New York Galleries Are Moving to Tribeca En Masse. Here’s Your Go-To Guide for What to See, Eat, and Drink in the Neighborhood

Make a day of it with our roundup of Tribeca highlights.

A view of the Tribeca skyline. Photo: Creative Commons via Flickr.

What’s old is new again in Tribeca, the neighborhood that fell off New York City’s cultural map when galleries moved en masse to Chelsea. Today, the area is booming again as dealers rapidly relocate their galleries to the triangle below Canal Street. 

In light of the burgeoning scene, we’ve outlined the many art spaces in the neighborhood—and a few straddling its boundary with Soho—as well as a list of some of our favorite haunts for dining and drinking.

As more galleries make the transition to the neighborhood, including Luhring Augustine, which is expected to open at 17 White Street, and PPOW, which moves to 20 Cortlandt Alley in 2020, we’ll update the list.

 

 ART SCENE

Photo by Guillaume Ziccarelli. Courtesy Off Paradise.

Installation view of “Glenn O’Brien: Center Stage” at Off Paradise. Photo by Guillaume Ziccarelli. Courtesy Off Paradise.

Bortolami

The gallery was once run by both Stefania Bortolami and Amalia Dayan, but the latter splintered off to run Luxembourg & Dayan uptown with Daniella Luxembourg and the former now runs the space by herself. Bortolami was among the pioneers in the recent wave of galleries moving to Tribeca, having decamped from Chelsea back in 2017. 

39 Walker Street; Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.

Alexander & Bonin

Established in 1995 by Carolyn Alexander and Ted Bonin, the gallery has gone through several iterations, first moving from Soho to Chelsea in 1997 and then, after 18 years there, resettling in Tribeca.

47 Walker Street; Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.

Off Paradise

A new project space helmed by Natacha Polaert, the name evokes the old neighborhood of Five Points, at the center of which was a small, triangular park called Paradise Square. It also invokes Paradise Alley, the artists’ and poets’ colony on the then rough-and-tumble corner of Avenue A and East 11th Street made famous in Jack Kerouac’s novel The Subterraneans.

120 Walker Street; Wednesday–Saturday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m.

Denny Dimin Gallery

A quirky Lower East Side transplant founded in 2013 by Elizabeth Denny, and joined by Robert Dimin in 2015 as partner and co-director, the gallery program is invested in introducing emerging artists to established collectors. It opened a second location in Hong Kong earlier this year.

39 Lispenard Street; Tuesday–Saturday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.

Monica King Contemporary

The veteran gallerist who worked at Pace and Paul Kasmin opened her own gallery in Tribeca just last month with the first solo presentation of work by April Marten. Speaking to artnet News in August, King said, “My vision celebrates the vital contribution that contemporary art brings to our collective society and to each of our individual souls.”

39 Lispenard Street; Tuesday–Saturday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.

Patrick Parrish

The man behind the Instagram account MONDOBLOGO, Parrish’s eye for design has earned him a reputation as a coveted venue for emerging and established artists alike. The gallery moved from 22nd Street in Chelsea to Tribeca in 2000, and continues to churn out multimedia shows and impressive wares from there.

50 Lispenard Street; Monday–Friday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.; Saturday, 12 p.m.–6 p.m.

Barney Savage Gallery

Touching down in the neighborhood in February 2018, Barney Savage specializes in emerging artists—its last show was the first solo for Debora Cheyenne, and the current exhibition is the solo debut of Emily Marie Miller, fresh off a group outing at Kasmin.

87 Franklin Street, 2nd Floor; Wednesday–Saturday, 12 p.m.–6 p.m.

A map from Independent's Tribeca Gallery Walk in September 2019. Courtesy of Independent.

A map from Independent’s Tribeca Gallery Walk in September 2019. Courtesy of Independent.

CANADA

Started by Phil Grauer, Sarah Braman, Wallace Whitney, and Suzanne Butler in 1999, the print shop-turned-art gallery was a stalwart of the Lower East Side scene before moving to Tribeca. Artists include Katherine Bernhardt, Joe Bradley, Xylor Jane, and Katherine Bradford.

60 Lispenard Street; Tuesday–Saturday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.

James Cohan

The gallery made its debut in 1999 with a show of work by Gilbert & George, and has since continued to represent a range of contemporary artists like Bill Viola, Firelei Báez, and Omer Fast as well as the estate of Robert Smithson and Lee Mullican. The gallery has another outpost in the Lower East Side.

48 Walker Street; Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.

Kaufmann Repetto

The gallery was a longstanding facet of the Milan art scene, originally under the sole auspices of Francesca Kaufmann until Chiara Repetto came on as a partner in 2010, and the gallery moved to a new location in the Italian city. The female-focused lineup boasts names like Andrea Bowers, Simone Fattal, Eva Rothschild, and Candice Breitz (as well as star of the moment Nicolas Party). It opened a Chelsea outpost in 2013 and moved to Tribeca this year, in a 3,000-square-foot space.

55 Walker Street; Tuesday–Saturday, 10 am–6 pm

SFA Advisory

The art advisory firm run by Lisa Schiff was founded in 2002, and operates a space in West Hollywood as well as New York, which opened in 2019. Schiff is a longstanding denizen of Tribeca, and when she opened up the new space she added a concept store and showroom.

