Salon 21 Is The Gallery That Feels Like Home
You know the feeling: you walk into a New York art gallery and the walls are blindingly white and you’re scared of the twenty-year-old intern with wire-rimmed glasses at the front desk who barely acknowledges you.
Well, Salon 21 founder Alex Bass is changing that culture. Her SoHo gallery sparkles with sip-and-draw sessions, intimate dinner parties, and interactive artist panels. I caught up with Alex to discuss her journey and what’s brewing for Salon 21’s upcoming Halloween party.
I stop by the gallery on a warm Friday afternoon—it’s nestled behind a world of retail storefronts in SoHo. Alex buzzes me in and I climb three flights of stairs (pre-war, no elevator, all part of the charm, of course). At the top, there’s a red phone book with scribbled names and emails, ghosts of past visitors.
“When people come in, they think I live in the back of the gallery,” Alex laughs as she walks me through the space in her signature green Converse.
It’s funny because it’s like, yes! I've achieved the goal of making it feel like a home.”
Salon 21’s current exhibit, Danielle Kosann’s The Mysteries That Were Ours, adorn the walls around the fireplace.
“What I love about Danielle’s paintings is how she pulls from mythology and past painters like John Singer Sargent, but she does it with a modern spin,” Alex says. “She imagines a world where women enjoy freedoms they’ve historically been denied—which, crazily, are still being denied today.”
“This one’s my favorite.” Alex points to It’s My Party and I’ll Cry If I Want To. “It reminds me of Salon 21.”
I first interviewed Alex for PILOT back when we still lived on Zoom and the term “girl boss” hadn’t yet been canceled (yes, I admittedly used it in that article). I was still in college then, just starting out as a writer, while Alex was finishing up her MA at the Sotheby’s Institute of Art and hosting Salon 21 art panels on Instagram Live.
Since her studio opened in September last year, she has thrown more than a hundred events and gotten features in Architectural Digest, artnet, and WWD—the kind that would leave any art lover dizzy.
As we talk about how much she’s grown since our first interview, Alex reflects on what hasn’t changed—her mission. “It’s stayed the same, and that’s what I’m most proud of,” she says. “I’ve always wanted to bring people together around arts and culture, to make art fun and accessible. Anyone can make an appointment, walk in, and buy a piece of art.”
Photography by Moriah Sawtelle
What’s next? Salon 21’s throwing its very own Halloween party on Oct. 30, featuring craft stations where people can paint pumpkins or even add little ghosts to flea-market landscape paintings (you’d know if you’re on Tik Tok).
And there’s more: a tarot reader, Kristen Collins. It won’t be spooky, though, Alex clarifies.
“I've had a reading done by her before, and it was very accurate and made me feel very comfortable and safe. Tarot is like reading art—interpreting images, understanding symbolism. It felt like the perfect tie-in for Salon 21.”
Guests are encouraged to come dressed as their favorite muse, whether that’s a historical figure, an artist, or even a pop culture icon. As for her costume? Alex hasn’t decided yet (though we would keep a secret if she did). She confesses she’s going as Lord Farquaad to another party, with her boyfriend as Shrek. “We’re tapping into our inner child,” she says.
Talking to Alex feels like reconnecting with an old friend who knows a version of you that still exists, beneath all the growing up. I’ve graduated college, started my corporate job, moved to New York, still writing, still chasing down cool people doing interesting things. I find myself asking the same silly questions—like, “Where should I get my Halloween costume?”
Alex recommends Reminiscence on Fifth Avenue. “Thrift stores are the more sustainable choice,” she explains.
She also reveals her fall must-haves—hot apple cider, brown and black color combos (“they were a no-no growing up, but I’m obsessed now”), “Monster Mash” and “Thriller” on repeat, and her favorite candle scent (“something woodsy”). She admits she won’t have time to decorate her apartment for Halloween this year. She will for Salon 21, though.
