JO-HS Soho

JO-HS Soho recently opened a new gallery and residence located in Soho, New York, designed by the founder Elisabeth Johs. In the heart of SoHo, where cast-iron facades once sheltered industrial looms, Elisabeth Johs has transformed a classic loft into something far more radical than another white-walled gallery. Here, a pendant light from Louis Poulsen casts its measured glow over contemporary Latin American art, while Gubi furniture creates intimate conversational clusters that dissolve the traditional boundaries between domestic space and cultural institution. This is not merely a gallery that happens to be in an apartment – it is a fundamental reimagining of how we encounter art in the 21st century.

The Danish curator’s approach recalls the grand tradition of the Parisian salon, yet her methodology is distinctly contemporary. Where 18th-century salonnières gathered artists and intellectuals around ornate furniture and gilded mirrors, Johs deploys Scandinavian minimalism as both curatorial philosophy and spatial strategy. “I never fill the space to the brim with work because I like creating gaps,” she explains. “Gaps are like a breath of air. They are the spaces in between.” This embrace of emptiness as active element demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of how negative space functions in both Danish design tradition and contemporary exhibition practice.

The choice to furnish the gallery with pieces from Gubi and Louis Poulsen reveals deeper cultural currents at work. These brands represent two distinct moments in Danish design history – Louis Poulsen’s modernist heritage stretching back to the 1920s, and Gubi’s contemporary interpretation of Scandinavian principles. Together, they create what Johs describes as complementary despite their “different time spans,” suggesting that good design transcends temporal boundaries while remaining culturally specific.

This temporal layering extends to the space itself. The SoHo loft, with its industrial bones and artistic legacy, provides historical context for contemporary works by emerging artists from Latin America and Mexico. The juxtaposition is neither accidental nor superficial – it reflects Johs’s broader mission to create “a cultural bridge between New York and Mexico City.” In this context, the Scandinavian furniture functions as neutral ground, a visual language that allows diverse artistic voices to coexist without competition.

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