Leon Golub at Hauser&Wirth, New York

Closure of galleries

With the effect of upheavals around the world, the contemporary art market is in the process of restructuring itself. The first evolution is the closure of numerous galleries. In New York, the global epicentre of art sales, the phenomenon is having a serious impact. Except for the most powerful galleries, which have made investments in real estate to acquire their premises, the major problem is the phenomenal rise in rent prices in the metropolis in an ultra-competitive context. To this we can add, in some cases, the aging of certain directors.

From Marlborough to JTT

This all leads to the disappearance of known names at all levels of the offering. This is the case for the Marlborough gallery, a veritable institution that has been active since 1946 in London but also in New York, which promoted Francis Bacon, among others. It closed in June 2024. It’s even hitting young galleries such as JTT on the Lower East Side, which opened in 2012, who contributed to the emergence of several current stars such as Issy Wood (born in 1993), the British painter who was the subject of an exhibition at Lafayette Anticipations in Paris. JTT ceased its business in 2023.

Ibrahim Mahama at White Cube, New York

Secret private auction

But in an impressive spirit of resilience, certain art market players have evolved their profession. “Now it’s necessary to demonstrate imagination and work twice as hard to get the same result as a few years ago,” observes Dominique Levy. The New York Levy Gorvy Dayan gallery, treading on the toes of Sotheby’s and Christie’s, organized a secret private auction in August 2024 for a single painting by Francis Bacon with an estimate of tens of millions of dollars. In the past, Sotheby’s used the same method to sell an exceptional Mercedes car and Christie’s a painting by Frida Kahlo.

It’s a new service

“We had a seller who wanted a quick sale. We employed the services of an auctioneer, Jussi Pylkannen (ed. the former president of Christie’s). We did a market study of potential buyers. There were less than thirty. Ten of them signed a confidentiality agreement and an even smaller number got involved in the auctions that took place over video conference. I cannot reveal the amount of the sale.

Portrait of George Dyer Talking

Francis Bacon

Our commission was 5%, which is far less than what it would be at a classic auction. It’s a new service we can offer for exceptional works.” According to professional sources it’s a canvas entitled “Portrait of George Dyer Talking” auctioned for 70 million dollars in 2014 at Christie’s to the famous restaurateur Michael Chow (Mr Chow) and this time being sold for a lower sum.

Thomas Houseago is back

Dominique Levy has also opened an exceptional exhibition on 9 September in New York across four floors dedicated to the British sculptor Thomas Houseago (born in 1972) after several years of silence from the artist. She refuses to talk about a crisis in the art market. “Money costs a lot with the high interest rates. We are in an election year.

Adjusting prices

I’ve heard, like everyone else, that the famous Munich gallery, Thomas, has gone bankrupt and some of my colleagues have been struggling to pay their bills. Yes the context is difficult, but the market is not at a standstill. It’s simply more reasonable. The prices have to be more attractive. Galleries shouldn’t be afraid of adjusting.” The dealer admits to having set Thomas Houseago pieces at prices lower than those of his last exhibitions, while he enjoys excellent international recognition from the likes of the collector and owner of Christie’s François Pinault. Houseago’s sculptures in wood or bronze, at once raw and powerful, are on sale starting at 50,000 dollars (See here a report about his retrospective in Paris).

The Armory

Raymond Jonson a M Rosenfeld, The Armory

It is in this context that the Armory fair is opening. At this great gathering for the art market’s rentrée in New York, which took place from 6 to 8 September on the banks of the Hudson at the Javits Center, a certain tension was palpable among the professionals. Over the years the show has lost some credibility and its 235 participants featured few influential galleries.

Bought by Frieze

Robert Motherwell at Bernard Jacobson, at The Armory

In 2023 the Armory was bought by the organizers of the British fair, Frieze. Two months ago, a new director was appointed to the Armory, Kyla McMillan, who talks about a show “where you make discoveries”. In fact, the major market players were at the same time on the other side of the world at the Frieze Seoul fair, in pursuit of new markets in Asia, which seem for now to be playing hard to get (See here last year report about Frieze Seoul).

Isaac Julien

In New York the big star of the moment is the British artist Isaac Julien (born in 1960). Known for his spectacular video installations, he was exhibited at the Biennale of the Whitney Museum which was formerly at the Sharjah Biennial and also until 28 September at Moma in New York. (See here an interview of Isaac Julien).

Glenn Scott Wright

“Isaac Julien is important because he has for a long time addressed subjects that are highly anticipated today such as African iconography and Western aesthetic ideals,” explains the director of the Victoria Miro gallery, Glenn Scott Wright. Their booth, which is very prominent at the entrance of the fair, presents an installation of videos and photos associated with works on display at New York institutions (on sale from 28,000 pounds). (See here an other interview of Glenn Scott Wright)

Mariane Ibrahim

The gallerist based in Paris and Chicago, among other places, Mariane Ibrahim, is exhibiting the work of Japanese artist Yukimasa Ida (born in 1990), with portraits between abstraction and figuration marked by large, vigorous and colourful brushstrokes (on sale for between 25,000 and 130,000 dollars). “In truth the market has slowed but we have also tried to maintain our prices so we are keeping our rates,” explains the gallerist. (See here an other interview of the gallerist).

Yukimasa Ida

Amoako Boafo

She is also representing a Ghanaian painter who makes portraits of faces in distinctive textures, who was at the centre of massive speculation in recent years: Amoako Boafo (born in 1984). “For him our prices are between 90,000 and 400,000 euros – corresponding to an already very rich career. He was the subject of a tour of the American museums and the Centre Pompidou has just acquired one of his works. Demand is not dropping for Amoako.” At auction his prices go up to 3 million dollars in 2021, and went down to around 100,000 euros in 2023. No significant work has yet been proposed for 2024.

Michael Rosenfeld

The most  remarquable booth at the fair is that of New York dealer Michael Rosenfeld, who has for a long time represented African American talents. Nowadays the museums and the art market have also proved him right. Playing the game of price transparency, the majority of works he is presenting at the Armory are exhibited accompanied by a price.

Bob Thompson

However this is not the case for a remarkable painting by Bob Thompson (1937-1966), one of the most expensive works at his booth. Thompson painted his figures in large splashes of contrasting colours. The  canvas is inspired by a painting by Goya, on sale for 1.8 million dollars. At auction the record price for the artist, set in 2024, went up to 1.2 million dollars. Michael Rosenfeld justifies this by saying that in his specialty the crisis is not really being felt. In March 2025 the last exhibition at the Centre Pompidou ahead of its closure for five years will be dedicated to black artists who came to France from the 1950s, including Bob Thompson.

Bob Thompson