Kasmin’s End Sparks Olney Gleason’s Beginning

Terence Trouillot You’re launching Olney Gleason at a time when many galleries are closing – Blum in LA; Clearing in New York just this week – and the market feels soft across the board. Sales are slow, younger collectors are scarce, and yet you’re doubling down. What makes you believe this is the right moment to start a new venture?

Eric Gleason The doom narrative is overplayed. We’ve seen steady growth in the industry over the last 20 years along with cyclical peaks and dips. That’s normal economics, and it shouldn’t faze anyone who’s in this for the long haul. Beyond the macro timing, we reached a point where we’d accomplished certain shared goals with Paul Kasmin’s estate, and we had a mutual sense of this being the right moment. This obviously dovetails nicely with the generational shift happening in our industry, and we strongly believe this is an unprecedented moment of opportunity for those in a position of strength. We’re focused on deepening our relationships with and furthering ambitions for our artists and estates, and the endless number of wonderful colleagues, curators, collectors and friends who have shown such incredible enthusiasm for Olney Gleason since the announcement.

Nick Olney There’s always great opportunity in times of change. We want to ride the crest of this next wave and help shape it. These kinds of transitional moments invite clarity and focus – and we believe that what we do works.

TT In the recent ARTnews article that announced the new gallery, you described Olney Gleason as ‘artist-centric’. You both claim that this model seems to be having a quiet resurgence across the industry – smaller, more nimble galleries with close, sustained relationships with artists. What does that term mean to each of you? And when do you think the art world fell away from that model in the first place?

EG I think it’s always tied to boom periods. When there’s a large influx of cash, people start focusing on things that aren’t really central to the mission of a gallery, and a speculative genre of collectors appears. But when things tighten, it’s made clear what really matters, and that’s the artist–gallery relationship.

NO Right, and that relationship, when done well, is a long-term dialogue. It’s not about chasing the next name. It’s about working with artists over many years and exhibitions, helping to contextualize their work and shape their careers. That model isn’t broken – it works. We’ve seen it adapt and continue to work over many decades. But it does require commitment and care. The best galleries aren’t just moving through inventory, they’re building context and connoisseurship, and growing markets for artists based on depth, not speculation. That’s the kind of gallery we’ve always wanted to be part of, and that’s what we’re carrying forward.

TT Kasmin’s strength was in combining historical estates and living artists in conversation. Will Olney Gleason retain that same approach, or are you pivoting towards something slightly different – perhaps a stronger emphasis on contemporary art?

EG Without a doubt, that cross-generational dialogue is foundational for us. At Kasmin, representing 20th-century greats, particularly across abstract expressionism and surrealism, while introducing new bodies of work by living artists created a really dynamic programme. That balance is something we’re continuing. We’ll definitely be adding new artists and new estates – as soon as this autumn. But that structure, that dialogue between history and the present, is a central tenet of what we do.

NO We’ve also put significant focus on developing the contemporary programme over the past five years. We want Olney Gleason to be a place where the art of today is seen in dialogue with history, and vice versa. We love doing art historical exhibitions. We also love working closely with living artists. For us, it has to be both.

TT What kind of gallery culture are you hoping to build internally? From leadership structure to artist care, what are you consciously doing differently?

NO That’s been a huge focus for some time: to build a sustainable work environment and culture based on integrity. And that really comes to fruition during periods of change. It has to be absolutely top of mind when you’re winding down a business and simultaneously founding a new one. Over the last five years, we have had to ask ourselves: what are we doing this for? We realized it’s about the people – the artists, their studios and families, our team and their families, our broad circle of collaborators. That became our core constituency. Since then, we’ve tried to build a culture that prioritizes care and long-term trust.

EG We’ve never been a revolving door. I’d put our staff retention rates up against anyone in the industry. That kind of consistency is important to us – not just for the internal culture but for how we serve artists and collectors.

NO And when you get the culture right, a lot of other things follow. The team grows stronger, and great people want to join. It becomes self-fulfilling.

TT What larger shifts do you think we’ll see across the commercial gallery landscape in the next few years? What needs to change, and what role do you imagine Olney Gleason playing in that change?

EG I think there’s going to be a broader reset of priorities. People are asking what the gallery is really for. Sales are essential, of course – they provide the resources artists need. But so is career-building. If galleries aren’t placing work carefully or helping build an artist’s exhibition history and institutional footprint, then what are we really doing?

NO Artists want that quality of dialogue. And more and more, we’re seeing collaboration between great galleries, working together to represent artists across markets. That model can offer artists real scope without sacrificing depth or care. As Eric mentioned, there’s also a generational shift under way. A lot of dealers that we’ve grown up alongside are stepping into leadership positions and starting galleries. They’re bringing new values. That’s really encouraging to see.

EG We’ve been doing this a long time – between the two of us, about 50 years. We’ve seen what works and what doesn’t. And we feel very well positioned to contribute to the next chapter of this industry.

NO The market right now is multifaceted. Some sectors – especially speculative ones – are soft. But there’s real strength in other areas. Exhibitions are doing well. There’s steady demand for great work placed thoughtfully by people who are trusted. We’re not trying to chase a boom, we’re trying to build something lasting – for our artists, our team and our collectors. Founding this gallery now is a strong statement about our belief in the future of the art world.