On 9 September, in the spaces of Sofy Gallery in Chelsea, an evening entitled “Fashion Art Exhibition”, starring Jovanka, creative multidisciplinary New York behind the brand ZNSKAGLVA. His work interweaves the Serbian roots with the Slavic aesthetics and street cultures of the city, crossing themes such as femininity, migration and sense of belonging. In the evening, between food and beverages of Balkan tradition and works available exclusively for sale for the occasion, the international artist and designer Jayesh Sachdev, known for collaborations with brands like Zara, and the artist Patrick Earl James.
It is only the last appointment of a calendar that the young Italian gallery is building, stage after stage, in one of the most competitive contemporary art markets in the world.
Sofy Gallery was born in Bergamo, but chose New York as the second chapter of its history. The New York office, at 153 on 10th Avenue, in the heart of Chelsea, officially opened on 11 April 2026, with a pre-opening thought not as a simple inauguration but as a founding act: the experimental exhibition “Suspended Encounters” marked the beginning of what the gallery describes as a long-term curatorial and institutional process. Behind the project are Alfonso Masullo, co-founder and director of the gallery, and Raffaele Tortorella, co-founder, supported by the staff and the network of collectors of the Italian company Consulting Art.
“We have been working for about two years, with daily dedication and commitments of 12-14 hours, to build a strong and well-identified cultural proposal in one of the most competitive and fast cities in the world,” said Masullo.
From April to September, the gallery operated as an active cultural hub, hosting exhibitions, talks, workshops and projects that dialogue European and American artists, in what Sofy Gallery defines a phase dedicated to building relationships and defining the curatorial system that will guide the official program. Among the initiatives already realized, the collective exhibition “Persistenze. Forms that resist at the time”, curated by Masullo himself, and a project that has led to Manhattan the artisanal tradition of Fabriano paper, in the Marches, in collaboration with the network of collectors of Consulting Art.
The real test bench comes now. Starting from October 2026 the official curatorial program of the gallery, signed by a team of five curators, three Italians and two Americans, which will lead to the realization of nine exhibitions between personal and collective, designed to consolidate the presence of Sofy Gallery in the New York circuit. It is the time when the gallery stops presenting itself as a temporary project and tries to become, as it defines itself, a permanent cultural presence in the art scene of New York.
L’articolo Sofy Gallery, the Italian bet on Chelsea proviene da IlNewyorkese.
