Tappeto Volante’s Dreamy New Tribeca Location with Angelo Vasta’s Luci Spente

Tappeto Volante’s new Tribeca Headquarters, 2026. Photo courtesy of Tappeto Volante 

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Five years ago, during one of the most uncertain and precarious periods for New York's cultural community, Paola Gallio and her partner Jared Derry opened Tappeto Volante inside a Brooklyn garage. Conceived as a grassroots effort to reconnect artists and audiences after months of isolation, the gallery quickly grew beyond its modest beginnings. This spring, that journey reached a new milestone with the opening of a permanent new gallery location, now on Cortlandt Alley in Tribeca. 

The move marks a significant moment for the network of independent galleries that continue to shape Downtown's art scene. Opening on May 15 alongside Oolong Gallery, recently relocated from San Diego, and Marge Gallery, Tappeto Volante's new home occupies the lower level of SHRINE, a longtime friend and supporter of the project. Together, the three spaces signal a new chapter for this growing Tribeca enclave, one grounded in collaboration, community, and a shared commitment to ambitious, experimental programming.

In an art world becoming increasingly more exclusive from the ground up, and one defined by consolidation and rising costs, the gallery's expansion stands as a testament to the power of persistence, community, and a resilient commitment to the belief that meaningful spaces can (and must) be built through collective efforts.

Angelo Vasta. Di notte, 2026. Di notte, 2026. Oil pastel on paper. 33 × 45.5 in. Photo courtesy of Tappeto Volante

For Gallio, the opening of the new space goes far beyond a change of address, it represents the realization of a long-held dream. "What started as something very small kept growing, one relationship at a time," she reflects. "When the opportunity arose to open a permanent space in Tribeca, we jumped on it." To grow alongside the gallery's artists and become part of a larger conversation, she adds, "is more than I ever hoped for myself."

It is fitting that this new chapter begins with the first New York solo exhibition by Italian-born, Brooklyn-based artist Angelo Vasta. Having built a reputation through his filmmaking practice, collaborating with dance companies, cultural institutions, and publications including The New York Times' dance section, his exhibition, Luci Spente, arrives at a moment of parallel growth, as both artist and gallery step into a new phase of visibility. 

"We loved opening this new chapter with Angelo because, in many ways, his story mirrors my own," Gallio explains. "We are both Italian immigrants carrying a dream much bigger than ourselves, trying to build something meaningful in a city that demands courage. Seeing that dream become a reality for both of us feels incredibly special."

Angelo Vasta. Ragazzo con giglio, 2026. Oil pastel on paper. 45.5 × 33 in. Photo courtesy of Tappeto Volante

The exhibition's title, Luci Spente—translated as "Lights Off"—offers a useful entry point into his newest body of painting. While the phrase could initially evoke romance or secrecy, Vasta approaches darkness as something more expansive. The exhibition emerged from reflections on loss and the quieter forms of perception that follow it. "For me, it is less about darkness than about creating a quieter space," he explains. "Stepping away from the noise of the world and entering a more contemplative atmosphere. It is in that condition that we can listen more closely, look inward, and perhaps see more clearly what continues to shine after something or someone has gone."

Throughout the exhibition, black functions not as an absence but as a generative atmosphere from which figures emerge with poised spatial awareness. Terra di Siena browns, slate greys, deep blues, muted greens, and coral pinks pulse against nocturnal grounds, producing a graphic and chromatic tension that feels both melancholic and alive. Many of the drawings grew from revisiting older sketches and imagining them under dimmed light. "Rather than losing something, the images often revealed a different mood," Vasta says, "quieter, more introspective, and, in some ways, more emotionally charged." 

Angelo Vasta. Luci Spente at Tappeto Volante. May 15 - June 29, 2026. Tribeca, New York. Photo courtesy of Tappeto Volante

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