L.E.S. Gallery Stroll

From photography to installation art, the Lower East Side is brimming with artistic gems waiting to be discovered.

September marks the awakening of the art world in New York City after a long, sleepy summer. We can’t think of a more fitting way to bid farewell to sunshine than to descend on into the retrospective realm of art. And what better place to begin our journey than the lively Lower East Side.

LaViolaBank Gallery

179 East Broadway (between Jefferson & Rutgers)
www.lavoilabank.com
We love this large gallery space out on this hauntingly quiet stretch of East Broadway. Featuring young emerging contemporary American and Scandinavian artists with a style distinctively urban, canvases splash the walls with vibrant and ornate colors and political statements spread across two floors. The current exhibition, Summer Salon, ends September 7. Check out Outside In which opens September 16 and runs through October 7.

Michali Fine Art Gallery

45 Orchard Street (between Hester & Grand)
www.michali.us
A recent visit to this gallery pleasantly surprised us with an amazing 1983 piece by Peter Doig, one of the top art superstars of the moment (in recent years his paintings auctioned at Sotheby’s for alarming seven-digit sums). The gallery, run by French darling Maude Michali, boasts not only the globally famed, but fun emerging contemporaries too. A past exhibition entitled The Meaning of Life included glitzy sculptural pieces by fashion-inspired artist Hedi Ferjani. Gas masks from World War II, syringes from Chernobyl, rat traps and grenades all imbued with metallic glitter left us in complete aesthetic awe. His glitzy, paradoxical masks recently debuted in a runway show for his fashion designer counterpart, Erin Fetherston. With a history of exciting exhibitions, we are eager to see what is coming up here. Get over to see the current exhibition, The Good Times are Killing Me featuring pop artist Reina 76 and sculptor Scot Thompson on display through September 15.

Miguel Abreu Gallery

36 Orchard Street (between Hester & Grand)
www.miguelabreugallery.com
Fronting as a bookstore, this minimalistic gallery features abstract and thought-provoking art in the form of experimental sculpture, music, video, painting, mixed-media and photography. Stop to linger and let the art take you to an oneiric realm of consciousness. Visit the gallery website for current exhibition details.

Collective Hardware

169 Bowery (between Broome & Delancey)
www.collectivehardware.com
Fives stories of absolute creative inspiration in the LES fashion. Housed in an old Bowery complex, the street-level hosts a pop-up gallery and party space with exhibitions by guest curators featuring largely New York City based artists who have intrinsically left their marks on the city. Cool, under-the-radar Peter Vancek Salon is positioned above the gallery (and open ‘til midnight!), and the upper floors are the headquarters of Think Tank which includes the imaginative minds of Paul Sevigny, Stuart Braunstein, Erik Fosse, Andy Kelly, and Shaun O’Rourke to name a few. The abundant, multifaceted space promises a true artistic collective indeed.

Salon 94 Freemans

Freeman Alley (off Rivington between Bowery & Christie)
www.salon94.com
Any venture on Freeman Alley is in our opinion a good one, and this gallery in the center of it lends to its appeal. We recommend a trip to see paintings and abstract photographs by the NYC based artist Carter whose pretty images play with space, muted color, and high contrast to create a rare feeling of stillness even amongst clutter. Carter’s images will be on display September 9 through October 24.