![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/011-CLEARING-KORKAKRIT-ARUNANONDCHAI-3SONGS-NY-2021.jpg-960x640-1.jpg\"){kind=spacer}
Korakrit Arunanondchai\u2019s \u201c3 SONGS\u201d at CLEARING New York in 2021. JSP ART PHOTOGRAPHY<\/p>\n\t\tKorakrit Arunanondchai\u2019s \u201c3 SONGS\u201d at CLEARING New York in 2021. JSP ART PHOTOGRAPHY<\/p>\n
The sensational headlines announcing yet another gallery closure, often wrapped in a neatly polished obituary, are becoming tiresome. These stories deserve more than a grabby headline\u2014they need context and a narrative that acknowledges the slow unfurling of events that lead dealers to throw in the towel, which are rarely the same from one art gallery to the next. Every gallery, and every founder, has a distinct history, a unique set of values and\u2014perhaps most crucially\u2014a financial reality that cannot be ignored.<\/p>\n
The sudden, though not entirely surprising, closure of CLEARING after 14 remarkable years offers a different kind of case study. CLEARING\u2019s evolution from a visionary artist-led space to an internationally respected program shows how the art world\u2019s relentless demand for growth and expansion can strain even the most imaginative dealers\u2014especially those who didn\u2019t launch with deep-pocketed backers but put the artist\u2019s vision before profit, gambling everything on each show, often at great personal cost.<\/p>\n
As I waited to see whether CLEARING founder Olivier Babin<\/a> was ready to commit to a profile, I realized I might already know the story or at least be familiar with its outline. The first part is the one Babin told me himself in the gallery\u2019s viewing room\u2014me, a young advisor just back in the city post-pandemic, had earned his trust. Babin had a way of making time for anyone drawn into CLEARING\u2019s orbit, no matter their background, so long as they made the trek to that strange and wonderful Johnson Avenue stop.<\/p>\n Importantly, Babin\u2019s story is very different from other recent gallery closures<\/a>, though it reflects a model shared by many other, often younger, galleries operating today\u2014one built on passion and vision before venture capital, where founders push forward until it becomes unsustainable. The Baer Faxt commentary following the announcement was particularly eye-opening, as was the pushback (more on this below). But first, here\u2019s Babin\u2019s story\u2014just a glimpse for now, for context. I\u2019ll share the full wild ride when he\u2019s ready.<\/p>\n Olivier Babin moved from France to the U.S. as an artist. He didn\u2019t come from money, and he didn\u2019t come from the art world. In Bushwick, he had a studio where he began organizing small shows, pairing his own work with that of other artists to draw a crowd. The first were Harold Ancart<\/a> and Jacob Kassay, both of whom now command far higher prices than the under $10,000 offered at the time. Babin soon realized he might be better at showing art than making it, though he never let go of the na\u00efve, visionary spirit he had as an artist, even as he transitioned into the role of gallerist.<\/p>\n Eventually, he secured the now-legendary space at 396 Johnson Avenue\u2014both a proving ground for CLEARING and a cornerstone of the Bushwick art community. Just a year later, in 2012, he opened in Brussels, reportedly to get into Liste in Basel. Around the same time, he began representing some of the most compelling artists of a new generation: Ancart, along with Marguerite Humeau<\/a>, Korakrit Arunanondchai<\/a>, Jean-Marie Apprieu<\/a>, Meriem Bennani<\/a>, among others. These were artists with vision, edge, ambition and, soon, institutional appeal. The vast industrial space helped, allowing them to stage museum-quality exhibitions before the museums caught on.<\/p>\n As the artists gained fame, the gallery grew with them. At its peak, turnover reached $15 million, Babin told Katya Kazakina for Artnet<\/a>. In early 2024, CLEARING announced it had outgrown its Johnson Avenue home and was relocating to Manhattan. A few months later, the new address was revealed: a two-floor space at 260 Bowery. In the meantime, the gallery was still tied to the Bushwick lease for another year and struggled to find a tenant. Babin eventually did\u2014Swivel Gallery, which relocated from its former swirling-walls Bed-Stuy space\u2014after some behind-the-scenes maneuvering I was part of, though that\u2019s another story.