Ulrik

Sometimes, we get nostalgic for the days when October magazine was a must-read, when Artforum reviews were everything, and their editors and writers were revered as gods and goddesses.

The people behind this gallery share this feeling. They want to bring back this rigor, to forge legacy-building careers for young talent or restore context to overlooked artists that should have graced these publications’ cult pages, but never had a chance.

Ring the buzzer to get inside this walk-up on Canal Street, where you’ll find huge windows and a great view of the city, right from the center of Chinatown. No, there’s no elevator. Yes, it’s worth the climb.

We’ve seen art that, with a Warholian wink, pokes fun at our cultural fixations and sometimes slips into a quietly defiant Social Realist tone. We’ve seen pictures of the city we call home, displayed as light boxes in a kind of holy devotion to New York’s harder edges.

We come here to seek new ways of seeing familiar things, and to be dazzled by their gorgeous display. No matter what it is, everything here is always flat-out beautiful, a treat for the eyes that keeps us coming back.

Ulrik's founders, Alexander Fleming and Anya Komar, met at the Whitney Independent Study Program. Alexander has traversed the art world as a curator, writer, gallerist, and teacher. Anya is working on a PhD at CUNY. The pair opened their Canal Street gallery in 2021, with a view to spotlighting new talent and forging a new kind of future for overlooked artists.