If one were to choose a single art gallery that personified (and largely fueled) New York's burgeoning contemporary art scene post millennium, Deitch Gallery would most likely top the list. Opened in 1996 by Jeffrey Deitch, a Harvard M.B.A. who went on to co-found Citibank's art advisory, Deitch Projects occupies a massive warehouse space on Wooster Street In New York's famed Soho district.

Known as a gallery that stages huge elaborate events and spectacles rather than exhibitions, Deitch Projects has been responsible for launching the careers of an amazing group of artists that includes David LaChappele, Kehinde Wiley (2010 Character Approved Honoree), Vanessa Beecroft, Tara Donovan, Ryan McGinness, Shepard Fairey (2009 Character Approved Honoree), and many others. Unlike most of the commercial galleries that line the streets of Chelsea, at Deitch Projects it's often impossible to figure out what's for sale and what isn't. And this is what makes Deitch so unique and special. As soon as you walk in the door you know that it's like no other gallery in the world.

Sadly, on June 1st of this year Deitch Projects staged its last exhibition when Jeffrey Deitch closed the gallery to become the director of Los Angeles' Museum of Contemporary Art.

After fourteen years of staging some of New York's most ground breakthrough art exhibitions, Deitch Projects is Character Approved.

[Image: Deitch Gallery]