<\/p>\n But something shifted when they left Bushwick. The Bowery space never quite captured the same energy or crowd. It lacked the raw quality that had allowed the gallery\u2019s vision to flourish and brought new pressures. Even Babin seemed different at the opening. Months later, he appeared nostalgic when he returned to the Bushwick space to check in on the incoming tenant. In hindsight, the move didn\u2019t seem entirely of his making. Was it investors? Pressure from collectors? Hard to say. Ludovico Corsini<\/a>, Babin\u2019s longtime partner since Brussels, seemed the most energized that night. Within a year, they\u2019d parted ways. Corsini launched his own gallery, taking part of the roster with him. Meanwhile, IRS-labeled envelopes and bank letters arriving at the former Bushwick space hinted that something was not going as planned.<\/p>\n CLEARING, with locations in New York and a new L.A. space that opened before Bowery in 2024, had scaled up but also begun to lose its edge. There were more paintings\u2014likely to limit selling risks, push volume and sustain the rapid expansion. When I sat with Olivier at the Dallas Invitational this April<\/a>, it was clear things weren\u2019t going his way. By July, the Manhattan space had become a fashion showroom. The closure was softly pitched as a \u201cshift\u201d in focus to their new seasonal Basel project. Now, the summer\u2019s Maison CLEARING barbecue in Basel<\/a> feels more like a bittersweet farewell.<\/p>\n In his Instagram\/press statement, Babin wrote, \u201cWith no viable path forward, we are closing today because we can no longer operate at the standards we\u2019ve always held ourselves to\u2014for our artists, our teams and our entire community.\u201d Until the very end, he had hoped to turn the corner, but the math didn\u2019t add up.<\/p>\n Several artists have since reported\u2014and in some cases openly commented on the gallery\u2019s social media profiles\u2014that they are still waiting for payments, which now seem unlikely to come as the gallery filed for liquidation last week.<\/p>\n Speaking to Carlie Porterfield for The Art Newspaper, Babin said<\/a>, \u201cI have no regrets, but yeah, I probably should have done a few things differently\u2026 But ultimately, everyone\u2019s suffering right now.\u201d Babin is tired of fighting. He said he\u2019s going to the Amazon to drink ayahuasca. \u201cI\u2019ll see what I learn and what I find out. Where I should go, what I should do.\u201d<\/p>\n Where margins go and why profit rarely follows<\/p>\n Just the day before, the storied Kasmin Gallery had announced it would close, only to immediately reemerge as Olney Gleason, under the leadership of the two partners who had been running it since Paul Kasmin\u2019s death in 2020. But this is a very different story (for another piece next week), despite art media chasing likes and clicks by pairing it with the recent exits of Tim Blum or Adam Lindemann stepping back from Venus Over Manhattan.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, this wave of gallery closures prompted Josh Baer of the Baer Faxt into an uncharacteristically candid reflection: galleries, especially those focused on primary market work, are essentially businesses running on razor-thin or nonexistent profit margins. \u201cIt\u2019s a mystery how things can be this difficult for an industry that works on such large margins\u2014up to 50 percent for most galleries, for inventory that they don\u2019t have to buy, invest in or manufacture,\u201d he wrote, adding, \u201cMany businesses run, profitably, on much lower margins\u2014a supermarket, for instance, at 2 percent!\u201d<\/p>\n In just a few paragraphs\u2014contradictions aside\u2014Baer hit a nerve, exposing the structural paradox of a business where high potential margins rarely translate into profit. But he also overlooked something essential about how galleries like CLEARING operate. As my own Instagram story on this began circulating, it sparked even more conversation, and I decided to take the time to unpack the challenges facing an increasingly fragile art system.<\/p>\n Galleries are not supermarkets. Many of the most dynamic galleries today, the ones doing the groundwork, are not built on capital injections or clear ROI models. They\u2019re often driven instead by intuition, stubborn passion and the belief that they\u2019re helping shape the future of art.<\/p>\n Swivel Gallery\u2019s founder Graham Wilson<\/a>\u2014who also transitioned from artist to gallerist\u2014put it plainly: \u201cFirst of all, a gallery is not a supermarket, as art is not a necessity,\u201d he said in response to Baer\u2019s provocation. \u201cEveryone needs to eat\u2014so yes, a supermarket may operate at far lower margins, but it also runs on a daily, repeating cycle for the masses.