“303 Gallery was first established by owner and director Lisa Spellman in 1984 at 303 Park Avenue South. In addition to its address, the gallery name also references Alfred Stieglitz’s “Intimate Gallery” artists-collaborative located in Room 303 of the Anderson Galleries building. Spellman’s 303 Gallery moved to the East Village in 1986 where she invited such artists as Christopher Wool and Robert Gober to curate special artist projects and collaboratives. 1989 marked 303 Gallery’s move to 89 Greene Street in Soho where Vito Acconci, Andreas Gursky, and Rirkrit Tiravanija had solo exhibitions. It was on Greene Street that Spellman initially exhibited with Doug Aitken, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Rodney Graham, Karen Kilimnik, and Collier Schorr. In 1996 303 Gallery was among the first galleries to move to Chelsea, opening at 525 West 22nd Street. In 2008, Spellman purchased a new building at 547 West 21st Street, the gallery’s current home.” — 303gallery.com
“Although she says she is wary of characterizing 303 as a “chick gallery” (“The ratio has fluctuated throughout the years,” she says, noting that right now it’s twelve men to thirteen women), she has been peerless in her support of strong, boundary-pushing female artists, like Sue Williams, the Wilson sisters, and Collier Schorr.”
“Lisa’s following in the footsteps of women like Ileana Sonnabend, Paula Cooper, and Marian Goodman. She’s their legacy.” — nymag.com
“She also happens to be the grandniece of Cardinal Francis Spellman, the powerful midcentury Catholic prelate of New York; the pew in her front hall is a reminder of that strand of her past.” — nytimes.com