Gabellini Sheppard

This gallery for contemporary painting, sculpture, and works on paper reinterprets essential qualities of the firm’s home and boutique designs. Evincing a close attention to detail in the art of display and spatial resolution, the 2,500 square-foot space opened on the second floor of a limestone building on 57th Street. The reconfigured interior emphasizes the exhibition area while accommodating offices, library, archive, and art storage within a sequence of private spaces. A full-height pivot wall at the north end of the gallery rotates 360 degrees on a single ball-bearing mechanism to create a flexible viewing space. Along the full 18-ft. length of the interior façade wall, a honed New York bluestone window bench hovers as if emerging from the building structure. This bench provides a display base for small-scale sculpture as well as an informal viewing position. 

Adjustable white HID lamps within slot-recessed fixtures illuminate the art works. A glowing light cove, visible to the street below through the full-height facade window, wraps around the perimeter of the gallery. This renders the 12-ft.-high ceiling as a paper-thin plane hovering within a warm halo. Demarcating the entry and reception area from the main exhibition space, a single panel of translucent, colorless glass reaches from floor to ceiling. The library and archive space is designed as a place of reference and repose for clients as well as a working environment for gallery staff. A full-height, six-ft.-long pocket door separates the library from the art storage space beyond. American walnut flooring, furnishings by George Nakashima Woodworkers, and custom-designed floating shelving and desk surfaces lend a distinctly natural, domestic sensibility to the calmly neutral gallery environment.