Lisson Gallery

Under the direction of Alex Logsdail, Lisson Gallery New York, designed by Studio MDA and Studio Christian Wassmann, opened in Chelsea under the High Line in May 2016 with an inaugural exhibition by Carmen Herrera. Here Alex talks about its genesis:

"The search for a gallery took significantly longer than I imagined. Space always seems abundant in New York but that is an illusion. After looking at more than 20 different possible venues over the course of two years, we finally settled on probably the first place we were shown: a vacant lot under the High Line in Chelsea between 23rd and 24th Street. It was a complicated site, but after much planning the new building itself went up in about seven months.

We engaged architects Christian Wassmann and Markus Dochantschi of studioMDA. We fought for every inch of ceiling height we could get, including special exemptions from the city. The end result was a magnificent, purpose-built space, using the exposed columns of the High Line and incorporating skylights along both sides."