Lyles & King, the downtown New York gallery that helped shape a generation of emerging artists, has closed after eleven years and 118 exhibitions.
Founder Isaac Lyles announced the closure on Thursday in an email to the gallery’s list, saying the decision came with “profound gratitude and a tinge of sadness.” The final exhibitions — a solo presentation by Jessie Makinson and a three-person show with Cato Ouyang, Fernanda Galvão, and Ren Light Pan — closed on June 20.
Founded in May 2015, Lyles & King began at 106 Forsyth Street on the Lower East Side with “The Inaugural,” a group exhibition that set the tone for the program’s intergenerational range. Early solo shows followed for artists including Mira Schor, Davina Semo, Chris Hood, Aneta Grzeszykowska, Aaron Gilbert, and Rose Kallal. In September 2020, the gallery moved to Chinatown, opening its larger space with “I WANT TO FEEL ALIVE AGAIN,” an exhibition centered on figuration and the body at a moment of uncertainty.
Over the years, the gallery became known for giving artists room to develop before wider institutional recognition arrived. Among those who showed there before major international appearances were Grzeszykowska, who later appeared in the 2022 Venice Biennale; Shala Miller, who is slated for the 2026 Carnegie International; and Kiyan Williams, who was included in the 2022 Whitney Biennale. Aaron Gilbert, who first exhibited with the gallery in 2019, is now represented by Gladstone Gallery.
Lyles also used the farewell email to thank artists, collectors, curators, fellow gallerists, writers, visitors, and his family. The note closed on a forward-looking register, with Lyles writing that he looks forward to sharing what comes next. For a gallery that built its identity around close looking and sustained artist relationships, the end of the program marks another shift in downtown New York’s changing gallery landscape.
