Gavin Brown is Not the Next Jeffrey Deitch

Yeah Paddy, tell it like it is. Jesus Christ, wake up people. The artworld is a giant business strategy play. Every story, every dealer. It’s all strategy strategy strategy.

Paddy,

I think it’s fine if you don’t like the Gavin Brown Gallery or any of the artists he shows. But for the sake of balance and at the risk of upsetting many in the blog-world I would like to say that I think Gavin Brown has, for more than a decade, been one of the best galleries in New York and the world and he is one of the most supportive dealers to artists out there.

Among many other artists who he showed first or very early on are:
Chris Ofili
Peter Doig
Elizabeth Peyton
Rirkrit Tiravanija
Urs Fischer
Jeremy Deller
Franz Ackermann
Laura Owens Etc.

But again. It’s fine by me if you dislike his program.
Thank you,

Jerry Saltz

Paddy, I’m clear on what the focus of your ire is here. That the NYO went for a lazy hook? That’s hardly news. That they’re pimping for Gavin? He’s gotten lots of press over the years including in the NYT. That the NewMu is over-reliant on his stable? That’s their problem, no? Is Gavin himself the problem, then? Look, he’s a businessman; he’s going to take advantage of all the coverage he can; but no, he doesn’t have a silver tongue like Deitch. But he has much better eye than Deitch, you have to give him that. And I think that’s also why people in the art media have paid attention to him. Certainly big-fish galleries have, which is why he’s lost artists to Gagosian and Zwirner. I suspect that’s also why he’s expanding; to prevent that from happening again.

It’s a negligible PR puff-piece, no question. For Wolfe to glibly connect the success of “Mr. Brown’s program” to the later “harsh criticism” associated with the conspicuously nepotistic New Museum shows is as lazy as someone calling any form of critical response “hating.”

Again, it’s implied that prominence & success is always good; to question the mechanisms that engender and maintain these positions is always reduced to an act of bitter muckraking. As the art world folds further into the banal populist rationalizing trends of mainstream entertainment, the more we’ll see articles like this: uninformed, cliche-ridden, noncritical, and otherwise anti-journalistic.

That The Observer is printed on rosy-blush paper like Butt magazine is just funny.

Wonder if these publicists he is obviously using came with all his new real estate. How would they have sold this without “Deitch to MOCA”? What, “Gavin is the next Marcia Tucker”… Doesn’t have the same ring to it…

I dont think a “gallery as a place for potential imagination” is a bullshit quote. I kind of like it. Unless she starts from scratch Kathy Grayson will never be the next Jeffrey Deitch. Inheritors never are, especially when the big boys will take possessions of “stars” left behind. Gavin has years to his name of showing many fantastic artists. In a long run brit aloof brings way better results than need for hamster nest street cred. And the laziness, blindness and arrogance of board driven institutions that do not cast a wider net is the real issue.

Jerry makes a good point. But it does seem suspicious that so many shows at the New Museum have been exhibitions on Gavin’s artists. It seems like he has an influence like Charles Saatchi has over the British art world, perhaps not as strong yet but growing.

Howard, I don’t think I agree with your point about Gavin having a better eye than Deitch… I have seen some incredible exhibitions at Deitch, as recently as Rosson Crowe who I am now starting to follow and admire. Perhaps Gavin’s artists who have showed first or early on at the gallery are more acclaimed than some of Deitch’s?

Isn’t that a photo of Mark Rufalo?

Seems like a good place for me to just vent that I think the show at Gavin Brown now…Spencer Sweeney…is just a ridiculous pretentious mess, hung quite decoratively of course.

I agree with Jerry Saltz in that thinking about the art gallery owners is far less interesting then looking at the countless very good works of art that anyone in almost any city can view for free. Art galleries are free and that’s a gift that art gallery owners give to the public.

Art galleries are free (to enter) in the very same way that any luxury boutique is free. While much can be gained by the pleasure of looking at a boutique’s goods, natural human curiosity will inevitably lead to questions about who made these goods (or rather, commodities), why they’re being shown, and who is showing them. It’s like wanting to see the actual Wizard of Oz, not just his special effects. And, like Dorothy, we’ll probably be more disappointed than satisfied with the truth, but it’s still a good place to start. But yeah: Brown has (and does) represent many notable artists. Whether you like them or not seems beside the point of AFC’s focus: that the NYO published a crap article that anoints Brown as the new Deitch while glossing over some pointed concerns about the bedfellowship between Brown & the New Museum. It’s bad journalism. But galleries are just high-end stores, and probably should be treated with the same general uncritical eye that any Fifth Avenue boutique is regarded with. Let’s only talk about purses and how much we do/don’t like them!