45 White Street, Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.

The Journal Gallery 

The 15-year-old gallery run by Michael Nevin and Julia Dippelhofer rebooted itself in 2019 with a new space in Tribeca and a new web platform cheekily called “Tennis Elbow.” 

45 White Street; Monday–Sunday, 12 p.m. – 6 p.m. 

R & Company 

Co-founded by Evan Snyderman and Zesty Meyers, the gallery is a stalwart of Tribeca (with the exception of a brief stint in Brooklyn), and features pop-up shops and installations of contemporary and vintage design.

64 White Street; Monday–Friday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.

Andrew Kreps

The eponymous gallery was founded in 1996. It spent 20 years in Chelsea before moving to Tribeca in September 2019 and opening an additional project space in the neighborhood, at 55 Walker Street. The gallery recently added some important artists to its roster, including Camille Blatrix and the estate of Sister Corita Kent.

22 Cortlandt Alley; Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.

Installation view of "Canyon Caster: Infidel" at Postmasters Gallery.

Installation view of “Canyon Castator: Infidel” at Postmasters Gallery.

Postmasters Gallery

Dealers Magda Sawon and Tamas Banovich moved Postmasters from its original home in the East Village to Soho to Chelsea and finally to Tribeca, in 2013. The gallery promotes and exhibits work that toes the line between new media technologies and visual art.

54 Franklin Street; Tuesday–Saturday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.

The Untitled Space

Indira Cesarine opened the Untitled Space in 2015 and has created a strong program highlighting the work of women artists, including an impressive garden of Eden-themed presentation at New York’s SPRING/BREAK Art Show back in March.

45 Lispenard Street; Tuesday–Saturday, 12 p.m.–6 p.m.

Queer Thoughts

Directors Luis Miguel Bendaña and Sam Lipp began the gallery in a small apartment in Chicago and, after earning rave reviews at NADA New York in 2015, made the move to New York that year.

373 Broadway #C9; Tuesday–Saturday, 12 p.m.–6 p.m.

Chart Gallery

Dealer Clara Ha, who was previously a partner at Paul Kasmin Gallery, opened the space in May 2019. At the time she told Artnet News that her aim was to present a “collaborative platform” that encouraged dialogue between artists and the public.

74 Franklin Street; Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.

Kerry Schuss

The formerly named KS Art gallery rebranded itself but continues to serve up a multi-generational, multi-media program that features both established artists and those considered “outsider” artists, who are self-taught and often previously overlooked.

73 Leonard Street; Tuesday–Saturday, 12 p.m.–6 p.m.

Ortuzar Projects

The brainchild of Ales Ortuzar, who opened the space in 2018, the gallery aims to promote artists from beyond the United States and introduce them to a New York audience.

9 White Street; Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.

apexart

A non-profit art venue founded by Steven Rand in 1994, the space is focused on fostering artists through residencies, open-call programs, book publishing, and public events.

291 Church Street; Tuesday–Saturday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.

DINE & DRINK

The Odeon in New York City. Photo by Mark Peterson/Corbis via Getty Images.

The Odeon: The classic Tribeca haunt for burgers and martinis was made famous for the long-ago promise of running into art world heavyweights like Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat there. It’s also home to the neon-lit sign featured in the intro credits on Saturday Night Live, and it was on the cover of Jay McInerney’s 1984 novel Bright Lights, Big City.

145 West Broadway.

Locanda Verde:  Owned by Robert De Niro, the food is excellent and the atmosphere is even better at this restaurant located inside the Greenwich Hotel. Although it’s no longer a watering hole for the same celebrity set of days gone by, you wouldn’t know it by how quickly it gets booked up, so plan ahead for this one. 

377 Greenwich Street.

Frenchette: This upscale French bistro is brought to you by some of the same pros who worked at Balthazar. Expect lines. 

241 West Broadway.

Square Diner: This quirky relic of old New York relic serves up classic diner food. But bring cash—no credits cards allowed.

33 Leonard Street.

Tiny’s & The Bar Upstairs: This cozy New American spot is housed in a historical three-story townhouse with exposed brick and a fireplace.

135 West Broadway.

Distilled:  This neighborhood destination offers light bites and fancy cocktails—and don’t forget the free popcorn.

211 West Broadway.

Anotheroom: One of the darkest bars in the city—lumens-wise, not emotions-wise—Anotheroom offers wine, food, and a solid list of beers on draft. If you like the idea of drinking in a cave, this one’s for you.

249 West Broadway.

Smith & Mills: A cozy, dimly lit restaurant/bar housed in a former horse stable, perfect for cozying up after escaping the frigid downtown wind gusts.

71 North Moore Street.

Primo’s: Enjoy classic cocktails at this bar inside the Frederick Hotel.

129 Chambers Street.

1803 NYC: This New Orleans-inspired bar and restaurant, often featuring live music, is an Artnet News staff favorite.

82 Reade Street.

Puffy’s Tavern: This laid-back bar is the perfect for a casual drink, plus happy hour lasts till 8 p.m.

81 Hudson Street.

Nancy Whisky Pub: A dive bar of the old-school, drop by Nancy’s for shuffleboard, Irish flags, and, yes, whiskey.

1 Lispenard Street.

Walker’s: A great low-key bar and restaurant with dark wood, white tablecloths, and a real sense of history.

16 North Moore Street.