CHINATOWN — Galerie F is closing after more than a decade in Chicago.
The popular street art gallery at 211 W. 23rd St. announced its closure on social media Tuesday night, along with a massive sale of 75 percent off everything online and in store.
The shop will be open noon-6 p.m. Saturday for its closing sale, and possibly Sunday, according to the gallery’s Instagram.
“With much painful consideration, we’ve decided to pull the plug on this bugger,” owner Billy Craven wrote. “Choppin’ it up with y’all while you checked out the shows or flipped thru the bins … that’s been saved to our grey matter. Forever!”
In the post, Craven also thanked neighbors and said the team is “on to the next adventure.” It’s unclear why the gallery is closing, and Craven didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Galerie F opened in Logan Square — first at 2381 N. Milwaukee Ave., then down the street at 2415 N. Milwaukee Ave. — and moved to Chinatown in 2022.
Despite Galerie F’s various moves around the city, it has been a fixture for neighbors and local artists. The gallery routinely hosts street art exhibits and sells a variety of graphic art prints, gig and pop culture posters, rare books, pins and other collectibles.
The gallery previously moved for more space and due to increasing rent, Craven said in 2017.
“It was increasing so dramatically and I was getting nothing out of it,” Craven said at the time. “I outgrew my space. It’s like having kids. You can’t live in a one-bedroom studio for your entire life.”
Galerie F has been graced by hundreds, if not thousands, of artists over the years, Craven wrote on social media. It has also helped curate mural projects in the neighborhood, like the Megamall display on a prominent Milwaukee Avenue wall.
Many local creatives, especially street artists, say Galerie F gave them their first chance at working with a gallery.
“They championed street art at a very formative time,” one local artist wrote in a message to Block Club. “Billy and his team always took a shot on young talent. He gave me a shot WAY before I deserved it and for that I have a lot of love and appreciation. … It honestly is a very important place in the history of street art in Chicago.”
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