@Jerry Saltz: I used Steven Shearer as an example of someone from Brown’s stable whose work I think is overrated — Elizabeth Peyton also falls in that catagory — but I hadn’t meant for that to read as a wholesale dismissal of his programming. It’s quite clearly amongst the stronger in the city. My issues are this:

1. I think the premise that he’s comparable to Deitch is bogus magazine filler. It also takes the wind out of what Kathy Grayson is yet to do. I think it’s really exciting that a woman is taking over a lot of Deitch’s business, and yet we’re talking about a Brown’s business aptitude, a man who’s reputation is already established and who has little do with Deitch. I can’t help but feel there’s something slightly sexist about how this conversation has unfolded.

2. I think there are better ways to acknowledge Brown’s success than the four artists who have had solo shows at the New Museum in two years. Even if it’s not, it looks like cronyism and is dismissible.

@Howard Halle: “But he has much better eye than Deitch, you have to give him that. And I think that’s also why people in the art media have paid attention to him. Certainly big-fish galleries have, which is why he’s lost artists to Gagosian and Zwirner. I suspect that’s also why he’s expanding; to prevent that from happening again.”

If the article had taken that angle this post would look very different.

Joanna: I have reservations about the argument that talking about the art itself is always more interesting, because it always seems to be pulled out when someone doesn’t want me to talk about something. Also I think the idea that art gallery owners are offering a gift to the public by not charging entrance fees is absurd. Is the Gap also offering a gift to the public for not charging at the door?

Mr. Brown is a great man who never did me or anyone that i know in the art scene wrong. he goe’s out of his way to Throw some of the best Art Show Partys in NYC. Hands down.

SO Give the guy a break will you. -playa hater!.

Gavin Brown is like the best looking 10,000.00$ purse on that rack of art dealers.

This blog had officially gotten beyond nerdy. The art world is about money? Whaaaaat? What will I blog about if I get over this FACT?

This blog had officially gotten beyond nerdy. The art world is about money? Whaaaaat? What will I blog about if I get over this FACT?

@Long: How many comments do I need to field complaining about topics this post didn’t raise? Both Howard and Jerry say the post should have acknowledged Brown’s long and outstanding contribution to the New York gallery scene. As a point of balance, I acknowledge that to be correct.

But this post is about ultimately about poor journalism not money. Get over it.

Also consider this a warning: Those who do not leave their full names will no longer be published. Handles can still be anonymous, but I need to know who you are.

Paddy what’s the beef with Stephen Shearer?

I live in Vancouver and he has been a rare local example of success – aesthetically and professionally! He’s proved that you can participate at the pinnacle of the art business from our tiny city without having to move to NYC, London or Berlin; he employs emerging artists from our community in his studio; and he hasn’t compromised his work.

Why not support Canadians staying in their hometown thanks to Gavin Brown, or Jay Jopling (in Jeff Wall’s case), or Yvon Lambert (in Ian Wallace’s case), who allow them to do just that?

@Lucas I don’t like his work, and don’t think the fact that he’s stayed in Canada and employs other artists in Vancouver is a reason for supporting art I don’t believe in. You can read my review of his work at the L Magazine.

Paddy, thanks for this post and for defending it so well in the comments. So refreshing. Jesse’s comments are also right on.

I’ve certainly had some fun teasing the staff at Gavin’s Enterprise, and have also enjoyed some of the shows. I think there could be an argument made that the importance of a dealer is more about their discoveries than just who they decide to show, the latter being a simple question of following the market, while the former takes, as you might say, “ballsyness”.

Any artist I know would love to be represented by a dealer who could make a museum grovel for their product, and New York is full of artists who believe it was their talent that brought them to the height of fame not the inside shenanigans or their agents. That aside, I went to a benefit for the stricken Dan Asher, and old friend at Gavin’s last week. It’s was an admirable endeavor and I think a sincere sign of a commitment to the community.

“But galleries are just high-end stores…” nnouch. I understand the critical value of assessing gallery politics this way, but there’s still a difference. Sorry this is off-topic, but y’all don’t have to just roll over in the face of commodification. Art needs audiences as much as it needs buyers. When I go into a store and look at a purse I can’t have it or use it unless I pay for it. When I look at art in a gallery I am using it the way it was intended to be used. I can ‘have’ it, in that I can get the full experience of the art, take that experience away with me, think about it, be influenced by it, write nasty things about it, talk it over with my friends, etc. I pretty well never, ever wish I could take the art home with me, even the stuff I totally love. Maybe that makes me an economic bottom-feeder, or maybe that makes me an audience. Even super crass self-perpetuating make-it-and-sell-it art practices are still engaged in communicative acts. Its part of what makes art art, and a big part of where the value comes from. Otherwise, galleries would close the doors and just hold private parties for the folks who come to buy.