\u201d<\/p>\n The comparison, he adds, also assumes that all the work a gallery shows is guaranteed to sell, which isn\u2019t the case. Galleries often show what they believe in, not just what they know will move. And belief takes time. \u201cYou can do a show with 10 paintings at $10,000 each, but if you only sell two, and your overhead is $25,000, then you\u2019ve just lost $15,000,\u201d he notes. \u201cStill, you believed in something, and you committed.\u201d Wilson relocated again last year, this time to Manhattan, opting for a smaller, more affordable and more accessible space. It was part of a broader recalibration\u2014not just in response to a shifting market and rising rents but also to changing collector behavior.<\/p>\n For a Parisian gallerist with double space in the Marais, who wishes to remain anonymous, the paradox is clear: most galleries aim to offer a luxury-level presentation while running on a supermarket-level gross margin. \u201cIf you keep a supermarket\u2019s gross margin, you need a supermarket\u2019s cost structure\u2014ultra-lean, low-cost operations, warehouses in disguise, low-rent locations, minimal staff costs and brands paying extra for visibility. If you want to operate like a luxury brand\u2014premium locations, beautiful spaces, curated experiences\u2014you need a luxury-level gross margin (x4, x5 or more) to sustain it,\u201d he notes.<\/p>\n Up to that point, for art dealer and advisor Henri Neuendorf<\/a>, Josh Baer\u2019s comment raises important questions about how galleries can make substantial sums from sales but still fail to turn a profit because their costs are too high. For him, most gallery owners simply aren\u2019t conscious enough of their expenses. \u201cMost galleries are operating out of their expense capacity. They\u2019re growing too big too fast,\u201d he says, noting that the art world would do well to follow Andrew Carnegie\u2019s belief that costs can be strictly managed while profits are subject to market fluctuations. \u201cThis is especially important to keep in mind in good times so that galleries can survive during periods of market contraction,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a fair point, but also an almost inevitable outcome when working with creative people who entered the art world out of passion, not profit. To attract and retain artists\u2014especially when megas are constantly poaching from their programs\u2014galleries often have to support the artist\u2019s vision without scrutinizing every invoice.<\/p>\n A space like CLEARING, even in Bushwick, demanded scale. That scale tripled when they began operating like a mega-gallery without the infrastructure to match. Production costs, shipping, travel\u2014these pile up quickly. Reportedly, once he moved to Manhattan, plus his space in L.A., Babin was paying $75,000 per month in rent. Yet what galleries like this rarely want to compromise is the program\u2019s quality. And, of course, artists get paid first. That\u2019s non-negotiable, though even that becomes hard to uphold when things go too far south.<\/p>\n The art market never has been, and never will be, a place for traditional business models. It\u2019s a place for passion and impracticality, reflects Nicodim\u2019s global director Ben Lee Ritchie Handler<\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019re selling magic, spirituality, higher consciousness\u2014things you don\u2019t find in the produce aisle\u2014and the artist-gallery relationship is a sacred one,\u201d he says, recounting how Mihai Nicodim<\/a> lent artists his spare bedroom for months to help them along. Lee himself has given up his car, loaned valuable clothes, books and objects to artists\u2014none of which were ever returned\u2014but, hopefully, fueled some of the inspiration behind the shows that make up Nicodim\u2019s now twenty-year history.<\/p>\n Producing great shows is not cheap. \u201cThere\u2019s rent, shipping, dinners, travel and salaries for everyone who facilitates the aforementioned items, and most galleries I know contribute to an artist\u2019s production costs. And I didn\u2019t even mention the art fairs!\u201d he adds. They\u2019re doing all this on a tight budget, trying to tighten further\u2014but they\u2019re not going to cut the nose off a show just to make an extra 2 percent profit. \u201cWe\u2019re farm-to-table wizardry, baby.