10 Year Anniversary

Jennifer Bolande, Sascha Braunig, Zach Bruder, Don Dudley, Tiril Hasselknippe, Jibade-Khalil Huffman, Matt Keegan, Alex Kwartler, Liza Lacroix, Anne Libby, Ken Lum, Chason Matthams, Ebecho Muslimova, Peter Nagy, Rachel Rossin, Bill Saylor, Jane Swavely, The Estate of Barbara Ess, The Estate of Paul Gardère, Stan VanDerBeek

Magenta Plains was founded in 2016 by David Deutsch, Chris Dorland, and Olivia Smith on the Lower East Side. From the beginning, the gallery’s emphasis has been community, history, and emerging art, with a mission to foster context for the development of new ideas as well as to present and preserve older generations' of artist work. With this intergenerational approach, the gallery has organized more than 100 exhibitions, programming across a multitude of disciplines. In 2022, the gallery relocated to a multi-floor, 4,500 square-foot space at the intersection of Canal Street and Bowery.

As an artist-led gallery, the founders have aimed to build a dynamic and generative program that reflects their three different ages and shared values of dialogue, artistic discovery, and concept. The gallery currently represents artists Alex Kwartler, Anne Libby, the Estate of Barbara Ess, Bill Saylor, Chason Matthams, Don Dudley, Ebecho Muslimova, Jane Swavely, Jennifer Bolande, Jibade-Khalil Huffman, Ken Lum, Liza Lacroix, Matt Keegan, the Estate of Paul Gardère, Peter Nagy, Rachel Rossin, Sascha Braunig, the Stan VanDerBeek Archive, Tiril Hasselknippe, and Zach Bruder. In September 2026 the gallery celebrates its tenth year in business and marks this important milestone with a landmark group exhibition showcasing the gallery's roster of artists.

While on the Lower East Side, Magenta Plains presented memorable historical solo exhibitions including William Wegman’s altered photographs and drawings from the 1970s, Lillian Schwartz’s debut New York solo gallery show at the age of eighty-nine, German artist Georg Herold’s rare caviar paintings from the 1980s, and a critically acclaimed exhibition of cityscapes from the 1980s by Martha Diamond. After moving to Canal Street and Bowery, the gallery presented research-driven solo exhibitions such as a multi-level survey of Stan VanDerBeek’s collage and fax transmissions from the 1960s-70s, an exhibition of Tina Girouard's rarely exhibited "DNA-Icons" textiles from 1980, rarely exhibited 1980s assemblage paintings by Moira Dryer, and mixed-media allegorical paintings from the 1990s by Paul Gardère.

Additionally, the gallery presents project-based solo exhibitions and thematic group shows which have featured emerging and established artists such as Alexis Rockman, Alan Uglow, Barry Le Va, Becky Kolsrud, Brook Hsu, Danica Lundy, Daniel Boccato, Dan Dowd, David Ostrowski, Hana Miletić, Janis Provisor, Jon Kessler, Joseph Nechvatal, Josephine Meckseper, Joshua Abelow, Julia Wachtel, Kiki Kogelnik, Linnea Kniaz, Nathaniel Robinson, Nikholis Planck, Neil Jenney, Matthew Metzger, Monsieur Zohore, Maria Lassnig, Philip Seibel, Rexy Tseng, Roberto Juarez, Sandra Mujinga, Sayre Gomez, and Steven Parrino.

Through museum exhibitions, art fairs, artist talks, panel discussions, book launches, benefit donations, and collaborative partnerships, the gallery has sought to widen the exposure and reach of the artists it represents. Magenta Plains has facilitated museum acquisitions to the collections at Cantor Arts Center, Chrysler Museum of Art, Dallas Museum of Art, Denver Art Museum, Hammer Museum, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, Kistefos Museum, Moderna Museet, Morgan Library & Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Nasjonalmuseet, Pérez Art Museum Miami, Portland Museum of Art, Centre Pompidou, RISD Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, The Jewish Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The Phillips Collection. The gallery is an active member of organizations such as New Art Dealers Association and the Art Dealers Association of America.