Courtesy of George Etheredge/Southern Guild.

In an exciting addition to the Tribeca Gallery District, Julian and Trevyn McGowan will open Southern Guild, the first New York home of the noted South African gallery and artists guild. The gallery will launch with the U.S. solo debuts of painter Mmangaliso Nzuza, with “Ballad of the Peacock,” and conceptual artist Usha Seejarim, with “Used.” Both exhibitions will run through May 17; opening night is Friday and I recommend it.

They have top-to-bottom renovated a Tribeca classic at 75 Leonard, down to 3D printing the cornices on three columns that were lost to the passage of time (more on that later). And the monumental works seem at home there. The couple — married to each other — were gracious to let me take shots while the show was in progress; I thought it looked very cool that way, with some pieces literally on top of each other.

The couple has been together for 26 years, having met in London as designers. They moved back to South Africa and started their career in collectibles; the business has evolved over the decades to now, where they are dealing in 75 percent fine art and 25 percent objects. (They have worked with Tribecan Zester Meyer at R & Company for 15 years.)

They have an artists residency program and a big production facility in Cape Town; they work with their artists directly to aid them in defining and executing their work.

“We’re very interested in facilitating the vision of the artist,” Trevyn said. “It’s collaborative. It’s about how we can help support their work.”

The move to New York follows a stint in Los Angeles, where they opened their first U.S. gallery in 2024, a primer for NYC. “It was very positive for us,” Trevyn said. “It was a conduit into the States and allowed us to build a lot of wonderful relationships with institutions and press.”

They looked between Tribeca and Chelsea but kept returning to Leonard Street.

“It’s the romanticism of the space,” Trevyn said. “It’s very much about where I want to be. This feels like an easier environment — more neighborhood-y. We are all about community.”