There’s graffiti on the door of 167-169 Canal Street, along with its address in bold red block letters on the glass and, behind that, a long set of stairs cascading upward. I’m buzzed in, and I wind my way up five flights to a brick space painted white. Light from New York’s gray winter sky floods in through the windows overlooking Canal and Elizabeth streets below and the skylight above. I’m standing in New York Life Gallery, where the latest exhibition is in flux.

The gallery was founded in 2022 by photographer Ethan James Green—whose work has graced the pages of Vogue, Vanity Fair, W and countless other publications—with the idea of organizing the creative energy that already flowed through the space. It was previously (and occasionally still is) his photography studio and a place where visiting friends and colleagues would often begin to collaborate on their own. Green’s goal was not to create yet another traditional art gallery but to create a space that was artist-run and artist-led, community-forward, accessible and inviting.

Many of Green’s philosophies about running an art gallery come from his own experiences as a photographer. “The artist always knows best” when it comes to creating a show of their work. “I’ve worked on books. I’ve worked a lot in the commercial space, the editorial space. And in two of those, there’s a lot of compromise that has to happen and you........

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