After 11 years championing artists like Mira Schor and Davina Semo, contemporary gallery Lyles & King is closing its doors.

The gallery mounted 118 exhibitions, with highlights including Jessie Makinson’s gouache works and a group show by Cato Ouyang, Fernanda Galvão, and Ren Light Pan in June. Founder Isaac Lyles expressed his belief that art connects us to our humanity through bodily experience and shared subjectivities.

Despite the move, Lyles & King thrived on its Catherine Street location until 2023 when it closed amid a wave of gallery closures across New York City. The gallery expanded to Henry Street but still faced challenges in the contemporary art world’s current climate.

Lyles wrote, “Be fearless, be slow, be true to yourself,” offering words of wisdom for galleries navigating today’s tough terrain. As Lyles & King joins other shuttering spaces, the future of the art gallery remains uncertain.