-for-profit spaces.
Canada
60 Lispenard St.
So many amazing painters got their start at Canada that its impossible to name them all.
And it looks ready to set the world on fire again.
Right now, see Xylor Jane an American Bridget Riley and possibly better!
Chart
74 Franklin St. ## TheDrawingCenter
35 Wooster St.
Under new director Laura Hoptman, this long-dormant institution is rising again.
JamesCohan
48 Walker St.
This stalwart gallerist is always presenting on-point, forward-looking exhibitions.
TheJournalGallery
45 White St.
Focused shows of lesser-known artists, always exciting and speaking to the moment.
KaufmannRepetto
55 Walker St.
Consistently finding artists who move to their own beat and seem to change the tempo of the moment.
PeterFreeman,Inc.
140 Grand St.
Rediscoveries, back-shelf artists, older art stars, and outsiders galore.
Expect that to change soon.
20 Cortlandt Alley
Perhaps the most activist small-big DIY downtown gallery of the last 40 years.
R&Company
64 White St. ## TeamGallery
83 Grand St.
You want to see into the future and test your taste?
