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Thomas Erben began his professional career in the art world in 1989, as a private dealer focusing on contemporary American art. In 1993, Lorraine O’Grady’s show Photo Images 1980-91 was the first exhibition organized in his private space, eventually leading to the opening of Thomas Erben Gallery, first located on Broome Street in SoHo. The gallery’s inaugural exhibition in September of 1996 – the installation “Wet Night – Early Dawn – Scat Chant – Pilgrim’s Song” by then little-known artist Senga Nengudi – is now part of the permanent collection at the Dia Art Foundation, acquired in 2023.

Over the years, the gallery has organized numerous, often US debut exhibitions – now considered historical – with artists like Helena Almeida, Oladélé Ajiboyé Bamgboyé, Chitra Ganesh, Gauri Gill, Sheela Gowda, Jutta Koether, Fang Lijun, Dona Nelson, Lorraine O’Grady, Adrian Piper, and Rose Wylie. The gallery has also introduced contemporary art from various geographic areas including India, Pakistan, Iran, and Germany. From the outset, the program has been multidisciplinary, intergenerational and internationally oriented, showcasing emerging as well as established artists. Conceptually minded, the gallery strives to either recontextualize or expose work that contributes to contemporary discourse.

Thomas Erben has been successful in placing works with important national as well as international institutions such as MoMA, the Whitney, Guggenheim New York, Walker Art Center, MoCA Los Angeles, SF MoMA, the Art Galleries of Queensland and New South Wales, Lehnbachhaus Munich, Museu Serralves, and the Centre Pompidou, to name a few. Thomas Erben has also fostered ties with other prominent galleries and been accepted to global fairs, including Art Basel Basel, Hong Kong and Miami, Frieze London as well as New York, and The Armory Show, along with nationally oriented fairs such as the India Art Fair and Art Cologne.

Gallery Space

Between Stars IV (installation view)

Location and directions

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