This has been an illuminating thread, and the focus on the journalism is what I presume Paddy has been blogging for. Power and money do need constant examination. The most disheartening thing I saw in Art and auction magazine was about a year ago when a Rothko failed to sell at 1.5 million yet a Koons Easter Egg went for well above that. Like buying a Trump Tower instead of a Frank LLoyd Wright building?

“Power and money do need constant examination.” yes I am in complete agreement with this. Sorry for the tangent, just trying to remember why we have stakes in this game in the first place.

@Sally: I was being somewhat facetious when I conflated galleries with luxury boutiques, but it’s patently true that commercial galleries function in the same manner as high-end stores. And most of these types of galleries do hold private parties or selective viewings for their acquiring clientele. That these galleries are open to the public is an exceptional luxury–intellectually, culturally, and otherwise–but just because they resemble museum exhibitions and other ostensibly philanthropic “public” venues doesn’t mean that they operate like them. And this actual conflation of commercial galleries and museums is precisely what makes many uneasy about the Brown/New Museum relationship.

Returning to the original focus of this post, articles like the one printed in the NYO only help to further obfuscate these distinctions. What’s depressing is that these readily dismissible, inaccurate, pseudo-journalistic blips have become the rule rather than the exception, particularly when it comes to how contemporary art (and how the business side of it is run) is popularly understood. We can try to salvage our belief in the value of art for art’s sake, but it’s hard to maintain such idealism in the face of actions that appear to undermine those very ideals, especially when those actions threaten to exploit what’s best about art to benefit what’s worst about the art business.

The question raised by Paddy’s post was: did the Observer write a puff piece in pronouncing Brown Deitch’s “heir apparent”? Jerry Saltz answers with a list of artists. Howard Halle says Brown might possibly be the next Deitch by enlarging his gallery space and clearly wants him to be. The comments telling us how nice Brown is or (sorry Sally) about the value of galleries aren’t really relevant to the question of whether the Observer is overselling Brown. Deitch’s value was combining PT Barnum showmanship, the ability to talk elevated art speak, assiduous trendspotting, and providing unknown American artists with entree to European curators. If Gavin Brown has all these attributes then he is Deitch’s heir apparent. Whether we need these attributes is a more complex question, which may be one reason the comments here are so broad.

@tom moody. Where in my comment do I say that I think Gavin Brown is the next Deitch, or should be? My observation was simply that Brown has better taste in artists than Deitch. That’s just my opinion, of course, but it certainly doesn’t track as an endorsement of the NYO’s story angle. Frankly, the whole next Deitch idea is ridiculous, as it suggests that Deitch should be emulated because he is the ne plus ultra of New York dealing. I’ve never held that view. As for mentioning Brown’s plans to expand, personally, I could care less what he chooses to do in that regard. But I understand why he thinks it might be necessary. He’s not getting any younger, and it’s not like he can get as easily into the trenches to push young talent as he use to. That’s probably true of any dealer representative of his or her epoch, which I think Brown is. Also, why go through all that trouble if you’re just going to see the artists you’ve cultivated get picked off by a larger outfit? Again, not an endorsement, simply a recognition of how things work. You either get bigger, or you get bounced around and possibly be forced out of business. Or you retire. It’s that simple.

Hi, Howard, sorry for accusing you of partisan fervor on behalf of Brown, but your words do lend credence to the narrative that he’s a great talent-spotter whose choices are validated by big fish galleries. This might be more credible if he had given first shows to Chris Ofili (who went to Zwirner) and Anselm Reyle (Gagosian). Ofili was a “Saatchi artist” and established YBA and Reyle had several Berlin shows before Brown became their NY dealer. The people he gave first shows to are for the most part still with him. I confess to being unexcited by his stable. Jonathan Horowitz is interesting but, again, I think of him as a Kenny Schachter/Carol Greene artist that Brown picked up. This probably sounds like heresy since the New Museum consults Brown so regularly but there you have it.

@Howard There’s a fair bit of Deitch spectacle that no one’s going to miss, but I think his strengths are being lost in the tinged light cast by artists like Beecroft and Whiley. Chris Johansson show was superb Ben Jones was fantastic, Tauba Auerbach, Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe’s Black Acid Trip, and New York Minute were all very strong.

@Paddy,

Fair enough. How do you feel about Deitch’s first announced show for L.A. MOCA, Dennis Hopper curated by Julian Schnabel? I was wondering if you were going to post on it…