Housed in a historic six-storey building – encompassing a staggering 28,000 sq ft – complete with roof garden, RH Contemporary Art in Chelsea, New York, has got all bases covered. Though only founded in 2013, the gallery has already developed an ambitious programme of events, as well as producing documentaries on its artists and an annual journal.
'Our goal has been to spotlight a range of international emerging artists while nurturing new talent in a variety of mediums, from video to paintings and more,' says Holly Baxter, the gallery’s vice president, who tapped a team of international curators – from locales as distant as Hong Kong, London and Mexico City – as advisors in seeking out young artists.
The gallery has been a pacesetter since its inception. British collective Random International’s Rain Room – an immersive installation of falling water that allows the 'viewer' to walk through the artwork without getting wet – was a mesmerizing first acquisition; RH Contemporary loaned the piece to the Museum of Modern Art for the 2013 'EXPO 1: New York', where it drew unprecedented crowds.
The gallery is currently showcasing the collective’s kinetic 2010 sculpture Swarm Light, in which any sound – from a mere whisper to a full on shout – sparks tiny constellations of LEDs. A version of that work is also on permanent display in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Also not to be missed is the Oslo-based artist Aurora Passero’s new spin on tapestries. 'I first spotted them on exhibit at the Oslo Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art and immediately sought out the artist,' says Baxter. The work is both refined and beguiling; the patterns and tones of Triggers #3 – an eight-foot textile work in a palette of apricot, silver and dusty rose – appear to shift and change as one moves around the piece.
But RH Contemporary Art isn't just about showing work. The gallery also runs an artist residency program, accommodating the participants in a nearby two-bedroom loft with studio.
So what’s around the corner for RH Contemporary Art? It's simple: continuing to build on their foundation of breaking emerging talent.
The gallery – which also has a roof garden – covers a staggering 28,000 sq ft
The gallery's first acquisition was Rain Room, the already iconic work by British collective Random International
Rain Room is an immersive installation of falling water that allows the 'viewer' to walk through the artwork without getting wet
RH Contemporary Art loaned the piece to the Museum of Modern Art for the 2013 'EXPO 1: New York', where it drew huge crowds
The work has since been shown internationally, not least at London's Barbican centre
The gallery is currently showing Random International's 2010 sculpture Swarm Light...
... a responsive lightwork, in which shimmering constellations of LEDs are set off by ambient and viewer-generated sound
Andrés Galeano is a photographic collagist who lives and works in Berlin and Barcelona. His solo exhibition 'Unknown Photographers' is showing at the gallery until 5 September
Galeano's meticulous images are constructed from photographs found in flea markets and second-hand shops
Galeano's images are both picturesque and emotionally resonant, 'finding connections that emphasise the continuity among strangers' experiences and their visual records of them'
'Lost Doubloons Rest' is a dual exhibition of the work of Norwegian artists Jorunn Hancke Øgstad and Tyra Tingleff, showing at RH Contemporary Art until 5 September. Tingleff's large, impressionistic paintings (pictured: The platform isn't any colour) are a perfect foil to Hancke Øgstad's more spare, earthy works
Everything arrived as sealed, like all of Tingleff's works, consists of oil paints applied to raw linen
'Lost Doubloons Rest' is one of four exhibitions currently showing in the gallery's extensive space
What next for RH Contemporary Art? It's simple, really: continuing to build on their foundation of breaking emerging talent
ADDRESS
RH Contemporary Art
437 West 16th Street
New York, New York
-
The Orient Express' new look platforms the finest French artisansMaxime d’Angeac, Artistic Director of the Orient Express, is overseeing the newly revived train service’s return to the rails as a rolling homage to Art Deco and modern craftsmanship
-
A neo-brutalist villa for an extended family elevates a Geneva suburbLacroix Chessex Architectes pair cost-conscious concrete construction with rigorous details and spatial playfulness in this new villa near Geneva
-
Roberto Cavalli Home Interiors’ new collection evokes the glamour of a luxury resortAs the brand unveils its sensual ‘Savage Serenity’ collection, creative director Fausto Puglisi tells us why design ‘must seduce, provoke and empower’
-
Inside the work of photographer Seydou Keïta, who captured portraits across West Africa‘Seydou Keïta: A Tactile Lens’, an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum, New York, celebrates the 20th-century photographer
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekFrom sumo wrestling to Singaporean fare, medieval manuscripts to magnetic exhibitions, the Wallpaper* team have traversed the length and breadth of culture in the capital this week
-
María Berrío creates fantastical worlds from Japanese-paper collages in New YorkNew York-based Colombian artist María Berrío explores a love of folklore and myth in delicate and colourful works on paper
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekAs we approach Frieze, our editors have been trawling the capital's galleries. Elsewhere: a 'Wineglass' marathon, a must-see film, and a visit to a science museum
-
June Leaf’s New York survey captures a life in motionJune Leaf made art in many forms for over seven decades, with an unstoppable energy and fierce appetite leading her to rationalise life in her own terms.
-
Jamel Shabazz’s photographs are a love letter to Prospect ParkIn a new book, ‘Prospect Park: Photographs of a Brooklyn Oasis, 1980 to 2025’, Jamel Shabazz discovers a warmer side of human nature
-
The Hammer Museum in Los Angeles launches the seventh iteration of its highly anticipated artist biennialOne of the gallery's flagship exhibitions, Made in LA showcases the breadth and depth of the city's contemporary art scene
-
Inside a Courtney Love-inspired art exhibition in New YorkLiza Jo Eilers looks to the glory days of Hole at an exhibition at Grimm New York
