In perhaps the strongest sign yet of a major transformation in the art market, Pace Gallery plans to announce on Thursday that it is reducing its roster by 50 artists and its staff by 50 people, indicating that even a prominent established gallery needs to downsize in this challenging economic climate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole art gallery art system became too big, too commercial, too impersonal and too corporate,\u201d Marc Glimcher, the chief executive, said in an interview this week. \u201cWe all know it\u2019s true. But you actually have to do something to adapt to it. You have to make some substantial changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
While high-end sales remain strong among a sliver of wealthy collectors \u2014 as evidenced by the recent auctions<\/a> of rare trophies \u2014 small and midsize galleries have, since the Covid pandemic, been consolidating, contracting or closing amid declining foot traffic and steep operating costs.<\/p>\n Pace, which last year celebrated its 65th anniversary<\/a>, represents some major estates of 20th-century artists like Alexander Calder, Mark Rothko and Agnes Martin; current art stars like David Hockney and Julian Schnabel; and emerging talents including Adam Pendleton<\/a> and Torkwase Dyson. Pace has also continued to represent and stand by the late Chuck Close<\/a>, despite allegations<\/a> of sexual harassment that the artist denied.<\/p>\n 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, given their many prominent artists, multiple locations and high prices. But the expenses of brick-and-mortar spaces and multiple art fairs, coupled with shifting interest rates, high inflation and global uncertainty have made for a perfect storm for Pace, which has seven locations around the world.<\/p>\n \u201cWe really are finding our soul,\u201d Glimcher said. \u201cAnd that means having the number of artists that you can perform extraordinary things for. It means just the really core relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n The gallery said the total number of artists will decline 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 who were cut are not boldfaced names. One of them, the conceptual artist Glenn Kaino \u2014 who in 2021 had a solo show at Mass MoCA \u2014 seemed to take the news gracefully.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been clear to me for a while that their model was optimized for a vision of the art world that never materialized,\u201d Kaino said in an email. \u201cThe 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\u2019m a romantic about good, meaningful art creating value, and not the other way around. I wish them all the best and am grateful for our experiment.\u201d<\/p>\n Pace has always been a family business, with Pace\u2019s founder, Arne Glimcher, handing over the reins to Marc in 2010. Though outwardly supportive of his son, Arne was always known to be anti-expansion, a position that seemed to be confirmed by the elder Glimcher\u2019s 2022 opening of a small, old-fashioned gallery of his own<\/a> in TriBeCa, called 125 Newbury.<\/p>\n In an interview, the elder Glimcher spoke about Pace\u2019s current retrenchment with an unvarnished sense of relief. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like we\u2019re getting our gallery back,\u201d he said. \u201cI think this whole mega gallery thing is ridiculous and also unsupportable. I always thought that.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the difference between a corporation that uses art to expand,\u201d he added, \u201cand an art gallery that is only about art.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam Pendleton, an artist who joined the gallery in 2012 and survived the cuts, said Pace\u2019s decision \u201cdoesn\u2019t surprise me nor does it worry me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe gallery has such an incredible history,\u201d he added. \u201cThey\u2019re becoming particularly clear on what they want to focus on \u2014 what they need to focus on \u2014 and I don\u2019t think that\u2019s ever a bad thing.\u201d<\/p>\n The artist Kiki Smith, who has been with Pace for more than 30 years and was also spared, said she was \u201cneutral\u201d about the situation. \u201cEveryone has to make their own decisions,\u201d she said. \u201cYou just roll with the punches and see what happens. It must come out of being thoughtful. They\u2019re doing what they feel like they need to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Alexander S. C. Rower, a grandson of the sculptor Alexander Calder, who runs the Calder Foundation and is a friend of Glimcher, said the cutbacks would not affect Pace\u2019s representation of the estate. \u201cAll of the mega galleries have lost their way,\u201d Rower said. \u201cI appreciate that Marc is backing down from the arms race.\u201d<\/p>\n Pace\u2019s reduction does not mean it will cease taking on new artists or estates, Glimcher said, though it will do so judiciously. Just last month the gallery announced that it had taken on the estate of the sculptor Constantin Brancusi<\/a>, a giant of Modernism, the same day that a Brancusi bronze head came up for auction at Christie\u2019s and sold<\/a> for $107.6 million.<\/p>\n Nor does it mean that Pace will unload its snazzy eight-story flagship headquarters<\/a> 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 an annual rent of about $9 million on a 20-year lease. (Pace also in 2022 had to pay<\/a> more than $6 million in damages after being sued over commissions by the real estate firm that advised the gallery during negotiations with the building\u2019s owner.)<\/p>\n What it does mean is that Pace will be going \u201cback to basics,\u201d Glimcher said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re very aligned with what makes art special in the first place,\u201d he continued. \u201cI don\u2019t think we are so aligned with the market commercial phenomenon of the last 20 years.\u201d<\/p>\n Glimcher said he knows this will sound to some like so much spin on what is clearly a last resort, given that Pace tried other survival strategies.<\/p>\n In 2022, the gallery stepped back<\/a> from a series of experiential art centers called Superblue<\/a>, which became plagued by cost overruns. That same year, Pace closed its space in Palo Alto<\/a>, Calif. and two years later opened a smaller gallery in Tokyo<\/a>. Last year, Pace opened a shared space in Berlin<\/a>, closed its Hong Kong gallery<\/a> and joined forces<\/a> with Di Donna Galleries and the auction executive David Schrader to sell artwork on the secondary market \u2014 a collaboration that Glimcher said would continue. It also explored a joint venture<\/a> with Sotheby\u2019s that didn\u2019t pan out.<\/p>\n