|
The First Art Newspaper on the Net |
|
Established in 1996 |
|
Monday, December 23, 2024 |
|
Metro Pictures, champion of the pictures generation, is closing |
|
|
Cindy Sherman at the installation of a show at Metro Pictures Gallery in New York on Nov. 11, 2008. The gallery has announced it plans to close by the end of the year. Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times.
by Zachary Small
|
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- After more than 40 years, the gallery famous for representing artists like Cindy Sherman, Robert Longo and Sherrie Levine has announced that it will close by the end of December.
Metro Pictures Gallery announced Sunday that it would be closing toward the end of 2021 in an email that cited a demanding year of pandemic-driven programming and the anticipated arrival of a very different art world.
The decision came as a surprise to artists and curators who regarded the gallerys place in history as unimpeachable. Founded in 1980 by the gallerists Helene Winer and Janelle Reiring, Metro Pictures became a launchpad for many members of the Pictures Generation, a loosely affiliated group of artists connected by their powers of appropriation in a media-saturated, politically uncertain world.
The gallery helped photographers like Sherman, Longo and Levine become critical darlings known for driving a nail through the mythology of modernism that their artistic forbearers had built.
They were the smartest kids on the block, said Douglas Eklund, who curated the Pictures Generation exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2009 and subsequently cemented the gallerys place in history. I staked my whole claim on the belief that what Metro Pictures achieved would be considered an equivalent turning point to what Ileana Sonnabend and Leo Castelli accomplished, two gallerists known for introducing the world to artists like Andy Warhol and Jeff Koons.
And like his colleagues at Metro Pictures, Eklund is also stepping down from a position of power. After more than 26 years, he resigned from his curatorial role at the Met last week, departing with one last exhibition Pictures, Revisited intended as a sequel to his 2009 show.
I felt the need to turn over a new leaf, he explained.
It was a similar feeling at Metro Pictures, where after four decades, the gallery founders decided to call it quits. Not because of declining sales, Winer said in an interview, but with a sense that reopening the gallery once the pandemic subsides would require more energy than she had to give at age 75.
We just feel like we did our thing, she added. I dont think at my present age that I want to be reinventing the wheel.
The founders had discussed closing the gallery last year when the pandemic began but delayed their decision because of the volatile economic situation in the arts. They had also considered merging with a younger gallery before ultimately abandoning the plan as unfeasible. (Around the same time, dealer Gavin Brown announced that he was joining Gladstone Gallery as a partner and closing his own business.)
Over the weekend, the Metro Pictures founders had been calling their artists and staff to announce their decision to close. In a statement Sunday, the pair said: We have decided to announce this difficult decision far in advance of our closing in order to give the artists we represent and our staff time to pursue other options and to allow us to participate in their transitions.
But some artists were still caught off-guard by the gallerys decision to shutter.
Its shocking and sad, said Trevor Paglen in an interview. He joined Metro Pictures about 10 years ago, eager for representation by a gallery that had shaped his thinking as a young artist. I was overjoyed to be a part of something that I had spent a huge amount of my career and life being inspired by.
© 2021 The New York Times Company
|
|
Today's News
March 9, 2021
Magic realism reexamined in new exhibition at the Georgia Museum of Art
Christie's to offer rediscovered pastel by Eugene Delacroix
Sotheby's to offer group of works by the Scottish Colourists from the Harrison Collection
Metro Pictures, champion of the pictures generation, is closing
'Plunder,' a gripping reflection on what the Nazis took and what it would mean to take It Back
Radiant European masterpieces light up National Gallery of Australia
Wilhelmina Cole Holladay, founder of National Museum of Women in the Arts, dies
New public sculpture unveiled on International Women's Day
Elvis Presley's 1968 rare guitar from his famous comeback TV special is hitting the auction block
From Titian to van Dyck: Koller's Old Master auction features works by great names of Renaissance and Baroque art
Hershel Shanks, whose magazine uncovered ancient Israel, dies at 90
Picassomania: Bonhams celebrates Picasso in new sale in London
Museum of Russian Icons announces death of founder Gordon B. Lankton
CAC Cincinnati appoints inaugural Deputy Director & Chief Business Officer
Ken Follett donates royalties to restore French cathedral
Heritage Auctions offers largest selection of trophy-level video games at April event
PIASA to offer works by the Greek artist Pavlos
Creative Folkestone Triennial announces new extended summer dates for fifth edition
Instagram-ready: Vietnamese influencer teaches art of posing
RIBA unearths lecture series from 1986: Pioneers - Women Architects and Their Work
Ralph Peterson Jr., jazz drummer and bandleader, dies at 58
'Welcome back!': Movie theaters reopen in New York City
A ballerina takes a leap of faith, this time in herself
Your Official Horse Racing Betting Checklist
Honoring Victims of Traffic Collisions with "Rainbow Art Halos" in Los Angeles
How to choose preschool in Quentin Road
How to choose the best candle holders?
The Random Household Items You Don't want to be Without
6 Best Coastal Wall Art Ideas for Your Room
How Artificial Intelligence Is Changing the Art World
Use of AdBlue - What You Should Not Do
Dessine Art - Best Place to Sell and Buy Paintings Online in India.
Top 10 football player nicknames
How to glue two pieces of wood together.
Corporate & Partnerships taxation
5 Abroad Programs for Arts & Fine Arts Study
How Learning Art And New Language Keeps You Creative
|
|
|
|
|
Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography, Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs, Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, . |
|
|
|
Royalville Communications, Inc produces:
|
|
|
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful
|
|