Collector and vendor Lio Malca joins New York gallery migration from Chelsea to Tribeca

Gallerist Lio Malca will relocate this spring to a brand new exhibition house in Tribeca, making him the most recent vendor to relocate from the Chelsea gallery district to the fashionable Decrease Manhattan neighbourhood that’s shortly changing into New York’s premier artwork world vacation spot.

Lio Malca, a hotelier and artwork vendor from Colombia now based mostly in New York, says he’d been in search of an area in Tribeca “for some time” earlier than coming throughout 60 White Road, a late Nineteenth-century constructing with luxurious condos on the highest flooring. Malca was first launched to the property by Jonathan Travis, an actual property dealer with Redwood Property Group who has brokered offers for most of the artwork galleries shifting into Tribeca.

“Tribeca may be very particular as a result of it’s not intimidating,” Malca says. “The buildings on the streets have this romantic feeling and unbelievable facades, however they’re no more than 5 – 6 flooring every. Each constructing is totally different and has its personal sturdy persona, which isn’t the case for uptown or Chelsea.”

Malca says he was instantly drawn by the view of the house’s “dramatic” triple-height open house, 35ft partitions, uncovered brick and pure mild from rear skylights. Whereas he was initially seeking to lease an area in Tribeca, he finally purchased at 60 White Road as a result of the proprietor solely wished to promote.

“It has the sweetness and the heat of the neighbourhood,” Malca says. “I like the thought of with the ability to rework areas, however they must have an power at first that you just really feel you are able to do one thing very particular.”

With about 5,000 sq. ft, the brand new house will give Malca room to show a “broader scope” of artwork. The brand new exhibition house will open in Could with an exhibition by the Spanish painter Rafa Macarrón, however Malca can be envisioning installations and musical performances within the bigger house. The brand new location is being renovated by studioMDA, an structure and design agency that has labored with quite a lot of different artwork galleries relocating to Tribeca together with Alexander Grey and Marian Goodman.

Malca’s house doesn’t function like a standard gallery—whereas he does place some items in personal collections and museums, he says his major purpose is to place items from his personal assortment on public show. His areas, together with his present Chelsea gallery on West twenty sixth Road, are half of a bigger community that features an artwork residency program in Sian Ka’an, Mexico, the place artists can create work to show in Malca’s galleries and inns (together with one in Tulum, Mexico, that was as soon as a mansion owned by Pablo Escobar).

At 60 White Road in Tribeca, Malca could have neighbours in Jane Lombard Gallery, positioned immediately next-door, and be on the identical block as R & Firm, Grimm, 1969 Gallery, Deli Gallery and others.

Malca has joined dozens of different galleries decamping or increasing to Tribeca, typically from Chelsea. Timothy Taylor introduced it might transfer to Tribeca in 2023 and final yr Tempo opened an outpost within the neighbourhood. Different galleries which have moved to or opened satellite tv for pc areas in Tribeca lately embrace David Zwirner, The Gap and James Cohan. Postmasters, among the many earliest galleries to relocate to Tribeca from Chelsea in 2013, closed its house final yr after dropping a authorized battle with its landlords.