How London Tastemaker Public Gallery Became a Launchpad for Emerging Artists

Alex Harrison and Harry Dougall met when they both craved more from their creative careers. Harrison, then a seasoned designer, and Dougall, then a postgrad employee at Phillips auction house, were introduced in 2018 after mutual friends noticed their aligned ambitions. What started as a friendship soon evolved into a collaborative project and, in 2020, a physical gallery space in London’s East End.

In the short time since it opened, Public Gallery has made a splash in and beyond the London art scene. Its rigorous program of international art fairs and remarkable knack for showcasing artists on the cusp of widespread recognition has quickly earned it a reputation as a sharp and tireless tastemaker.

“I think our mission can be divided into two parts: Our priority is always going to be our artists, and the second part is very much in our name—[being] a public exhibition space and a forum for creative discourse,” said director Nicole Estilo Kaiser, who joined the gallery in 2023 after stints at Casey Kaplan and Kasmin in New York.

This mission feels especially relevant as Public Gallery embarks on a new chapter, expanding its current space to include a two-story former textile shop next door. The additional space nearly doubles the gallery’s size, allowing the team to stage exhibitions across five floors in two buildings.

Its current trio of exhibitions highlights this expanded scope. Across the space, it is showing “00:00:01,” a group exhibition featuring 18 artists—including Artsy Vanguard alum Melissa Joseph and Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley—which runs until February 15th. Also on view is “groundwork,” a solo show by American artist Greg Carideo. The gallery’s juggling act continues as it hosts Athens-based gallery The Breeder and São Paulo- and Brussels-based Martins & Montero as part of the shared gallery initiative Condo London.

With the expanded space comes a new phase for the trio of Harrison, Dougall, and Estilo Kaiser, who remain steadfast in their founding mission. “We’re broadening our community but not dividing our focus,” said Estilo Kaiser.

Harrison and Dougall cut their teeth as gallerists in July 2018 with a modest studio in Hackney. There, they mounted exhibitions by names such as Czech artist Vojtěch Kovařík, British artist Charlotte Edey, and American artist Elizabeth Glaessner. “It was a mixture of residences, different projects, and exhibitions, with an eye to giving international artists opportunities in London,” Dougall recalled. But as their artists’ careers began to reach new heights, so did the gallerists’ need for space. In 2020, Public Gallery opened in East London’s Middlesex Street Estate.

“Having both grown up nearby, East London has always represented a spirit of experimentation and artistic energy for us,” the two gallerists told Artsy. “We were drawn to its creative history and the ethos of the existing galleries and institutions here.”

Then came the COVID-19 pandemic. Harrison and Dougall had just finalized the lease for the space when lockdowns ceased construction and temporarily delayed their plans. When restrictions were lifted in the summer, they debuted with two exhibitions: a solo exhibition by German artist Mevlana Lipp and a group exhibition curated by two London-based artists, Saelia Aparicio and Harminder Judge (an Artsy Vanguard 2023–24 alum).

“[The first group exhibition] was curated by two London-based artists,” said Dougall. “We were looking to create a community around the gallery, and that led us to collaborate with Harminder and Saelia—inviting artists we admire to lead the way.”

This group show, featuring 15 artists including Huma Bhabha and Anousha Payne, set the tone for the curatorial approach that both Harrison and Dougall continue to embrace: centering the artists’ voices.

“It seems obvious, but really listening is the first step—often, the most ambitious ideas emerge from an unexpected comment or tangential conversation in the studio,” said Harrison. “We approach every collaboration with an open mind and try to identify concepts that push an artist’s practice forward, rather than starting with fixed expectations from earlier projects we might have seen.”

Since its founding, Public Gallery has consistently showcased some of the most exciting artists and emerging talents working today, including Artsy Vanguard honorees Gray Wielebinski, Li Hei Di, and Michaela Yearwood-Dan, as well as rising stars such as Amanda Baldwin and Nils Alix-Tabeling.

By 2023, the gallery’s curatorial vision was gaining attention beyond East London, thanks to the rising profile of its artists as well as standout appearances at art fairs such as NADA and The Armory Show in New York. The crowning achievement for the gallery that year, however, was winning the Frieze London Focus Stand Prize for its solo booth of London artist Adam Farah-Saad. Farah-Saad’s work was also acquired by the Frieze Tate Fund, a fund with which the Tate acquires works at Frieze London and Frieze Masters. These achievements cemented Public’s status as one of Artsy’s breakout galleries of 2023.

“We were glowing for days, weeks—we’re still riding that high,” said Estilo Kaiser of the gallery’s banner year. “The best thing was telling Adam and seeing him in disbelief and going from that to seeing the work on view at Tate Britain. You realize that you’re doing something that goes beyond one person… It becomes a permanent part of our collective history.”

Far from resting on its laurels, the gallery continues to ask the one question that Dougall says guides its ethos: “How can we best serve our artists?” This question has led to its participation in international art fairs such as Basel Social Club and Art Basel Hong Kong and its efforts to build relationships with galleries abroad. For instance, Estilo Kaiser introduced artist Artsy Vanguard alum Taylor Simmons to New York gallerist Helena Anrather, who mounted the artist’s first solo show in the city last year.

The gallery also fosters connections between its artists. Even before the expansion, its three-story gallery was designed to host simultaneous exhibitions that encourage dialogues between works and artists. For instance, in October 2024, the gallery hosted concurrent solo exhibitions by American painter Alex Gibson and Chinese sculptor Meitao Qu, deliberately staged for visitors to draw connections.

“It’s a huge luxury,” said Estilo Kaiser. “We have so much room to collaborate and create dialogues between artists. Even when they’re two technically separate shows, the experience our audience has when they come into the space is to see one [exhibition] through the other.”

The gallery’s expansion feels like a natural progression rather than an afterthought. “There’s that whole thing about expansion for expansion’s sake,” said Dougall. “It’s something we were conscious to avoid. This decision felt organic. Most importantly, it will further serve the artists we work with and the ambitions of the program—having these two adjacent spaces with very different contexts will hopefully inspire varying types of exhibition making.”

And for now, London remains home. Compared to markets like New York, London offers more room for bold, experimental choices, the founders believe.