In perhaps the strongest sign of a major transformation in the art market, Pace Gallery plans to announce Thursday that it is reducing its roster by 50 artists and its staff by 50 people, indicating that even a well-established gallery must downsize in this difficult economic climate.
“The whole art system of art galleries has become too big, too commercial, too impersonal and too corporate,” Marc Glimcher, the general director, said in an interview this week. “We all know that’s true. But we actually have to do something to accommodate it. We have to make substantial changes.”
While high-end sales remain strong among a small group of wealthy collectors – as evidenced by recent auctions of rare trophies – small and medium-sized galleries have, since the Covid pandemic, consolidated, contracted or closed amid falling foot traffic and high operating costs.
Pace, who celebrated his 65th birthday last year, represents some major estates of 20th-century artists like Alexander Calder, Mark Rothko and Agnes Martin; stars of current art like David Hockney and Julian Schnabel; and emerging talents including Adam Pendleton and Torkwase Dyson. Pace also continued to represent and support the late Chuck Close, despite sexual harassment allegations that the artist denied.
Pace has long been one of the few dominant galleries in the world, along with Gagosian, Zwirner and Hauser & Wirth. These heavyweights have until now seemed immune to the vagaries of the market, given the presence of many top artists, their multiple locations and their high prices. But expenses for physical spaces and multiple art fairs, coupled with changing interest rates, high inflation and global uncertainty, have created a perfect storm for Pace, which has seven locations around the world.
“We’re really finding our soul,” Glimcher said. “And that means having the number of artists for whom you can do extraordinary things. That means just the really essential relationships.”
The gallery said the total number of artists would decrease by about 30 percent, from 135 to 85, and that staff would also be reduced by about 20 percent, from 250 to 200. Most of the artists who were removed are not boldface names. One of them, conceptual artist Glenn Kaino – who had a solo exhibition at Mass MoCA in 2021 – seemed to take the news with grace.
“It was clear to me for a while that their model was optimized for a vision of the art world that never materialized,” Kaino said in an email. “The art I create is interested in the world and our place in it, and I want the partners I work with to share that intention. I am a romantic of good, meaningful art that creates value, not the other way around. I wish them all the best and am grateful for our experience.”
Pace has always been a family business, with Pace founder Arne Glimcher handing the reins over to Marc in 2010. Although seemingly supportive of his son, Arne has always been known to be anti-expansion, a stance that appears to be borne out by the elder Glimcher’s 2022 opening of a small, old-fashioned gallery in TriBeCa, called 125 Newbury.
In an interview, the elder Glimcher spoke of Pace’s current withdrawal with an unvarnished sense of relief. “It’s kind of like we’re getting our gallery back,” he said. “I think this whole megagallery thing is ridiculous and unbearable. I’ve always thought that.
“It’s the difference between a business that uses art to grow,” he added, “and an art gallery that’s only interested in art.”
Adam Pendleton, an artist who joined the gallery in 2012 and survived the cuts, said Pace’s decision “doesn’t surprise me or worry me.”
“The gallery has such an incredible history,” he added. “They become particularly clear about what they want to focus on – what they need to focus on – and I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”
Artist Kiki Smith, who has worked with Pace for more than 30 years and was also spared, said she was “neutral” on the situation. “Everyone has to make their own decisions,” she said. “You just have to roll with the punches and see what happens. It has to come from reflection. They do what they think they should do.”
Alexander SC Rower, grandson of sculptor Alexander Calder, who runs the Calder Foundation and is a friend of Glimcher, said the cuts would not affect Pace’s representation of the estate. “All the mega galleries have lost their way,” Rower said. “I appreciate Mark getting out of the arms race.”
Pace’s reduction doesn’t mean it will stop hiring new artists or areas, Glimcher said, although it will do so judiciously. Last month, the gallery announced that it had taken over the estate of sculptor Constantin Brancusi, a giant of modernism, the same day that a bronze head of Brancusi was auctioned at Christie’s and sold for $107.6 million.
Nor does it mean Pace will unload its elegant eight-story flagship headquarters on West 25th Street in Chelsea, which was renovated in 2019 for more than $100 million (a cost shared by Pace and the developer) and requires monthly rent of about $9 million over a 20-year lease. (Pace also had to pay more than $6 million in damages in 2022 after being sued for kickbacks by the real estate company that advised the gallery in negotiations with the building’s owner.)
What that means is Pace will go “back to basics,” Glimcher said.
“We are very much in tune with what makes art special in the first place,” he continued. “I don’t think we’re as aligned with the free-market business phenomenon of the last 20 years.”
Glimcher said he knew this would look to some like a manipulation of what is clearly a last resort, given that Pace has tried other survival strategies.
In 2022, the gallery withdrew from a series of experiential art centers called Superblue, which were plagued by cost overruns. The same year, Pace closed its space in Palo Alto, California, and two years later opened a small gallery in Tokyo. Last year, Pace opened a shared space in Berlin, closed its Hong Kong gallery and partnered with Di Donna Galleries and auction director David Schrader to sell art on the secondary market — a collaboration that Glimcher said would continue. The group also considered a joint venture with Sotheby’s, which did not come to fruition.
And in 2021, Glimcher has placed a lot of emphasis on revamping Pace’s leadership following allegations of a toxic workplace, although he said this week that those issues did not contribute to the need for downsizing.
But Glimcher defended his actions along the way, saying he was reacting to the moment and taking appropriate risks. And even when it comes to big moves like Pace’s real estate move to Chelsea, he has no regrets. “The building was perfect for its time and served the gallery well,” he said. “If I made this decision today, it wouldn’t be my decision in any way. But that’s not how business works. You can’t go back and start over. You have to continually adapt.”
Despite economic challenges, Pace has continued to present top-notch exhibitions, Arne Glimcher said, citing its current programming of Schnabel, Hockney, Paul Thek and Australian artist Emily Kam Kngwarray as examples.
Marc Glimcher, for his part, stressed that Pace will continue to think big and aim high. “Trying to remodel it now doesn’t mean we’re not incredibly ambitious,” he said. “We’re totally ambitious – we’re all over the world. But we want to do it in a way that we don’t lose the magic. We just can’t afford to lose the magic because all of this is magic. There’s nothing else out there.”
