This is Now is a high-impact,  immersive exhibition that serves to introduce and establish West Chelsea Contemporary’s two-part mission: producing dynamic, engaging, museum-worthy shows and making its expansive collection of exceptional art accessible to both new and established collectors. 

Initially founded in 2002 by Lisa Russell, the rebranded gallery launched in the summer of 2020 with its highly-successful street art show Concrete to Canvas. With over 5,000 visitors across its two-month run, the show exhibited the biggest names from Banksy, Richard Hambleton, and KAWS alongside local contemporary street artists. While West Chelsea Contemporary will continue to offer premier street art, its collection encompasses a much wider curatorial scope.

Curated from a collection of over 700 works that span the past six decades, This is Now showcases the breadth of West Chelsea Contemporary’s offerings. Featuring over forty artists across a range of disciplines, the 7,800 square foot space has been transformed into a vibrant world of color, light, and reflection.

Artists such as Russell Young and The Connor Brothers mine images from Old Hollywood and blur the lines between high and low culture. Legendary American pop artists Jim Dine, James Rosenquist, and Donald Sultan abstract symbols from the everyday. While represented artists like Hunt Slonem, Ash Almonte, and Gil Bruvel embrace vibrant palettes and complex textures to capture the natural world. Iconic works by Yayoi Kusama and Damien Hirst use stark visual contrast when exploring the transient nature of life.

By borrowing the iconography and lore of pop culture and the everyday as the material for their artwork, these artists are able to reflect the world we live in and comment on larger themes like consumerism, globalization, and the shared human experience.