The Gallery Scene: What's Up with New York Art Dealers

As financial illness creeps across the globe, the rich are affected just as much as everyone else. However, when the rich catch the sniffles, lots of dependent enterprises succumb to something akin to walking pneumonia. One such enterprise is the art market. Here's a brief look at how some New York galleries, those polished purveyors of new contemporary works and accomplished dealers in the secondary sales of noted art items, are handling the situation.

Apparently in great shape and relatively untouched by economic woes is the Gagosian Gallery, known for representing the late pop icon Andy Warhol (silkscreens of celebrities and soup cans)and controversial British artist Damien Hirst (works showcasing preserved dead animals). The Gagosian has Uptown gallery space on Madison Avenue and Chelsea space on 24th Street as well as other venues in Beverly Hills, London, Rome, and Moscow, and is also currently planning a new exhibition location in Hong Kong. The flagship location on Madison currently features a photography group show as well as large-scale abstract paintings by Cecily Brown.

Another gallery with white-walled space in the newly wide-open art market of China is Pace Wildenstein, which naturally hopes to draw in Asian collectors for shows featuring emerging Chinese artists as well as high-priced works by established Western artists. Pace also has Midtown galley space at 57th Street and Chelsea showrooms on 25 St. and 22nd St. in New York. Current shows include abstract paintings and drawings by Lee Ufan, minimalist and performance art by Keith Sonnier, a retrospective of Jean DuBuffet sculptures, and photography by Richard Avedon. Noted artists represented by the gallery include Jim Dine (pop art), Isamu Noguchi (large-scale sculpture), and Bridget Riley (optical illusion paintings).

Chelsea galleries keeping up appearances with regular openings include Mary Boone, which is currently offering a group show as well as a selected retrospective of surreal and abstract works by John Altoon and is preparing exhibits by Aleksandra Mir (politically charged conceptual pieces) and Eric Fischl (disturbing realistic paintings); and Matthew Marks, which is showing abstract paintings by Paul Feeley and abstract sculpture, painting, and drawing by Tony Smith. Midtown galleries to watch include Marian Goodman, which also has space in Paris, and is currently featuring projection pieces and a habitat sound work by Lothar Baumgarten; David Findlay, which is now showing landscape paintings by Vermont artist Kathleen Kolb; and the Zabriskie, which is currently displaying nautically themed prints, paintings, and photos by Ralston Crawford.

Other Uptown art havens with bets on collectors immune to depressing financial troubles include Hirschl & Adler, which is currently showing abstract sculptures by Elizabeth Turk and retrospective landscapes by Arthur Wesley Dow; Knoedler, now featuring works by Maria Elena Gonzalez (mixed-media abstract sculpture) and video animation pieces by Naomie Kremer; and Zwimer Wirth, which has abstract paintings by Mary Heilmann on display and is preparing a group show of minimalist and conceptual pieces belonging to a European collector.

At the moment, it appears to be business as usual in the bellwether New York art market. Prices are as high as ever; people are looking; and works are selling, if at a slightly slower than usual pace. Trouble will most likely hit the auction houses first, with only the most impressive masterpieces finding buyers or setting price records. Some galleries, likely those without a China connection or a stable of artist heavyweights, may have to close temporarily or even go bankrupt due to the credit crunch or to a client list top-heavy with executives overwhelmed by the latest financial mess. Nonetheless, there will be a fine-art gallery season this year, with plenty of gala openings in New York City for the next few months.

Michael Killeen, "Wall Street Sends Tremors to 57th Street Art Dealers", Bloomberg News Online

Andrew Yang, "New York Galleries Set Up Shop in China", Womens Wear Daily

Katya Kazakina, "Chelsea Galleries Face Slower Sales as Art Collectors Lie Low ", Bloomberg News Online

Kelly Crow, "Hammering ahead? Auction houses gird for possible market slowdown", Houston Chronicle/Wall Street Journal