Gagosian Gallery: an Impending Crisis?

Gagosian Gallery An Impending Crisis?

Charles Shoener DYNM 672 May 1, 2013 Larry Gagosian

o Born in 1945 (68 years old) o Owner of Gagosian Gallery o High-end, blue-chip contemporary art gallery o Widely regarded as the most important living gallerist o 2012 ArtReview “Power 100”: #2 (overall) o Highly secretive in dealings (norm in the art world) o Estimated annual sales: ~ $1 billion

http://www.style.com/slideshows/parties/091808GAGO/01m.jpg Gagosian Gallery

2 London Locations

3 NYC Locations

1 Hong Kong Location 2 Paris Locations 1 LA Location 1 Athens Location 1 Geneva Location 1 Rome Location

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/1942.11_blank_world_map.PNG

Currently operates 12 galleries throughout the world. Twenty Five Major Contemporary Artists

1. Jasper Johns 14. Martin Kippenberger 2. Andy Warhol 15. Donald Judd 3. Gerhard Richter 16. Willem de Kooning 4. Bruce Nauman 17. Takashi Murakami 5. Roy Lichtenstein 18. Peter Fischli/David Weiss 6. Robert Rauschenberg 19. Richard Serra 7. Joseph Beuys 20. Antoni Tapies 8. Ed Ruscha 21. Maurizio Cattelan 9. Francis Bacon 22. Andreas Gursky 10. Lucien Freud 23. David Hockney 11. Cy Twombly 24. Richard Diebenkorn 12. Damien Hirst 25. Jean-Michel Basquiat 13. Jeff Koons

List courtesy of: Thompson, Don. The $12 Million Stuffed Shark. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. 56. Twenty Five Major Contemporary Artists

List courtesy of: Thompson, Don. The $12 Million Stuffed Shark. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. 56. Emphasis added. What crisis? Losing Key Artists

o 2010 – Loses Hiroshi Sugimoto and the Willem de Kooning estate to Pace Gallery.

o December 6, 2012 – Jeff Koons announces gallery show with David Zwirner Gallery.

o December 13, 2012 – Damien Hirst and Gagosian Gallery part after 17 years.

o December 14, 2012 – Yayoi Kusama announces split with Gagosian Gallery.

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/12/19/1355927383710/Damien-Hirst-006.jpg http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01437/jeff-koons-popeye_1437723c.jpg Losing Key Artists

Jeff Koons Yayoi Kusama Damien Hirst

T: http://www.luxuo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Tulips-by-Jeff-Koons.jpg T: http://www.friendsofart.net/static/images/art3/yayoi-kusama-infinity-nets-yellow.jpg T: http://artobserved.com/artimages/2012/11/Damien-Hirst-Shark.jpg B: http://thepandorian.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/new35_sm.jpg B: http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1436/538887901_79991743ff_o.jpg B: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/images/content/damien-hirst.jpg Lawsuits

http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/4e4d16c5ecad04ac75000005/larry-gagosian.jpg http://i.usatoday.net/money/_photos/2012/01/24/Perelman-suit-is-billionaire-vs- millionaire-90SP7BJ-x-large.jpg Billionaire (and Penn alumnus) Ron Perelman filed a suit in New York State Supreme Court against Larry Gagosian on September 12, 2012. The suit alleges:

o Gagosian acted in a conflict of interest by representing both the buyer and seller o Gagosian had a secret agreement with artist Jeff Koons that directed more sale profits to the artist instead of Perelman

Two other recent lawsuits allege breach of fiduciary duty by Gagosian. Succession There is a legitimate question of who will take over the Gagosian Galleries when Gagosian himself is no longer able to run the galleries.

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/WK-AX331E_COVER_G_20110331234402.jpg Actionable Proposal Auction Houses

Highest Auction Revenues Christie’s and Sotheby’s have annual revenues much greater than Gagosian.

Bonhams and Phillips have annual revenues lower than Gagosian.

Lowest Auction Revenues Sources “2012 Power 100.” Art Review (2012): Online Periodical. Internet. Apr. 2013. Available: http://www.artreview100.com/2012-power-100/.

Barclays Wealth and Investment Management. Profit or Pleasure?: Exploring the Motivations Behind Treasure Trends. London: Barclays, 2012.

“Contact.” Gagosian Gallery (2013): Gallery Website. Internet. Apr. 2013. Available: http://www.gagosian.com/contact.

Corbett, Rachel. “Why Did Hirst & Co. Leave? A Look Back at Gagosian Artist Defections.” Blouin Artinfo (17 Dec. 2012): Online Periodical. Internet. Apr. 2013. Available: http://blogs.artinfo.com/abovetheestimate/2012/12/17/why-did-hirst-co-leave-a-look-back-at-gagosian-artist-defections/.

Crow, Kelly. “The Larry Gagosian Effect.” The Wall Street Journal (1 Apr. 2011): Online Periodical. Internet. Apr. 2013. Available: http://online.wsj.com/article/ SB10001424052748703712504576232791179823226.html.

Dolmetsch, Chris. “Perelman, Gagosian Gallery Sue Each Other Over Art Sales.” Bloomberg (12 Sep. 2012): Online Periodical. Internet. Apr. 2013. Available: http:// www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-12/ronald-perelman-sued-by-gagosian-gallery-for-breach-of-contract.html.

Esman, Abigail R. “America’s Most Powerful Art Dealers.” Forbes (21 May 2012): Online Periodical. Internet. Apr. 2013. Available: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ michaelnoer/2012/05/03/americas-most-powerful-art-dealers/.

Ferro, Shane. “Larry Gagosian and Jan Cowles Reportedly Settle Lawsuit Over Lichtenstein Work.” Blouin Artinfo (8 Mar. 2013): Online Periodical. Internet. Apr. 2013. Available: http://blogs.artinfo.com/artintheair/2013/03/08/larry-gagosian-and-jan-cowles-reportedly-settle-lawsuit-over-lichtenstein-work/.

Galenson, David W. “Artists and the Market: From Leonardo and Titian to Andy Warhol and Damien Hirst.” Conceptual Revolutions in Twentieth-Century Art. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press and the National Bureau of Economic Research, 2009. Chapter 15.

Galenson, David W. “Painting by Proxy: The Conceptual Artist as Manufacturer.” Conceptual Revolutions in Twentieth-Century Art. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press and the National Bureau of Economic Research, 2009. Chapter 9.

Halperin, Julie. “Larry Gagosian Testifies About His Business Practice – So What Do We Learn?” Blouin Artinfo (7 Nov. 2012): Online Periodical. Internet. 12 Mar. 2013. Available: http://www.artinfo.com/print/node/839321.

Kennedy, Randy. “The Art of the Dealer.” T: The New York Times Style Magazine (21 Mar. 2013): Online Periodical. Internet. 25 Mar. 2013. Available: http:// tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/21/the-art-of-the-dealer/.

Reyburn, Scott. “Christie’s Sales Climb 10% Led by Record Rothko Painting.” Bloomberg (16 Jan. 2013): Online Periodical. Internet. Apr. 2013. Available: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-17/christie-s-sales-climb-10-as-rothko-leads-contemporary-demand.html.

Thompson, Don. The $12 Million Stuffed Shark. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.