In perhaps the strongest sign yet 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 prominent established gallery is having to downsize in this challenging economic climate.
“The whole art gallery system became too big, too commercial, too impersonal and too corporate,” Marc Glimcher, the executive director, said in an interview this week. “We all know that’s true. But you actually have to do something to adjust to it. You have to make some significant changes.”
While high-end sales remain strong among a swathe of wealthy collectors — as evidenced by recent auctions of rare trophies — since the Covid pandemic, small and medium-sized galleries have consolidated, contracted or closed amid declining foot traffic and steep operating costs.
Pace, which celebrated its 65th anniversary last year, represents some major estates by 20th-century artists such as Alexander Calder, Mark Rothko and Agnes Martin; current art stars such as David Hockney and Julian Schnabel; and new talent including Adam Pendleton and Torkwase Dyson. Pace has also continued to represent and stand by the late Chuck Close, despite allegations of sexual harassment, which the artist denied.
Pace has long been one of the few dominant galleries worldwide, along with Gagosian, Zwirner and Hauser & Wirth. These heavy hitters have so far seemed insulated from the vagaries of the market due to their many prominent artists, multiple locations and high prices. But the costs of brick-and-mortar spaces and more art fairs, combined with fluctuating 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 that you can perform extraordinary things for. It just means the really core relationships.”
The gallery said the total number of artists will drop about 30 percent, to 85 from about 135, and the staff will also be reduced by about 20 percent, to 200 from about 250. Most of the artists cut are not big names. One of them, conceptual artist Glenn Kaino — who had a solo show at Mass MoCA in 2021 — seemed to take the news with grace.
“It has been clear to me for some time 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 concerned with the world and our place in it, and I want the partners I work with to share that intention. I’m a romantic about good, meaningful art that creates value, not the other way around. I wish them all the best and am grateful for our experiment.”
Pace has always been a family business, with Pace founder Arne Glimcher handing the reins to Marc in 2010. Although outwardly supportive of his son, Arne was always known to be anti-expansion, a stance that seemed to be confirmed by the elder Glimcher’s opening in 2022 of a small old-fashioned gallery in his own Tri125C, Newbury, Newbury.
In an interview, the elder Glimcher spoke of Pace’s current demise with an unvarnished sense of relief. “It’s kind of like we’re getting our gallery back,” he said. “I think this whole mega-gallery thing is ridiculous and also unsustainable. I’ve always thought so.
“That’s the difference between a business that uses art to expand,” he added, “and an art gallery that’s just about 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’re getting very clear about what they want to focus on — what they need to focus on — and I don’t think that’s ever a bad thing.”
Artist Kiki Smith, who has been with Pace for more than 30 years and was also spared, said she was “neutral” about the situation. “Everyone has to make their own decisions,” she said. “You just roll with the punches and see what happens. It has to come out of being thoughtful. They do what they feel they have to do.”
Alexander SC Rower, a 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 stepping back from the arms race.”
Pace’s downsizing doesn’t mean it will stop taking on new artists or estates, Glimcher said, though it will do so judiciously. Last month, the gallery announced it had taken over the estate of sculptor Constantin Brancusi, a giant of modernism, on the same day a Brancusi bronze head came up for auction at Christie’s and sold for $107.6 million.
Nor does it mean Pace will unload its sleek 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 demands a monthly rent of about $9 million on a 20-year lease. (Pace also had to pay more than $6 million in damages in 2022 after being sued for commissions by the real estate firm that advised the gallery during negotiations with the building’s owner.)
What that means is that Pace will go “back to basics,” Glimcher said.
“We’re very much in line with what makes art special in the first place,” he continued. “I don’t think we’re that aligned with the commercial market phenomenon of the last 20 years.”
Glimcher said he knows to some this will sound like so much spin on what is clearly a last resort as Pace tried other survival strategies.
In 2022, the gallery stepped back from a series of experiential art centers called Superblue, which were plagued by cost overruns. That same year, Pace closed his space in Palo Alto, California, and two years later opened a smaller gallery in Tokyo. Last year, Pace opened a shared space in Berlin, closed its Hong Kong gallery and teamed up with Di Donna Galleries and auctioneer David Schrader to sell artworks on the secondary market — a collaboration that Glimcher said would continue. It also explored a joint venture with Sotheby’s, which failed.
And in 2021, Glimcher made a point of reorganizing Pace’s management in the wake of allegations of a toxic workplace, though he said this week that those issues did not contribute to the need for cuts.
But Glimcher defended his actions along the way as responding to the moment and taking appropriate risks. And even when it comes to big swings like Pace’s real estate commitment at Chelsea, he has no regrets. “The building was right at the time and has served the gallery well,” he said. “If I made that decision today, there’s no way this would be my decision. But that’s not how business works. You’re not going to go back and start over. You have to continually adapt.”
Despite the financial challenges, Pace has continued to present first-class exhibitions, Arne Glimcher said, pointing to its current lineup of Schnabel, Hockney, Paul Thek and Australian artist Emily Kam Kngwarray, for example.
Marc Glimcher emphasized for his part that Pace will continue to think big and aim high. “Trying to reshape 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 where we don’t lose the magic. We just can’t afford to lose the magic because all this is, is magic. There’s nothing else there.”