\u201d<\/p>\n New York gallerist Margot Samel<\/a> also points out that the idea that galleries operate with \u201cfree\u201d inventory overlooks a crucial reality: many contribute significantly to production, covering costs like framing, shipping, installation, photography and catalogues. Those 50 percent margins disappear quickly under overhead\u2014rent, salaries, art fair participation, travel, insurance and the cost of holding unsold work for years, notes the Estonian-born gallerist who opened her own space in Tribeca right after the pandemic, around the time the market first showed signs of slowing. \u201cWhen sales slow but expenses don\u2019t, as often happens during downturns, the pressure intensifies.\u201d<\/p>\n This tension between budget constraints and creative vision isn\u2019t unique to galleries. Institutions wrestle with it constantly\u2014and even auction houses are starting to feel the squeeze. And, as Samel points out, the same strain runs through publishing, music, fashion and film: creators feel intermediaries take too much, while intermediaries shoulder high risk and overhead. \u201cIn a fragile economy, both are under strain, and the cracks are becoming more visible.\u201d<\/p>\n The commitment to champion artists\u2019 creativity while maintaining uncompromising aesthetic standards remains at the core of Lucien Tso<\/a>\u2019s vision as the owner and founder of GALLERY VACANCY, one of Shanghai\u2019s most dynamic galleries. However, he acknowledges that such dedication demands countless hours of unremunerated coordination and communication, all aimed at securing the most meaningful and enduring outcomes for the work. \u201cIt is within this space that the true alchemy of our profession takes place. It\u2019s not about margins or percentages; rather, it\u2019s about how much it truly takes to make the impossible, possible,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s always a shared commitment\u2014an enduring bond\u2014between artists and their dealers.\u201d For Tso, a gallery is a collaborative enterprise, sustained by mutual trust and commitment between artists and dealers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe gallery\u2019s role is not just to sell, but to steward an artist\u2019s career, and that requires sustained investment\u2014often with no guarantee of immediate return,\u201d echoes Sarah Qing Markovitz of Hive Center For Contemporary Art, another fast-growing Chinese gallery with locations in Shanghai and Beijing. \u201cA dedicated gallery invests in an artist\u2019s long-term trajectory\u2014leveraging its network, curatorial expertise and resources to position the work within a broader cultural and historical context. Marketing is too light a word for this; it\u2019s about shaping how an artist is seen, ensuring the work reaches the right collectors and institutions so it has the chance to enter museum collections, appear in major auctions and ultimately secure a place in art history.\u201d It\u2019s a business built not on quick transactions but on long-term vision.<\/p>\n After five years of building an experimental program from the ground up, Dooyong Ro<\/a> of CYLINDER in Seoul confirms that the gallery\u2019s operations take 50 percent of the margin. Unless you come from a super-wealthy family or are a second-generation gallerist\u2014unlike him, who started with no resources\u2014running a gallery can feel like a daily war fought with inadequate weapons. \u201cAt the beginning, I thought I could make a meaningful profit if I kept doing this for a few years, but I soon realized that for a young gallery like mine, it was tough to sell works in the gallery itself, so I had to do fairs,\u201d Ro admits. \u201cNow I\u2019m stuck in the fair loop, constantly thinking about preparing the money for the next fair. And of course, that money comes from the previous fairs.\u201d Ro says he worked alone for four years to cover expenses, cutting on sleep to save costs. He recently hired a gallery assistant to ease the workload, but feels like he\u2019s working more than ever as the system pushes him to keep up with scale and pace.<\/p>\n The problem isn\u2019t the margin; it\u2019s the volume, says Dr. KK Chan<\/a>, a collector based in Hong Kong. In his view, the issue is over-saturation. \u201cNowadays, there are way too many artists and even galleries, but the buying power can\u2019t keep up with the growth.\u201d For Chan, the art world is simply undergoing a painful consolidation. \u201cMore galleries will close down, sadly. It\u2019s just the stage we\u2019re in.