Courtesy Garis & Hahn “March Sun, Addison Gallery” by Matthew Monteith, showing at “After the Fall.”

The Bowery lost an art gallery last summer, but it’s about to gain one back.

Mary Garis worked on the financial side of the Mary Boone Gallery, among others, but she didn’t even consider Chelsea when she and her fellow 28-year-old Christie’s Education graduate, Sophie Hahn, decided to partner in a gallery of their own. On Friday they’ll open Garis & Hahn at 263 Bowery, a condo building designed by Karl Fischer that also houses Takamichi Hair.

“We’re drawn to the experimental, fresh nature of the Lower East Side,” Ms. Garis said over the phone today, while doing some pre-opening shopping at Ikea.

Ms. Garis, who makes her home a half-block from the gallery at Bowery and Houston Streets (her partner lives in Battery Park), is well aware of the art scene blossoming around her. “I feel like this is a good time to start a gallery here,” she said. “There are lots of different kinds of galleries – you have the established Sperone Westwater and the thriving, hip The Hole and then there are smaller galleries sprinkled all over the area.

Courtesy Garis & Hahn Untitled work by Monika Sziladi

Once their basement space opens, Ms. Garis and Ms. Hahn (who previously worked at AXA Art) hope they can even host events in conjunction with their neighbor, New Museum.

In the meantime, Friday’s 6 p.m. opening (curated by Andrea Pemberton, who spent three years at the Gagosian before moving on to that gallery’s Beverly Hills outpost) will highlight the work of seven recent graduates of the Yale School of Fine Art’s Photography Masters program. Future exhibits will likely showcase artists from Ms. Hahn’s native Australia.

Garis & Hahn will be open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. “After the Fall” runs until Feb. 16.