Inaugural Group Show installation, October 1970.

New York’s oldest alternative art space.

White Columns was founded in 1970 by a group of artists including Jeffrey Lew and Gordon Matta-Clark as an experimental platform for art. Originally located in SoHo (and known as the 112 Workshop/112 Greene Street), the organization was renamed White Columns when it moved to Spring Street in 1980. In 1991 White Columns moved to Christopher Street in the West Village, and in 1998 the gallery relocated to the borders of the West Village and Meat Packing District. In April 2018, White Columns re-opened in a new location at 91 Horatio Street adjacent to the new Whitney Museum of American Art and The High-Line.

White Columns presents an ongoing program of exhibitions, projects, talks, screenings, and events. Additionally it has a record label ‘The Sound of White Columns’ that releases vinyl-only recordings by artist-performers. White Columns is a not-for-profit gallery which is open to the public, free-of-charge, eleven months per year.

White Columns provides support to artists who have yet to benefit from wider critical, curatorial or commercial attention.

Over the past fifty-four years, hundreds of artists have benefited from early exposure and support at White Columns, including: Gordon Matta-Clark, Louise Bourgeois, Jene Highstein, Barry Le Va, Alice Aycock, Richard Nonas, Jackie Winsor, Willoughby Sharp, Susan Rothenberg, Kiki Smith, Harmony Hammond, William Wegman, Peter Fend, Sonic Youth, Barbara Ess, John Miller, David Robbins, Jack Goldstein, David Wojnarowicz, Michael Smith, Douglas Blau, Ashley Bickerton, Group Material, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Andres Serrano, Fred Wilson, Sturtevant, Cady Noland, ACT-UP, Lorna Simpson, John Currin, Sean Landers, Verne Dawson, Marlene McCarty, Lutz Bacher, Tom Burr, Jim Hodges, Glenn Ligon, Jack Pierson, Kathe Burkhart, Richard Phillips, Sarah Sze, Aida Ruilova, Judy Linn, Eileen Quinlan, Dodie Bellamy, Kevin Killian, John Stezaker, William Scott, Luke Fowler, Steven Claydon, Lars Laumann, Alexandre Singh, Margaret Lee, Ella Kruglyanskaya, Marlon Mullen, Derrick Alexis Coard, Magdalena Suarez Frimkess, Bill Lynch, Gerasimos Floratos, Hugh Hayden, and Aliza Nisenbaum, amongst many others.

Contact

info@whitecolumns.org
212 924 4212
212 645 4764 Fax

91 Horatio Street
New York, NY 10014
(Between West and Washington Street)
Map

Open Tuesday–Saturday, 11AM–6 PM

Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

 

Group Visits
  • In-person educational and community groups of all ages are welcome to visit anytime during our gallery hours. The current maximum capacity for the gallery is 20 visitors at a time. Appointments are not necessary. Please note restrooms are closed to the public at this time.
  • If your group would like to request an in-person tour or talk from a member of our staff during your visit, please contact info@whitecolumns.org with your group’s availability, size, age range, accessibility needs, and any other relevant information and we will do our best to accommodate your request. 

Accessibility

White Columns is fully wheelchair accessible, with a wheelchair lift installed at our front entrance and a wheelchair accessible restroom. Please use the bell located to the right of our outside entrance for any assistance. Large print materials and tours with staff members available upon request. Service animals are welcome. We will make every effort to provide any other accommodations on site, and requests can be submitted in advance of your visit to info@whitecolumns.org.

Staff & Board

Staff

Matthew Higgs
Director/Chief Curator

Erin Somerville
Deputy Director/Curator

Anne Lai
Manager of Finances & Operations

Violet Saxon
Gallery Assistant/Archivist

Michael Sims
Exhibition Manager

 

 

Interns
Anna Molloy
Maria Rentel
Board of Directors

Gregory Miller, President
Stephen Abramson, Treasurer
Polly Apfelbaum
Gavin Brown
Eric Diefenbach
Martin Eisenberg
Yvonne Force Villareal
Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn
Monica Halpert
Marilyn Minter
Ales Ortuzar
Davida Schwabsky
Randy Slifka
Jasmin Tsou
Kevin Yao

Honorary Board

Bill Arning
Gregory Crewdson
Paul Ha
Cady Noland
Lauren Ross
Andres Serrano
Lorna Simpson
Lisa Yuskavage

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