In this decade of recovery from a recession, the global art market has found a way to adapt and is now a juggernaut with $67.4 billion in annual sales. While the bulk of that figure changes hands at auction houses, mega-galleries, and through private deals, integral to the market’s future success are new galleries—the ones braving a demanding fair circuit and fickle collector base to strike out on their own.
With input from collectors, dealers, and fair directors, I rounded up these emerging galleries from three distinct regions: The Americas; Europe and Africa; and Asia and the Middle East. There is some range here—some are less than a year old or have just started to show at small satellite fairs; others have been around for a decade and have shown at one of the three Art Basel fairs—but all of these outfits share similar qualities. They have been started by former directors at larger shops; a trader at Goldman Sachs; critics who pivoted from reviewing shows to making them; and artists who converted studios to white cubes. These galleries bottle the energy of their distinct scenes and have founders ambitious enough to take their programs onto the global circuit.
Nova Contemporary
Founded in 2016 in Bangkok by Sutima Sucharitakul.
Data Point: Turned a former storage space in an apartment into one of Bangkok’s most vibrant spaces.
By the time she decided to open a gallery in her native Bangkok, Sutima Sucharitakul was 27, and had spent most of the previous decade studying Asian art in London and New York. Her interest in Southeast Asia was rekindled by working as a curatorial associate on the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s groundbreaking show “Lost Kingdoms: Hindu-Buddhist Sculpture of Early Southeast Asia, Fifth to Eighth Century.” By the time she opened Nova Contemporary, the programming would be less 5th century and way more contemporary. Her shows have thrust some of the world’s most celebrated artists into the nascent Bangkok scene. She’s shown work by Rachel Rose, Luc Tuymans, and Lawrence Weiner.
What is the gallery’s overall mission?
To encourage exchange and the cross-pollination between artistic disciplines, the gallery focuses on multi-generational, local, and international artists.
What are the biggest challenges to running an art gallery in your city or region?
The biggest challenge of running an art gallery in Bangkok is that there are not enough collectors. It is very difficult when the number of contemporary art galleries is limited and without recognition from a respected institution. There are many good artists in our country, but with limited museums to showcase their work. Some topics and exhibitions are filtered to be suitable for the local audience due to our sensitive culture and law.
How do you see your gallery changing over the next five years?
I would like to show more Western art in Thailand and bring Southeast Asian art to the international art scene. This is an emerging market with respect to the art world, but many institutions and collectors are paying closer attention to our region.
Continue reading other important young galleries via the original article.