Off the wall: our tailor-made tour of the New York gallery scene

Storefront for Art and Architecture’s ground floor gallery is not easy to miss. Located on the corner of Kenmare and Lafayette Streets in Nolita, the 100 foot long space tapers from 20 feet wide on one end to just three feet on the other. It’s unique façade, which consists of 12 movable panels that offer horizontal and vertical glimpses in and out of the gallery, was designed by architect Steven Holl and artist Vito Acconci in 1993.

Fashion: Jason Hughes. Photography: Ben Grieme

Opening today, the gallery stages ‘Measure’, an exhibition of 30 drawings from 30 international architects showcasing the variety of ways that a set of standards and guidelines quantifying the physical can be represented. Some of the firms include Selldorf Architects, Steven Holl, Formlessfinder and Urban- Think Tank (pictured).

Storefront for Art and Architecture, 97 Kenmare Street, New York, T: 1.212 431 5795, Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 11am-6pm

1 coca 2L y 1 churrumais (wishes) by Erika Loana.

Photography courtesy of Storefront for Art and Architecture

Measure by Víctor Enrich

Photography courtesy of Storefront for Art and Architecture

One Palm Tree Long by m-a-u-s-e-r (Mona Mahall + Asli Serbest).

Photography courtesy of Storefront for Art and Architecture

Storefront Carpet Bombing by Bernard Khoury.

Photography courtesy of Storefront for Art and Architecture

Located in the storefront of a landmarked building, Gagosian gallery’s 75^th Street space opened in April 2014 and is currently presenting ‘Home & Garden’, which includes a projection installation, large-scale panel painting and other new works by the German painter Albert Oehlen. The artist is also the subject of a survey exhibition of the same name at the New Museum downtown.

Gagosian’s selection of Oehlen’s new work are hybrids of collage and painting – tree-like abstractions and living room scenes are painted on foil and plastic, and blur the lines between figuration and abstraction. The exhibition is a testament to the pioneering artist’s unpredictable approach and offers just a snapshot of the range of methods he has embraced across his career.

Gagosian Gallery, 821 Park Avenue, New York, T: 1.212 796 1228, Summer Hours: Mon-Fri – 10am-6pm

Photography: Robert McKeever. Courtesy of the artist and Gagosian Gallery

An installation view of Albert Oehlen's Home & Garden.

Photography: Robert McKeever. Courtesy of the artist and Gagosian Gallery

(L): Albert Oehlen, Untitled, 2015, Ink, plastic sheet, paper on paper and (R): Albert Oehlen, Untitled, 2015, Ink, plastic sheet, paper on paper.

Photography: Robert McKeever. Courtesy of the artist and Gagosian Gallery

Paula Cooper Gallery first opened in Soho in 1968 and moved to Chelsea in 1996. Its 19Century, single-storey warehouse building was renovated by architect Richard Gluckman, who added a new floor structure and two pairs of trusses to create one continuous space.

Like most galleries in the summer, Paula Cooper Gallery is closed for the month, but will reopen on 10 September with the North American debut of Christian Marclay’s Surround Sounds (2014-15). The large-scale video installation consists of Marclay’s recognizable onomatopoeias, animated and then projected on four walls in a darkened room. Marclay, who was a Wallpaper* guest editor in 2011, extracted the sound-effect words from comic books and animated them with movements to match. The result is a sensational, yet soundless series of ‘whizzes’, ‘beeps’ and ’cracks’ that should not be missed. 

Paula Cooper Gallery, 534 West 21^st Street, New York, T: 1.212 255 1105

Christian Marclay, still from Surround Sounds, 2014-15, four silent synchronized projected animations, each 13:40, looped.

Photography courtesy of the artist and Paula Cooper Gallery, New York

Christian Marclay, still from Surround Sounds, 2014-15.

Photography courtesy of the artist and Paula Cooper Gallery, New York

A third still from Surround Sounds, 2014-15.

Photography courtesy of the artist and Paula Cooper Gallery, New York

Gladstone Gallery opened its Annabel Selldorf-designed doors in 2008. Its austere, all-brick facade, which is made from black, unusually shaped bricks, is a nod to the industrial character of its environs while serving as an artistic statement itself. Once past its robust frontage, the gallery reveals an airy, column-free space that comes complete with 22-foot ceilings, exposed industrial trusses and a sloped skylight. 

Gladstone Gallery, 530 West 21st Street, New York, T: 1.212 206 7606

The gallery will reopen this September with an exhibition surrounding the Belgian painter Walter Swennen, who’s free association of words, objects, languages and hues easily catches the eye. Pictured, At My Own Risk. Couldn't be Better.

Photography courtesy of Gladstone Gallery, New York and Brussels