Sean Kelly Gallery Explained

Sean Kelly Gallery, founded in 1991 in New York City by British-born Sean Kelly, represents established and mid-career artists, particularly with work based in installation and performance.^[1]

Owner Sean Kelly began in the British museum world by curating shows by sculptors such as Richard Deacon and Anthony Gormley early in their career.^[2] He opened a place in SoHo, Manhattan, in 1995, with artists such as Marina Abramović, Joseph Kosuth, James Casebere and Robert Mapplethorpe.^[3]

History

The gallery was founded in 1991 and operated privately in SoHo, New York, until 1995. The original list of artists represented included Marina Abramović, Joseph Kosuth, James Casebere, Robert Mapplethorpe^{[4] [5]} and Julião Sarmento, who are still represented by the gallery. In 1995, the gallery relocated to a street-level space in SoHo.

In 2001, Sean Kelly Gallery moved to 29th Street in the Chelsea gallery district. In 2012, it moved to a 22000square feet space in the new Hudson Yards neighborhood.^[6] The two story gallery was designed by architect Toshiko Mori.^[7]

In 2018, Sean Kelly Gallery launched an initiative called Collect Wisely, an advertisement- and event-driven campaign aimed at reinvigorating the collectors’ interest in actual art, including ads placed in various publications (including the New York Times) featuring phrases like “Will history remember you as an investor or a collector?” and a billboard near the gallery on 10th Avenue carrying the slogan “Connoisseurship is not a dirty word.”^[8] Another element of Collect Wisely was a series of invite-only salons held at the gallery, where people from a variety of backgrounds — collectors, but also writers, musicians and scientists — gathered for dinner and to discuss art’s emotional, rather than monetary, value.^[9] Also, Kelly launched the Collect Wisely podcast, in which he talks one-to-one with collectors like Pamela Joyner and J. Tomilson Hill about the essential values of art, their reasons for collecting and their cultural passions.^[10]

Also in 2018, the gallery opened a project space in Taipei.^[11]

In 2021, Sean Kelly Gallery announced plans to open a 10000square feet space in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, again designed by Mori.^[12]

Artists

Artists represented by the gallery include:

In addition, the gallery manages various artist estates, including:

• Ilse D'Hollander
• Poul Kjærholm
• Julião Sarmento

Notes and References

1. Web site: New York listing. Time Out.
2. M.H. Miller (12 June 2018), Is the Art World Too Big for Its Own Good? T: The New York Times Style Magazine.
3. Web site: Represented Artists. Sean Kelly.
4. Web site: Sean Kelly Gallery . . 31 October 2015.
5. https://observer.com/2012/09/which-new-york-gallery-represents-the-most-warhol-ian-artists/ Numbers: Which New York Gallery Represents the Most Warhol-ian Artists?
6. http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/news-features/news/sean-kelly-move-exit-art/ Art in America
7. Randy Kennedy (October 26, 2012) Gallery May Lead Arts Migration to Hudson Yards New York Times.
8. M.H. Miller (1 May 2018), At a New York Gallery, Confronting the Art World’s Existential Crisis T: The New York Times Style Magazine.
9. M.H. Miller (1 May 2018), At a New York Gallery, Confronting the Art World’s Existential Crisis T: The New York Times Style Magazine.
10. Jan Dalley (26 April 2019), Inside Sean Kelly’s Collect Wisely, the art world’s go-to podcast Financial Times.
11. Maximilíano Durón (November 11, 2021), New York’s Sean Kelly Gallery Expands to Los Angeles ARTnews.
12. John Chiaverina (September 6, 2018), Gladys Lin Named Director of Sean Kelly Asia, Will Open Project Space in Taiwan ARTnews.