\u201d If the recent wave of gallery closures has raised questions over the structural viability of the art business, it\u2019s also up to galleries to find creative solutions to control costs, especially the less essential expenses.<\/p>\n Rising costs as a gallery grows and expands is something Elizabeth Johs<\/a> understands firsthand. The Swiss-Danish founder of JO-HS opened her first space in Mexico City before expanding to New York last year. But gallerists of her generation are already testing new models to navigate a market that has changed dramatically in just a few years. That means being more strategic: prioritizing art fairs<\/a> as moments to meet new collectors, while deepening relationships with existing ones the rest of the year. \u201cIn our case, collaborating with other galleries has been more fruitful\u2014and more sustainable,\u201d she says. \u201cAnother model I\u2019m exploring is doing exhibitions in domestic settings\u2014treating the gallery experience like an intimate relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n The intimacy of a more domestic, curated setting is also the approach being taken by one of the few\u2014if not the only\u2014new galleries opening in these troubled times: Felix R\u00f6dder, former director at David Zwirner, will open R\u00f6dder Gallery this September at 22 East 80th Street in New York, in the same Upper East Side building as Spr\u00fcth Magers. From the press announcement: \u201cUnlike the typical white-cube model, R\u00f6dder embraces the charm and intimacy of a refined, residential viewing space.\u201d The inaugural show will be a solo presentation of sculptural paintings by New Yorker Wyatt Kahn<\/a>.<\/p>\n Yet relocating to zip codes beyond the art world\u2019s usual capitals can open unexpected doors. After years working in galleries and art advisory in New York, Laura Burton<\/a> moved to Houston, where she could finally do something she never imagined possible in the city: open her own gallery. She simply called it Laura. Launching without a silent partner gave her the freedom to remain nimble and deliberate. Houston, with its rich cultural fabric\u2014shaped by institutions like the Menil\u2014but far more forgiving rents, has allowed her to show artists she believes in, whether from the local scene or her broader network spanning New York, Europe and Asia. She rarely finds herself competing with other U.S. galleries for the artists she wants to show. \u201cThe scene here is still growing, but it\u2019s vibrant and there are fewer galleries operating at my scale,\u201d she tells Observer. Still, she\u2019s kept a tight grip on costs. \u201cI don\u2019t throw lavish dinners,\u201d she says. \u201cBut I host happy hours and intimate hangs that foster real connection.\u201d While she\u2019s relatively new to Texas, her reputation has followed her. \u201cCollectors have learned to trust my eye\u2014especially when the artists I back early end up gaining real traction.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Olivier](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Olivier-Babin_Courtesy-CLEARING-Gallery.jpg\")
Olivier Babin. Courtesy CLEARING Gallery<\/p>\n![\"Exterior](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/CLEARING-Gallery-New-York.-Courtesy-CLEARING-Galelry.jpg\")
CLEARING Gallery, New York. JSP ART PHOTOGRAPHY | Courtesy CLEARING Galelry<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/09-clearingnewyork-margueritehumeau-riddles-2017-960x612-1.jpg\"){kind=spacer}
Marguerite Humeau\u2019s \u201cRIDDLES\u201d at CLEARING in 2017. JSP Art Photography<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/DSC2791.jpeg\")
Andrea Ferrero\u2019s \u201cAll My Life I\u2019ve Been Afraid Of Power\u201d in CLEARING\u2019s now-shuttered Bushwick space in 2023. Installation View, Photos By Cary Whittier<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Isabelle-Alburquerque-at-Nicodim.jpeg\")
Isabelle Albuquerque\u2019s \u201cSextet\u201d at Nicodim in Los Angeles in 2020. Courtesy of the artist and Nicodim.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/CYLINDER.jpeg\")
\u201cSoft Stratum\u201d at CYLINDER in Seoul in 2025. Courtesy of CYLINDER<\/p>\n
![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Marek-Wolfryd.jpg\")
Marek Wolfryd\u2019s \u201cOccidenterie\u201d at GENERAL EXPENSES in Mexico City. Courtesy of the artist and GENERAL EXPENSES<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/X5CY9514-1350x900-1.jpeg\")
\u201cHolographic Realm\u201d at Hive Contemporary in Shanghai. Courtesy Hive Contemporary