Artful Dodges By DYLAN FOLEY
BUYING art in Lower Manhattan can be a daunting prospect on a tight budget.
But the SoHo galleries can be easily bypassed for two other neighborhoods — Tribeca and the Lower East Side, which are full of hip galleries and open studio events where art for under $500 can be found.

The Tribeca Organization has a Web site where a map and description of all the area galleries can be found at www.tribeca.org.
A good place to start is the DFN Gallery, at 176 Franklin Street (212-334-3400).
“People know Tribeca for its restaurants,” said Rick Davidman, the gallery’s owner and director. “We actually have 75 galleries and antique shops.”
DFN Gallery art ranges from $5,000 to $30,000, but Davidman is happy to bring fledgling collectors down to his storeroom to look at less expensive work.
“My responsibility is to the artist, and getting their work out there,” he said.
Davidman said that the buyer should make it clear how much money they want to spend. “They should know that they can negotiate, as well,” he said.
Davidman cultivates his younger artists, and it’s the same with collectors.
“Someone may come in for a $500 drawing now,” said Davidman of building trust with his clients. “A few years later, they may come back for an oil painting.”

At the Cheryl Pelavin Fine Art Gallery at 13 Jay Street (212-925-9424, www.cherylpelavin.com), there are small, unique sculptures for sale by the artist Marion Wilson that sell for less than $500.
“Marion has beautiful purses made of cast resin, with found objects inside,” said Davidman.
At K.S. Art, at 73 Leonard Street (212-219-9918, www.ksartonline.com), gallery owner Kerry Schuss gushed over his exhibit on ballpoint pen art, called “Ballpoint Inklings,” which runs until May 17th.
“This show is really geared toward people staring their collections,” said Schuss.
At the Soho Photo Gallery at 15 White Street (212-226-8571, www.sohophoto.com), works by over 100 professional photographers can be bought for $100 to $2,000.

In Lower Manhattan, a place to find good prices in art from paintings to sculpture are in the artists’ studios. The biggest open studio program is the Artists' Alliance (www.artistsai.org) who run an annual open studio, this year on May 17th.
The studios of the 50 members of the alliance are located in an old public school that was turned into a community center at 107 Norfolk, just above Delancey Street.
“We cover a ton of disciplines, from abstract oil to photography and Puerto Rican landscape painting,” said Paul Clay, Artists’ Alliance founder.
In the studios, the art may not be priced for sale, but potential buyers can approach an artist about the work.
In his studio, painter and musician Robert Grant was rehanging some of his work. “Collectors can initiate a discussion about a piece they like with the artist,” he said. “If they express an interest, they may be able to negotiate a price. It can be a positive exchange for both sides.”

Dipping down to Canal Street, there is the Maccarone Gallery, at 45 Canal Street (212-431-4977). Though the gallery holds four large installation shows a year, owner Michelle Maccarone said that the represents artists with small works.
“We have some oils that are under $500, and video art that can be bought for as little as $100.”
Heading up to 122 Ludlow Street, the Zito Studio Gallery (646-602-2338) is filled with owner Antony Zito’s sensual oil paintings. Zito often does commissions, painting portraits that start at $300. “It depends on the size and how many people are in the painting,” he said.

Zito runs the “Every Last Sunday” (ELS) gallery and studio event on the Lower East Side, which includes 21 art spaces up Clinton, Rivington and Ludlow as well as other nearby streets. The next event is on May 25th and includes ABC No Rio (156 Rivington, 212-254-3697), and one artist’s apartment, where Zito takes visitors by appointment only.
Rivington Street is now full of galleries. There are hip spaces like Rivington Arms (102 Rivington, 646-654-3213) and The Scene Gallery (42 Rivington, 212-674-0508).

Sara Safiullah, the co-director of The Scene Gallery, said that she has a strong group of affordable artists. “There is Kaori Ukaji, an artist of large scale graphite works on paper. Her smaller etchings and drawings sell for $500.”