For more than twenty years, David Nolan Gallery has played an important role in presenting an international roster of artists who represent the forefront of cutting edge art. Founded in 1987 in the midst of a thriving Soho art scene, the gallery's original mission was to exhibit contemporary works on paper by American and European artists. The gallery was the first in the United States to organize solo exhibitions of works on paper by notable American and European artists such as Dieter Roth, Arnulf Rainer, Hermann Nitsch, Sigmar Polke, Carroll Dunham, Mel Bochner and Martin Kippenberger among others. The success of the gallery's shows brought new critical attention to drawings among collectors and museum institutions. Presently, the program of the gallery has expanded to include artists who work in multiple mediums and originate from all ends of the global art world.

David Nolan Gallery is a member of the Art Dealer's Association of America (ADAA).

In 2008, David Nolan and Juerg Judin established Nolan Judin Berlin on Heidestrasse in Berlin's Mitte district. The gallery opened with an exhibition of sculptures and wall works by the Scottish artist, Ian Hamilton Finlay, followed by solo exhibitions of Adrian Ghenie, Uwe Wittwer, and George Grosz.