Vito Schnabel

Vito Schnabel (born July 27, 1986) is an independent curator and contemporary art dealer based in New York City.

Career

Vito Schnabel is an independent curator and contemporary art dealer based in New York. He presented his first exhibition in 2003, at the age of 16. Since then, Schnabel has presented shows in various locations such as Galerie Bruno Bischofberger in Zürich, Switzerland, Acquavella Galleries in New York, a cloistered garden in Venice during the Biennale, photographer Richard Avedon’s former studio, and the Farley Post Office in New York, carefully matching artists’ work with unique and temporary exhibition settings.

Schnabel’s first exhibition, Incubator, featured works by artists who frequented his family home, such as Vahakn Arslanian, Luigi Ontani, McDermott & McGough, Alejandro Garmendia, Herbie Fletcher, Jorge Galindo, and his sister Lola Schnabel. These artists, varying in age, nationality, and approach, reflect Schnabel’s broad yet personal interest in art. In 2005, Schnabel presented a solo exhibition by 1970s artist Ron Gorchov in an unfinished warehouse on Hudson Street in Manhattan. Art critics raved and reviews were published in The New York Times, Artforum, Art in America, Interview Magazine, The New Yorker and Timeout. This exhibition led to a resurgent interest in Gorchov’s work after 20 years with little attention, and resulted in Gorchov’s solo exhibition at MoMA PS1 the following year. Since then, Schnabel has cultivated the careers of new artists and presented numerous exhibitions by Vahakn Arslanian, The Bruce High Quality Foundation, Terence Koh, Rene Ricard, and Theo A. Rosenblum.

Notable exhibitions to date have included an ambitious show of paintings by Terence Koh, Flowers for Baudelaire, at Richard Avedon’s former studio, and a show of performance artist Laurie Anderson’s paintings in the West Village. When auction house Sotheby’s opened a gallery space in 2011 at their New York headquarters, Schnabel curated the first official exhibition, These Days.

In March 2014, Schnabel and The Bruce High Quality Foundation mounted the final Brucennial, a major recurring bi-annual exhibition that began in 2008. The Last Brucennial exhibited the work of 600 female artists. Together they have also established The Bruce High Quality Foundation University, a non-profit organization that offers classes to the public and opportunities for artists. In February of 2015, Schnabel curated an exhibition of Ron Gorchov’s paintings at Sotheby’s S|2 gallery in London. In May, he presented a group show at the historic Germania Bank Building on the Bowery, which had not been open to the public since the mid-1960s. The exhibition, First Show/Last Show, included works by Joe Bradley, Dan Colen, Jeff Elrod, Ron Gorchov, Mark Grotjahn, Harmony Korine, and Julian Schnabel.

Vito Schnabel Gallery was founded in 2015. The inaugural exhibition, Urs Fischer: Bruno & Yoyo, featured all new work and paid homage to Bruno Bischofberger, whose gallery occupied the space since 2009. In conjunction with the opening show, VSG presented an offsite public art installation by Sterling Ruby, entitled STOVES, in a garden across from the gallery at the Kulm Hotel. The installation reflects the gallery’s ongoing intention to curate this and other public spaces throughout St. Moritz year-round as an extension of its programming. Artists include Laurie Anderson, The Bruce High Quality Foundation, Jesse Edwards, Urs Fischer, Ron Gorchov, the estate of Rene Ricard, Sterling Ruby, and Julian Schnabel.

In addition to the St. Moritz gallery, Schnabel has an office and private exhibition space in New York City where he conducts his daily operations.

External links

• vitoschnabel.com, personal site