Art Galleries of Chelsea

Discover some of the world's best art galleries with an art historian

$289 and up

Private

$85/pp

Small group

Tour Details

About the Tour

Category: Art
Duration: 3 hours
Location: New York

Photos & Highlights

Visit top art galleries in New York and understand how their experimental efforts shaped modern art
Led by an artist, curator or a critic
303 Gallery, David Zwirner, and Matthew Marks

Tour Description

Populated in the nineties by artists and experimenters, Chelsea has transformed in recent decades from bleak industrial pocket to contemporary art hub. Further elevated by the High Line, the fashionable district is home to world-class galleries. In the company of a local curator or art critic, this New York gallery tour visits the city’s top art galleries in New York as well as smaller, hidden ateliers showcasing emerging talent. This Chelsea walking tour will help us get a taste for how contemporary art shapes the city, and vice versa, and discuss aspects of art collecting today.

New York Gallery Tour

Chelsea is home to a number of blue chip titans such as Mary Boone and Matthew Marks, as well as promising younger gallerists like Zach Feuer and Oliver Kamm. We'll begin by talking about the neighborhood itself, which covers the area from 13th to 29th street and between 7th and 11th avenues. Long the domain of industry, including taxi depots and auto body shops, Chelsea first rose to art world prominence in the late nineties when there was a mass exodus of galleries from city's previous art hotspot, SoHo. Rather than organically arising from the establishment of a homegrown artistic bohemia, the area was colonized by market savvy gallerists interested in its preponderance of large warehouse spaces, and thus offers a unique example of a commercially engineered scene. We'll look at the economics behind its rise and the effect of that on the art world in general.

Chelsea Walking Tour

We'll then jump into the art itself, guided in part by what's currently on show, but mostly by our guide's knowledge of the galleries and their strengths. Our walk will allow for a broad overview of the galleries, as well as a visit to the fringe of Chelsea where a string of up-and-coming dealers have set up exciting programs. The exact course of our walk varies day to day but promises to give a full overview of the New York art world today for neophyte and collector alike.

Art Lover’s Paradise

From our New York Gallery Tour in Williamsburg to a packed program of art-historian-led walks at the Met and MoMa, there’s enough to keep art enthusiasts occupied in New York indefinitely. For a more in-depth look at the neighborhood adjoining Chelsea check out our High Line Tour.

FAQ

Where do we meet? Where does the walk end?

The walk begins and ends in Chelsea. Your confirmation email will have the exact meeting point details along with a map, and 24 hour phone number for any last minute issues.

What if it’s raining?

Tours operate rain or shine, but in the case of inclement weather, your guide will modify the tour so more time is spent indoors. It never hurts to have an umbrella on hand.

Where You'll Start

Tour Experts

Elisa

Elisa Decker has worked as an artist in Greenwich Village for several decades. In addition to showing her work in galleries throughout the city and internationally, being the recipient of many prestigious fellowships, including residencies at the MacDowell Colony in New Hampshire and the Camargo Foundation in Cassis, France, Elisa writes for Art in America. She curated the 19-person exhibition "Time Frames Marking Time," which was held at Westbeth Gallery May 24-June 15, 2014.

Tally

Tally Beck is a specialist in Asian contemporary art. He is based in Bangkok and New York and assists private collectors and institutions with consulting, acquisitions and collection building. He also lectures on general and specific art history topics at universities, museums, galleries and conferences in Asia, North America and Europe.

Wendy

Wendy Lubovich is a graduate of Christie’s Education in London with a Fine and Decorative Arts degree. She has been an educator at the Frick Collection and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City, along with the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. A writer specializing in art and design, Wendy is also a former television news anchor who brings a curiosity and directness into understanding art. A life long painter, Wendy’s passion is to connect people and art in a creative and conversational way.

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18 Reviews – (4.78)

Reviews can only be left by Context customers after they have completed a tour. For more information about our reviews, please see our FAQ.

Ethan is very knowledgeable and it was a pleasure to visit the galleries with him

Karen

Dec. 2, 2018

I absolutely loved it - felt like a conversation about art. Our docent was genuinely interested in our opinions and encouraged a dialogue about our responses to the art. He knew a lot about the artists and helped us understand the context of the pieces and how their lives informed their work. Absolutely phenomenal!! My friend who lives in New York said it was one of the best things he's done in the 3 years he's lived there.

Sarah

Dec. 3, 2017

Monica knew every gallery to see and was so learned on artists---

Margaret

Nov. 29, 2017

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