Which New York galleries do artists prefer?

• Contemporary galleries in Chelsea are recommended by artists for their "more daring" exhibits and free entry, alongside famous New York galleries such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art.
• Artists also suggested seeking out lesser-known places, and those run by insiders.
• According to artist Diego Arellano, the city's street posters and billboards serve as sources of inspiration.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Modern Art in New York City are among the world's most visited art museums, with 5.4 million and 2.8 million visitors respectively in 2023, according to The Art Newspaper.

Artists were asked by CNBC to identify their top New York galleries, ranging from established to underground.

Diego Arellano, a London-based screen-printing artist, appreciates the large rooms and high ceilings of Manhattan's Chelsea galleries. He particularly enjoys places like C24, Hauser & Wirth, and Dia, which he describes as "little contemporary museums" without the tourist crowds and admission fees. Arellano notes that these galleries often feature more daring exhibitions than larger organizations.

The C24 Gallery showcases artists who specialize in sculpture, ceramics, photography, and painting, while Dia Chelsea will feature an exhibition by filmmaker Steve McQueen starting from Sept. 20. Hauser & Wirth has two galleries in Chelsea, both of which are currently exhibiting work by Hungarian-American artist Rita Ackermann.

Zhuo Xiong, a Brooklyn resident and artist, also enjoys visiting Chelsea galleries. One of his favorites is Gladstone Gallery, which has two locations in Chelsea. He appreciates the quality of the artists they exhibit and the curation of their shows. Additionally, he is impressed by the current exhibit at David Zwirner gallery, which features works by over 60 of its staff at its 519 and 525 West 19th Street locations.

Tribeca galleries

Xiong selected Tribeca gallery P·P·O·W, which has been in operation for over 40 years and is currently exhibiting "Airhead," a group show exploring the concept of teaching.

Edward Akrout, an artist and actor, is a supporter of the newly opened Mriya gallery in NYC, which is the first Ukrainian art gallery in the city.

Akrout, who runs the nonprofit Art Shield, is excited about the upcoming launch of "Saints," a book by photographer Sasha Maslov that documents the war in Ukraine. The book features portraits of ordinary Ukrainians who have shown bravery and become saints in the eyes of Akrout.

New York's famous art museums

Arellano appreciates New York City because of the close proximity of its renowned galleries, which allows him to visit the Whitney, MoMA, and Guggenheim in a single day. The Whitney Museum of American Art is located in the Meatpacking district of Manhattan, MoMA is in Midtown, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is situated on the Upper East Side.

Kate Lewis, a British artist, holds a special place in her heart for MoMA, as it was the first time she visited the museum when she was 17. In an email to CNBC, she shared her experience, saying, "That's where I 'met' Matisse, Hopper [and] Degas."

The Whitney Biennial exhibits are "unmissable," as recommended by Lewis, who creates botanical-style collages from newspaper stories. The current show, "Even better than the real thing," features the work of 71 artists and collectives "grappling with many of today's most pressing issues," such as how AI affects what we understand to be real, according to the gallery's website.

Xiong stated that the Met gallery had the most significant impact on his artistic journey.

Xiong, a painter from Inner Mongolia, stated that the "The Mustard Seed Garden Painting Manual," a Qing dynasty painting guide from the Met's collection, has influenced his upcoming London exhibition. Meanwhile, "Gone With the Wind" is currently being exhibited at London gallery Maison Pan, which is located in vaults that were once part of the U.K.'s National Gallery archives, until August 15.

Hidden gems and insider gallerists

Akrout is a fan of a "secret" gallery situated beneath the Manhattan Bridge, which is situated above the East Broadway Mall in Chinatown. He described it as a "very important contemporary art underground gallery."

The Swiss Institute in the East Village, described by Arellano as a hidden gem, is home to a lobby bookstore, Printed Matter, which also hosts fairs and launches.

In the East Village, artist and costume designer Machine Dazzle recommended La MaMa Galleria, which is linked to the theater space La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. He stated that it supports artists exploring the limits of their medium in an email to CNBC.

Cay Sophie Rabinowitz, a former Art Basel artistic director and "art world insider," runs OSMOS, a space not far away. Dazzle described her as "a genius of the art world," and said the gallery's eponymous printed magazine is "top notch."

If you don't feel like visiting a gallery, the city streets offer a wealth of creative pursuits, as Arellano stated. "New York is a treasure trove of inspiration for me. Spending hours wandering the city, taking in conversations, music, and the myriad of stickers, billboards, and posters, has given me more material than any other place I've ever been," he said.