Approximately 200 art enthusiasts gathered on a rooftop in Manhattan's Chinatown recently for an unconventional art opening held inside a converted storage shed. To reach the exhibition, visitors had to walk through the one-bedroom apartment of Adam Zhu, the 28-year-old proprietor of Market Gallery. "Normally, I'm grilling at an opening," Zhu explains about the unique setup. "Newcomers are a bit taken aback, especially when they get to the apartment's door. They're like, 'Wait, am I in the right place?'"
Zhu, who works as an artist, skateboarder, photographer, and brand consultant, moved into the Chinatown apartment in 2015 and has been renovating it continuously since then. His parents had relocated to Shanghai, where his father originally comes from, about a decade ago, leaving the apartment in their son's care. "I convinced my dad to let me move in and help manage it while he was away, and I found roommates, and it was like what you imagine that would be like," Zhu recalls. "There was a messy chaotic-ness during those early years."
During the apartment's wilder days, professional skater Shawn Powers and members of the hip-hop group Ratking frequently stayed there. The space also attracted graffiti artist Sabio, who built a plywood wall on the roof that has been tagged over the years by renowned street artists including Cornbread, Yes2, GOOG, EARSNOT, and Curve. "It's been painted hundreds of times," Zhu notes about the constantly evolving artwork.
Last summer, Zhu enlisted artist and contractor Andrew Kass to transform a basic plywood structure that had been used as a rehearsal space by his friends in the jazz band Onyx Collective. The renovation created a 9-by-15-foot exhibition space featuring concrete walls and folding glass doors. Kass became the subject of Market Gallery's inaugural opening in November, marking the beginning of Zhu's venture into the art world.
"It's really snowballing into becoming this platform for emerging artists and more established artists to show their work," says Zhu, who has now hosted seven exhibitions on his roof. He has enhanced the rooftop space by installing picnic tables and a fire pit, creating a community atmosphere for art openings. "The structure of the shed creates this awesome impact for the art where you can look through the window before going in," he explains about the gallery's unique design.
Zhu's background spans multiple creative disciplines and reflects his deep roots in New York City culture. Growing up in the East Village, he began skateboarding as soon as he was old enough to ride the subway alone and later played a role in preserving a skate spot in Tompkins Square Park. When the streetwear brand Supreme opened its Lafayette Street location, Zhu became a regular customer, then an employee, and eventually advanced to his current role as a brand consultant.
These days, the apartment has evolved significantly from its chaotic earlier years. Zhu now lives there alone, the kitchen has been completely refurbished, and the wildest activities typically involve homemade cookouts on the roof. "I used to work in kitchens before I worked at Supreme, and I hosted dinner parties," he reflects. "Now I have a more pointed way to host artists."
The gallery's current exhibition, "Amanda Ba, Experiments: Private Paintings," remains on view at Market Gallery until August 10. The success of Market Gallery demonstrates how unconventional spaces can become vital platforms for artistic expression, transforming a former storage shed accessed through a residential apartment into a legitimate venue for both emerging and established artists in New York's competitive art scene.
