On the first Thursday of the month, many of the galleries in the rising art row of Vyner Street in Bethnal Green throw their doors open to the public until 9 p.m., if not later. Here, the galleries to hit, courtesy of set designer and illustrator Gary Card.
1. Wilkinson (50–58 Vyner St.)
“A major contemporary gallery in an extraordinary 6,000-square-foot space with an infinity window that looks over the rest of the street.”
2. Fred (45 Vyner St.)
“Represents a few really talented African artists like Athi-Patra Ruga and Joseph Bertiers.”
3. The Empire (30 Vyner St.)
“A multipurpose venue in a converted Edwardian church that has regular exhibitions and provides rehearsal space for bands like Klaxons and Arctic Monkeys.”
4. Nettie Horn (25B Vyner St.)
“Does extremely cool photography and sculpture installations.”
5. Gooden Gallery (25A Vyner St.)
“Has a great mix of emerging talent and established people like the Japanese performance artist Sasaki, who draws heartbeats.”
6. Five Hundred Dollars (21 Vyner St.)
“Just showed a series of new paintings by Phil Hale, whose work explores the dark side of fantasy.”
7. DegreeArt.com Gallery (12A Vyner St.)
“You won’t see anything too classic or lavish here; it’s all straight out of college and done on a shoestring.”
8. Kate MacGarry (7A Vyner St.)
“Represents Goshka Macuga, who was shortlisted for the Turner Prize, as well as the art done by the electroclash group Chicks on Speed.”