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New York, NY, March 27, 2025 – Hal Bromm Gallery, Tribeca’s first contemporary art gallery, is pleased to announce a series of exhibitions, events, and the publication of a new book detailing the gallery’s history to mark its 50th anniversary. The gallery was founded in 1975 by Hal Bromm, a neighborhood pioneer who would later lead the effort to protect Tribeca as a historic district. Over the last half century, the gallery and Bromm’s preservation activism have helped cement Tribeca as a thriving, dynamic, and essential component of the contemporary art world.
The gallery’s first location was on Beach Street, relocating to a space on Franklin Street before settling into its current home at 90 West Broadway, later opening an additional outpost in the East Village. Throughout its 50 years, Hal Bromm Gallery has been dedicated to supporting emerging artists at pivotal moments in their careers. In 1981, the gallery presented graffiti artist Keith Haring’s first solo exhibition when he was an unknown. Jody Pinto, Ted Stamm, Bernar Venet, and Joe Zucker all had solo shows early in their careers. Russian painter Natalya Nesterova had her first US exhibition at the gallery in 1988. In the 1970s, the gallery also introduced now-important Italian artists Alighiero Boetti, Paolo Icaro, Mario Merz, Giulio Paolini, and Lucio Pozzi to New York audiences.
“Looking back on 50 years, it’s been an incredible journey so far,” said Bromm. “What I’m most proud of is the community we’ve built and continue to build: the artists, the art lovers, and the Tribeca neighborhood itself. We’ve always strived to be a place where new voices could be heard and express what they’re inspired to express. This anniversary is a celebration of all of that.”
Among the many moments important to Hal Bromm Gallery’s history, British filmmaker Derek Jarman was featured in the first exhibition. New York artists Alice Adams, Rosemarie Castoro, Donald Judd, and Richard Nonas were also among the first exhibited at the gallery. For the gallery’s 30th anniversary, four artists whose lives were cut short by AIDS, Carlos Alfonzo, Luis Frangella, Keith Haring, and David Wojnarowicz, were honored in a group exhibition.
Exterior view of the Hal Bromm Gallery location at 170 Avenue A (1986). Photograph by Glen Straight. Image Courtesy Hal Bromm Gallery.
Beginning this spring and continuing into the fall, a series of exhibitions and events will celebrate the gallery’s long relationships and focus on female, queer, and outsider artists.
Lucio Pozzi: Cornucopia, The Bielefeld Watercolors – March 28—May 10, 2025
This exhibition, the first of the 50th anniversary events, will celebrate the artist’s 90th birthday as well as his unique approach to art and the act of creation. Pozzi and Bromm have worked together for over 40 years now. Since the 1970s, Pozzi’s work has been featured at nearly a dozen solo exhibitions at Hal Bromm Gallery. Cornucopia, The Bielefeld Watercolors highlights Pozzi’s practice of “art-as-a-game” where the elements of a painting, such as repetition, thickness, color, and opacity, interact like puzzle pieces to be rearranged and recombined.
The Queer Show, Part II – May 22—July 25, 2025
Last November, the gallery opened The Queer Show, Part I, the first exhibition in a series that traces the formation of modern notions of queerness through 50 years of contemporary art. Platforming queerness as a way to see the world and exist within it more deeply has been essential to the history of Hal Bromm Gallery as it supported queer artists during the height of the AIDS crisis and continues to show artists exploring varied conceptions of queerness. In The Queer Show, Part II, works by Chris Cortez, Jay Lynn Gomez, Jean-Paul Mallozzi, Moises Salazar Tlatenchi, David Wojnarowicz, and more will be on view. During Pride, the gallery will facilitate a community-focused gathering, reinforcing its enduring commitment to the visibility and celebration of diverse queer perspectives within the contemporary art landscape.
50: The View from Tribeca – September 19—November 29, 2025
50, building on the gallery’s previous anniversary exhibitions TEN, 20, 30, and 40, will feature works from key artists with whom the gallery has collaborated over the past 50 years. This exhibition will also celebrate Hal Bromm’s continued legacy as a pioneer of contemporary art and of Tribeca. The works in the exhibition will be accompanied by excerpts from the book, which will not only complement the visual experience but also weave together the narratives of the artists and the gallery’s rich history.
When I Met Hal: Recollections of Hal Bromm Gallery’s Fifty Years in Tribeca – Book Launch Planned for Fall, 2025
Coinciding with the 50th anniversary exhibition, Hal Bromm Gallery will release a comprehensive account of its storied history as a digital publication. Conceived by former Gallery Directors Logan Payne and Katie Svensson, this collaborative project serves as a testament to Hal Bromm’s indelible impact on the art world as seen through the eyes of those who knew him best. When I Met Hal weaves together personal anecdotes from artists, writers, collectors, and friends, offering a vibrant web of recollections. Artists recount pivotal moments, such as their first exhibitions, while others reflect on the enduring bonds of respect and collaboration fostered by Bromm. Details regarding the book’s release and launch will be shared in the coming weeks.
Further information regarding programming events, including panels and community gatherings, will be announced in the coming weeks. The gallery looks forward to welcoming art enthusiasts and the wider community to join them in commemorating this milestone. They hope these 50th anniversary celebrations will not only honor Hal Bromm’s vision but also inspire future generations of artists, art lovers, and preservation activists.
Image of Hal Bromm (left) with Brooklyn Museum Director Robert T. Buck (center) and Collector Ed McAmis (right) in 1984. Image courtesy Hal Bromm Gallery.
About Hal Bromm Gallery:
A downtown pioneer, Hal Bromm established Tribeca’s first contemporary gallery in 1975, followed by an East Village branch in 1984. Since its establishment, Hal Bromm Gallery has organized historically significant exhibitions in New York City and beyond, presenting and championing the early work of many important contemporary artists, among them Alice Adams, Carlos Alfonzo, Mike Bidlo, Andre Cadere, Rosemarie Castoro, Peter Downsbrough, Joel Fisher, Linda Francis, Luis Frangella, Judy Glantzman, Michael Goldberg, Keith Haring, Suzanne Harris, Paolo Icaro, Derek Jarman, Alain Kirili, Greer Lankton, Nicholas Moufarrege, Richard Nonas, Jody Pinto, Lucio Pozzi, Rick Prol, Walter Robinson, Russell Sharon, Kiki Smith, Ted Stamm, Lynn Umlauf, Jeff Wall, Krzysztof Wodiczko, David Wojnarowicz, Martin Wong, and Joe Zucker, highlighting the creative energy and depth of talent surfacing in Downtown Manhattan throughout the 1970s, ’80s and beyond. For nearly five decades, Hal Bromm’s rich history of collaborating with artists, galleries, museums and institutions on the development and curation of avant-garde exhibitions, has provided meaningful context around storied moments in contemporary art.
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