It’s hard to believe that I haven’t led a Soho gallery tour in 10 months, but that drought is about to end with my OUTSTANDING Soho gallery tour Sat. March 1 at 1:00 PM.  It’s not that I didn’t want to lead a Soho tour all this time.  Soho is the legendary gallery neighborhood that dominated the international art world from the 1970s to 1990s, but rents there skyrocketed to the point that the large majority of Soho galleries moved to Chelsea from the mid-90s on, making Chelsea the current world’s center for contemporary art.  But there are still several dozen galleries left in Soho, many of them beloved, and the neighborhood itself is as charming as ever, if not more so.

I lead a scheduled gallery tour every Saturday, and private tours throughout the week.  Of the scheduled tours, two a month are in Chelsea and one is in the Lower East Side.  Then the fourth Saturday slot goes to whichever of the other major gallery neighborhoods – Soho, Midtown, or the Upper East Side – has the best exhibits to offer.   Last season Soho was dominant in this 4th slot, with four tours that year.  And the Upper East Side had a less than stellar 2 tours that year.  This year, it’s been reversed: I’ve ALREADY led three Upper East Side gallery tours and NO Soho tours.  Until now.

This month the most extraordinary exhibits are in Soho, including these highlights: (1) a female artist’s sculptures made mostly from paint, (2) an Israeli artist’s eerie videos of a ghost town that recently housed 2 million people, and (3) a fabric art exhibit that a N.Y. Times reviewer called “racy” and “a masterwork.”  These are just 3 of 7 shows we’ll visit.

Soho is not going away any time soon.  Thank goodness.

Rafael Risemberg, Founder and Director
New York Gallery Tours