Guild Gallery

Located on Canal Street—that vibrant, propulsive stretch of New York City’s rising art scene—Guild Gallery will open in November, with a series of exhibitions representing a dozen artists.

Guild Gallery is the natural extension of Roman and Williams Guild, on the corner of Howard and Mercer. When we opened the doors of the Guild nearly four years ago, this was the realization of a decades-long dream: to create a living organism of people, objects and furnishings—an eclectic world, a modern-day guild of the senses.

L’Observatoire International was invited to design the lighting for this new gallery.

With the view from the street, the gallery’s front takes aim to inviting guests to explore by the use of layered scrims, lighting and the composition that guide the eyes to look through and beyond.  

In collaborations with Roman and Williams, it is our take on traditional gallery design with influence from theatrical stage design. At daytime the ceiling integrated light band offers a crisp, daylight effects that activates the narrow and deep space. It is encouraged to ponder deeper into the space, discovering more objects that typically contain profound stories about nature, culture, domesticity and craft. As the day progresses, little by little, the space and light transform to create a dimmed ambience with focus on the objects, offering a meditative experience that is in contrast with the surrounding Canal street.