Entrance

There’s a DIY sensibility and grassroots vibe to this sunny storefront gallery. Many of the artists shown here are friends who got their start in zine and skateboard culture. Which, in downtown NYC, is a high-sensibility pursuit that sparks many creative careers.

The shows feel closer to the studio than the street. The art here could be paintings, ceramics, or assemblages made from trash. Subjects span from upstate farming and Canadian speed skating to knights, castles, or fantasy lands.

No matter what they're making, you can feel the artists at work. Hands-on, solving problems, figuring things out. The work lets you in on something that is becoming, not just the polished result. But the results are nonetheless beautiful, refined objects with real presence.

Louis Shannon, the founder of Entrance, grew up in Tribeca around artists, so it’s unsurprising that he has an eye. In 2011, he and some friends started the Luck You Collective in the basement of what is now the gallery's Ludlow Street location. The space was hard to find, so they hung a sign above the cellar door that said "Entrance." When Louis took over the upstairs storefront in 2017, the name stayed because it fit his mission to showcase artists making their a solo debut. In 2024, he added a sculpture center in Red Hook, not far from his other venture: The New Day More Club, a membership project for people who love beater cars.