Pleiades Gallery
Presenting contemporary art for nearly 50 years, Pleiades Gallery is one of the oldest and most well-established galleries in New York City. Founded in Soho in 1974 by a group of like-minded artists, the gallery has hosted some of the world’s finest artists including William Behnken, who was a founding member, and Renee e. Rubin, both of whom have works in major museums including MoMA, the Met, and Brooklyn Museum. Over the years, Pleiades Gallery has also hosted notable presentations and panel discussions that have included such luminaries as John Cage, Christo, Merce Cunningham, and Lucy Lippard.
Today, the gallery is located in Chelsea’s Landmark Arts Building, in the heart of Chelsea just steps away from the High Line and situated among the most prestigious galleries in Manhattan. Pleiades has developed into a Chelsea institution with high standards that are continuously refreshed by new artists representing a diversity of styles, ages and viewpoints and that are creating work across a broad range of mediums.
Throughout the year the gallery hosts solo shows, curated group shows and juried shows. Many of the gallery’s artists are award winners whose works have been selected for exhibitions juried by curators of prominent institutions and museums throughout the world.
The gallery spotlights artistic movements and artists who are notable for creating work that crosses genres and borders, generational contexts and artistic disciplines, reflecting a broad range of sensibilities from realistic to abstract. Pleiades Gallery continually shows inspiring work of high quality contemporary artists. The gallery offers opportunities for both established and emerging artists and welcomes them to submit their work for consideration. The spirit of commitment to the artists and the art that guided the gallery from the beginning remains true today and as we look ahead to the next half-century.
Current and Upcoming Exhibitions
6/9/26 – 7/4/26 – Pleiades announces the 30th Friends of Pleiades International show. Opening reception will be held on Saturday, 6/20/26 from 3-6 PM. Artists include Philippe Boirin, Tyler Bowman, Richard George, Fhylicia Eileen Tierney, Olivia Hope, Frani Lugo, Linda Mikula, Roy Owsley, Tami Uyama and Wei Wei.
9/8/26 – 10/3/26 – Pleiades Gallery presents “Every Street Has a Story”, a solo exhibition of Ellen Bradshaw’s paintings of New York City places. The show runs from 9/8/26 through 10/3/26, with an Artist Reception on Saturday, 9/12/26 from 3-6 PM. Pleiades Gallery is located at 547 West 27th Street and is open Tuesday-Saturday, 12-6 PM.
For Ellen, every street has a story. Each street has a past. Memories. A history. A street can anchor you, place you, remind you, make you feel. It can speak to you. Every street has a soul. There is a mood to a street. The sky, the weather interacting with a street, an emotional dance, an unveiling. Sometimes dramatic, but often quiet and subtle.
Ellen Bradshaw says, “I feel this way about New York City more than any other place. The curve of that street, the remembered buildings still standing to mark my own history to them. Within my paintings there is often a glimpse of my husband Joe, as he has wandered most of these streets with me over the years.
“These streets I paint in oil will never look quite the same way again. I am recording a history, a passing moment in time with every street. A very personal journey with NYC. My story is here.”
Ellen Bradshaw’s work was influenced by the realism of the Ashcan painters, as well as the sense of color and atmosphere explored by the Impressionists. Ellen’s usual subject is New York City.
“I’m drawn to the common everydayness of life in the city, and perhaps what is hidden just beneath the surface of the ordinary. The reflective moody quirky streets of Lower Manhattan are my usual subjects – the neighborhoods, the personalities of her buildings, the majesty of her bridges, the streets transformed by snow or the colors of night, the lone figures of daily routine, the everyday intensity of the simple passing of moments against that in-your-face reality that is New York City.”
Ellen has shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions and is the recipient of several awards. She has been President of Pleiades Gallery since 2000.
