Editor’s Observe: This story initially appeared in On Stability, the ARTnews e-newsletter concerning the artwork market and past. Join right here to obtain it each Wednesday.
In 2020, after over 20 years in enterprise, James and Jane Cohan began occupied with the way forward for their gallery, and decided: they wished it to have a future past them. This week, these plans come to fruition as James Cohan Gallery takes on a brand new id as Norr Cohan, with gallery associate David Norr assuming sole possession and management. Jane Cohan is retiring, whereas James will stay concerned, although in a lowered capability.
“We’ve created one thing,” James Cohan advised ARTnews over Zoom. “There’s a neighborhood there, and it’s thriving. How will we preserve that and proceed on? It was very releasing and actually energizing [to make that decision]. It gave me a chance to do different initiatives that I most likely wouldn’t have accomplished. And it gave David nice latitude.”
The Cohans opened the gallery in 1999. James had spent 17 years working for 2 esteemed galleries—Anthony D’Offay, in London and Paula Cooper in New York—earlier than placing out on his personal, along with his spouse as associate. Over time, the gallery has cultivated long-lasting relationships with artists like Fred Tomaselli and Yinka Shonibare and brought on new ones like Tuan Andrew Nguyen. It additionally moved twice, from 57th Road to Chelsea, after which from Chelsea to Tribeca.
In 2015, they employed David Norr, previously a curator on the Wexner Heart for the Arts and the Museum of Up to date Artwork Cleveland, to be senior director on the gallery. Cohan met Norr within the early 2000s, simply after Norr obtained his MFA from the Tyler Faculty of Artwork at Philadelphia’s Temple College. The 2 related over the significance they positioned on museums. “I grew up within the artwork world with this concept from Paula Cooper and from D’Offay, that museums are tremendous vital, and are your key prospects,” Cohan stated. “They’re the feeders to the world.”
Whereas Norr’s institutional expertise was a right away boon to the gallery, his curatorial expertise was one other benefit. “Whenever you’re a sole proprietor, and I say that with me and Jane as you already know a single entity, it will get lonely. Having somebody who’s come from the curatorial world was actually significant and has confirmed to be extremely profitable. It was one of many higher choices I’ve made in my skilled profession.”
Norr advised ARTnews that the transition to a gallery felt natural. “My focus [at museums] was all the time occupied with artists first, and occupied with the angle of the studio outward, and this transitioned into the gallery area,” Norr defined. “At a gallery, you might have the chance to consider an artist’s profession in many years. Jim is a outstanding strategist and actualizer of that function of the gallery.”
In 2018, the Cohans made Norr a associate and, in 2020, they formalized the association with a concentrate on the gallery’s longevity. In 2021, Norr was made co-owner. The gallery now represents 40 artists; in an interview, Norr burdened its range: 20 males and 19 ladies artists. The aim, he stated, is to guard these artists’ legacies and preserve the gallery’s core values, emphasizing neighborhood and long-term sustainability.
The artists ARTnews spoke with are absolutely on board with the shift. Yinka Shonibare has been with the gallery since 2004. He praised the work that Norr did with him on his undertaking for the Nigerian Pavilion on the Venice Biennale in 2024; titled “Nigeria Imaginary,” the exhibition was one of many highlights of that yr’s version.
“I did a monumental piece [for the Venice Biennale] that was acquired by the Superb Arts Museums of San Francisco. David performed a significant function in that acquisition. I’ve full confidence in him,” Shonibare stated. “That’s what I’ve all the time appreciated concerning the gallery. The long-term planning. They’ve very sturdy relationships with establishments, and David does as properly.”
Tomaselli, who has been with the gallery for 25 years, shared that he knew Norr earlier than he was employed. “I first met David at a graphic artwork studio in Tampa, so we go manner again. He’s introduced a variety of nice vitality into the gallery. If there’s anyone who’s going to transition the gallery, I can’t consider a greater individual.”
Nguyen joined the gallery as a member of the collective Propeller Group in 2016 earlier than doing his first solo with the gallery in 2020. In an electronic mail, he described the Cohans as creators of “an area that nurtures artists and their practices” and stated that Norr’s power lies in his skill to strategy artists and their practices from the vantage factors of an artist, a curator, and as a gallerist. That empathy, he continued, is why “this transition feels much less like a change in path and extra just like the continuation of a relationship constructed on understanding, generosity, and shared perception.”
“We’ve glorious artists,” Norr stated, “and it’s simply been an exquisite train to consider development and likewise to consider positionality, to consider the significance of the dimensions of our gallery, and to be exact about that, which can also be a part of our success.” He stated future plans embrace the renovation of each gallery areas in New York.
Cohan and Norr emphasised the significance, longevity, and development of the complete employees. “It’s tremendous thrilling to the intern who grew to become the entrance desk individual, who grew to become my assistant, who grew to become a severe salesperson and artist liaison,” stated Cohan. “That’s as gratifying because it will get.”
“There’s a generative neighborhood round us,” stated Norr. “And neighborhood is a really key a part of what has made the gallery profitable. It begins with artists, but it surely undoubtedly continues with our crew, who’re an enormous a part of our success.”
At the same time as he appears to the longer term, Tomaselli stated seeing the Cohans taking a step again has been “bittersweet,” he stated. “They’re like household to me. I simply really feel actually fortunate to have them in my life.”
