French art dealer Emmanuel Perrotin has christened his new space in New York with an anarchistic exhibition by Italian artist Paola Pivi, entitled 'Ok, you are better than me, so what?'
The art world wunderkind, Emmanuel Perrotin, opened his third international gallery this week, opting for the well-heeled environs of Manhattan's Upper East Side for his sole American outpost. Situated on the corner of Madison Avenue and 73rd Street, the gallery is spread over two floors in a glamorous, 1932 landmark building that was once the headquarters of the Bank of New York.
'New York continues to be the capital of the art market,' said Perrotin, whose impressive track record includes giving Damien Hirst his first commercial gallery show back in 1991 and being the first to exhibit Takashi Murakami's work outside of Japan. 'It's also home to the largest number of international leading-edge artists. Being part of this, engaging with local artists, curators and collectors, and reaching new audiences, is absolutely essential.'
In contrast to its fancy new digs and venerable neighbours, such as the Whitney Museum and the Frick Collection, Perrotin has christened his new space with an anarchistic exhibition by Italian artist, Paola Pivi. For her first major solo exhibition stateside, Pivi worked with a taxidermist to create eight eurethane sculptures of polar bears. Created in a myriad of realistic positions, the bears are covered in colourful feathers for that trademark Pivi twist.
While the bears take centre stage on the gallery's ground floor, an animated sculpture - a blue box spitting out dollar bills called 'Money Machine (true blue, baby I love you)'- gently references the space's banking heritage. Polarising and completely open to interpretation, Pivi's show is an exciting taster of the gallery's plans to come.
The new space is a coup for Perrotin, who made his foray into the art business back in 1989 when he opened his first gallery at age 21, and now has an outpost in Hong Kong and three in Paris under his belt. He envisions his New York gallery will be a springboard for artists like Maurizio Cattelan, JR, Jean-Michel Othoniel and Pivi herself, to make the jump into the collections of American institutions. The New York space will be helmed by Peggy Lebouf, who is currently the chief director of Galerie Perrotin in Paris.
'Money machine (true blue, baby I love you)', 2013. Courtesy of Galerie Perrotin.
'Who told you white men can jump?', 2013. Courtesy of Galerie Perrotin.
'I never danced before' (left), and 'Sometimes I have to stand for my safety', 2013. Courtesy of Galerie Perrotin.
'It's not fair', 2013. Courtesy of Galerie Perrotin.
'It's not fair' (detail), 2013. Courtesy of Galerie Perrotin.
'Don't change my name please' (detail), 2013. Courtesy of Galerie Perrotin.
'?', 2013. Courtesy of Galerie Perrotin.
'Here it comes the hunter', 2013. Courtesy of Galerie Perrotin.
'Mama no more diapers, please', 2013. Courtesy of Galerie Perrotin.
Situated on Manhattan's Upper East Side, Perrotin's new gallery - his third international outpost - is spread over two floors in a glamorous, 1932 landmark building that was once the headquarters of the Bank of New York
ADDRESS
Galerie Perrotin New York
909 Madison Avenue & 73rd Street
Upper East Side
NY 10021
-
A new Oxford Street pop-up celebrates IKEA's blue bagsIKEA's iconic blue bag gets its own pop-up concept store, the 'Hus of Frakta'.
-
Audemars Piguet and Kaws have created the Royal Oak Concept watch we didn't know we neededThe Audemars Piguet x Kaws Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon 'Companion' is slick wrist-worn art
-
A friendly rivalry coloured by kinship: Wendy Maruyama and Tom Loeser on their two-artist show'I wanted to make furniture, just not traditional furniture, but weird furniture,' says Wendy Maruyama on ‘Colorama’, a two-artist show presented at design gallery Superhouse (until 11 January 2025)
-
As Paris begins to reopen, Perrotin introduces a series of spirited cooperative exhibitionsIn the name of solidarity, Perrotin has invited 26 Parisian galleries to take part in four consecutive presentations in its Saint-Claude space
-
Perrotin releases Maurizio Cattelan banana t-shirts to benefit hunger-relief charityProfits from each sale will go towards Feeding South Florida, a food bank serving Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties
-
Barry McGee sheds light on ‘the other side’ of Hong KongThe San Francisco-based artist incorporates an eclectic array of media for his first exhibition with Perrotin, from painted surfboards to hand-thrown ceramics, obsolete television sets and found objects sourced during his stay in the city
-
Monument man: Xavier Veilhan on dissolving identity in his latest exhibition -
Less is more: Elmgreen & Dragset go it alone in the Grand Palais ahead of FIAC -
Parallel universe: Laurent Grasso’s beguiling reinvention of a Corsican Beaux-Arts museum -
’How could I forget you?’ Galerie Perrotin hosts a group love letter to Mexico -
Full tilt: Bernard Frize’s contemporary drip paintings at Galerie Perrotin
