Thomas Gallery Ltd. specializes in French and Italian Decorative Arts of the early and mid 20th Century periods.
Thomas Gallery
Tom Thomas Gargiulo came from a dual background as a Ph.D. in Psychology with extensive training in Art History and Anthropology to form Thomas Gallery in downtown Manhattan in 1997 to balance intellectual with design pursuits.
Since its inception the gallery has seen decorative arts more than a set of objects to decorate a room rather as a vibrant representation of human culture of each age and as a portal to understanding it. All of us seek to have connection to our past, our beliefs, traditions and culture. Part of the way we do that is through objects around us. Objects are a physical embodiment of our thoughts and ideas.
Dealers are in a unique position. They may choose from the whole palette of art history to create their vision of culture and society through fine and decorative arts. In the gallery’s early days it presented several exhibitions on topics considered too small for museums and too non-commercial for galleries. We explored the evolution of Italian lighting from 1945 to 1980, the work of Early German Modernism leading up to the Bauhaus Movement, the glory of French Ironwork of the 1940’s and the stunning leather covered furniture of Jacques Adnet.
Since then we have attracted a stunning client list that has included Architectural Digest, Barneys New York, Bergdorf Goodman, Nate Berkus, Thom Browne, Tory Burch, Channel, Ann Coultner, Thierry Despont, Tom Ford, Robert Gober, Gramercy Hotel, Jacques Grange, Victoria Hagan, Tom Hanks, Marc Jacobs, Amabel and Tony James (Blackstone), Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren, Yves Saint Laurent, John Lithgow, Jeffrey Lurie (Philadelphia Eagles), Madonna, Eli Manning, Peter Marino Architect, Steve Martin, Mathew Marks Gallery, Metropolitan Museum of Art (curators), Paul McCartney, Lachlan Murdoch, Museum of Modern Art (curators), Pradha, Keanu Reeves, Ian Schrager, Sex in the City, Michael Smith, Tiffany’s, Steve Tisch (NY Giants), The Vitra Design Museum, Germany, Lilly Zanuck.
The gallery now occupies a loft space at 315 East 91st Street. Although the gallery is primarily interested in the 20th Century we realize the roots of Modernism are ancient; we continue to be interested in the past, present and future of decorative arts not just as objects but also as vessels of meaning. We are willing to explore the work of important creators and those considered unknown, to present important historical pieces and high quality pieces of style.
