Gavin Brown (art dealer)

Gavin Brown is a British artist and art dealer. He is the owner of the gallery, Gavin Brown's enterprise in New York City and co-founder of non-profit gallery 356 Mission in Los Angeles.[1] The 356 Mission art space closed in 2019, due to the lease ending.[2]

Early life

Brown grew up in Croydon in south London. His mother was a social worker; his father an architect, who abandoned the family when Brown was 11.[3] He attended Newcastle Polytechnic[4] – where his classmates included Matthew Higgs[3] – and later at Chelsea College of Arts. At Anthony d’Offay Gallery in London.[3] Brown worked as an assistant in the back room alongside Damien Hirst[3] before moving to New York in 1988 to continue his studies at the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Independent Study Program.

Career

Brown began organizing exhibitions in the early 1990s – including one for 303 Gallery in 1991 as well as pop-ups in at the Hotel Chelsea, his apartment on the Upper West Side and in a cubicle he rented in a Midtown office building[3] – and opened his first gallery in Soho in 1994. In December 1993, he had a solo show of his own work at David Zwirner Gallery in Soho.[5]

In the early 2000s, Brown ran a gallery in Rome called Roma Roma Roma with fellow dealers Franco Noero and Toby Webster, who have galleries in Turin, Italy, and Glasgow, Scotland, respectively.[6]

In 2012 he took a lease in Los Angeles for 356 Mission, a gallery that is operated as an artist-run space by painter Laura Owens.[6]

In 2014, The Guardian named him in their "Movers and makers: the most powerful people in the art world".[7]

In July 2020, Brown announced that he will close his gallery and partner with Barbara Gladstone.[8]

Controversy

Brown and painter Laura Owens have been accused of being involved with gentrification of a predominantly working-class, Hispanic neighbourhood with their non-profit gallery 356 Mission in the neighbourhood of Boyle Heights, on the east side of Los Angeles.[9] Activists of various anti-gentrification groups have protested their galleries and exhibitions in both Los Angeles and New York City.[9][10] The 356 Mission art space closed in 2019, due to the lease ending.[2]

Personal life

Since 2011, Brown has been residing in Harlem where he moved with his wife, artist Hope Atherton, and their child. From a previous marriage with Scottish fashion designer, Lucy Barnes, Brown has three children.[3][11]

References
  1. Smith, Roberta (24 March 1995). "ART REVIEW; Blood and Punk Royalty to Grunge Royalty". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  2. "Artist-run space 356 Mission is leaving Boyle Heights. Founders Laura Owens and Wendy Yao explain why". Los Angeles Times. 30 March 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2020. Our lease was ending and we felt it was the right time. After five years of doing what we wanted to do, we felt that for personal and practical reasons that we had had a great experience and this is the right moment to close. The lease ends at the end of June. We will be closing in May.
  3. Diane Solway (July 16, 2013), The Enterprising Mr. Brown W.
  4. Eccles, Tom. "Gavin Brown". ArtReview. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  5. Gavin Brown’s Other Enterprise: Dealer Will Exhibit His Own Artwork June 25 New York Observer, June 24, 2014.
  6. Andrew Russeth (March 19, 2015), Gavin Brown Will Open a Space in Rome ARTnews.
  7. Farago, Jason (8 May 2014). "Movers and makers: the most powerful people in the art world". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  8. "Taste-Making Dealer Gavin Brown Will Join Gladstone Gallery as a Partner, Ending the Decades-Long Run of His Rebel Art 'Enterprise'". artnet News. 20 July 2020. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  9. "Laura Owens Responds To Anti-Gentrification Protesters, Cites Death Threats". Frieze. 30 November 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  10. "Anti-Gentrification Activists Protest Laura Owens Exhibition at the Whitney Museum". Hyperallergic. 10 November 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  11. Elizabeth Hayt (June 4, 2000), Fame and Disdain on Far West 15th St. New York Times.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.