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David Zwirner

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David Zwirner
Born (1964-10-23) October 23, 1964 (age 60)
Cologne, West Germany
OccupationArt dealer
SpouseMonica Seeman
Children3
ParentRudolf Zwirner

David Zwirner (born October 23, 1964) is a German art dealer and owner of the David Zwirner Gallery in New York City, Los Angeles, London, Hong Kong, and Paris.[1][2][3][4][5]

His gallery represents over seventy artists.

Early life and education

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Zwirner was born in Cologne, West Germany. The son of art dealer Rudolf Zwirner and his wife Ursula, he was exposed to art at an early age as the family lived in a house with a gallery on the ground floor.[6] At the suggestion of the art dealer Harold Diamond, Rudolf sent David and his sister to the Walden School in New York for one year.[6]

Zwirner left West Germany after high school and attended New York University, where he studied music and performed as a jazz drummer.[7]

Career

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On graduating, Zwirner returned to West Germany and worked in Hamburg in A&R for an affiliate of the PolyGram record label.[7] Zwirner moved from working with musical talent to visual artists,[7] and began to build his own art collection, acquiring works by Bernd and Hilla Becher, Hanne Darboven, and Dan Graham.[7] His first job in the United States was with the art dealer Brooke Alexander at Brooke Alexander Gallery.[8]

In 1993, Zwirner opened David Zwirner Gallery in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City with the intention of showcasing an international mix of contemporary artists.[9]

From 2000 to 2009, David Zwirner also partnered with Iwan Wirth in Zwirner & Wirth, a gallery on New York's Upper East Side that focused on private sales. The collaboration yielded a series of exhibitions, including Gerhard Richter: Early Paintings (2000); Bruce Nauman (2001); Cy Twombly: Letter of Resignation (2002/2003); Claes Oldenburg: Early Work (2005); David Hammons (2006); Joseph Beuys: Sculpture and Drawing (2007); and Dan Flavin: The 1964 Green Gallery Exhibition (2008).[10]

In 2002, David Zwirner gallery moved to Chelsea and established three galleries in Chelsea in four years. Zwirner planned to open a new gallery in 2021 on West 21st Street in New York City and would be the first commercial gallery space to be designed by architect Renzo Piano.[needs update][11][12][13][4] David Zwirner decided not to move forward with this project in 2024.[14][15]

Aside from New York, David Zwirner gallery opened a London gallery in 2012, a Hong Kong gallery in 2018, and a Paris gallery in 2019. He also opened 52 Walker, run by Ebony L. Haynes, in 2021 and Los Angeles galleries in Melrose Hill in 2023.[16][17][18][19]

In 2017, David Zwirner established the first commercial online viewing room to sell art online and in 2018, he launched a podcast.[20][21] In 2021, he announced the creation of a publishing house to make and sell original prints by contemporary artists.[22]

In 2021, Zwirner and his wife Monica proposed to the relevant authorities their plan for the Bridgeford Cottages, an artists’ retreat that would involve the complete reconstruction of 17 cottages and a large single-family house at 31 East Lake Drive in Montauk, New York. The couple also proposed subsidizing the rental fees for the 17 cottages.[23][24]

Philanthropy

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In 2001, Zwirner organized the "I Love NY Art Benefit" exhibition at David Zwirner Gallery to benefit victims of the World Trade Center attacks. A few days after the September 11 attacks, Zwirner asked its artists to donate works to the exhibition. He then called on the help of other New York dealers to organize their own benefit exhibitions. The initiative led to a citywide benefit with more than 150 participating galleries and alternative spaces. As with the exhibition at David Zwirner Gallery, all proceeds raised by the galleries benefited the Robin Hood Relief Fund, part of the Robin Hood Foundation.[25]

In October 2006, May 2008, and July 2015,[26] gallery artist Marcel Dzama organized three charity art auctions and exhibitions at the gallery in New York, all to benefit 826NYC, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting young students with their writing skills. Published by McSweeney's Books on the occasion of the 2006 auction, a special limited edition catalog reproduced artworks alongside criticism by eight-year-olds.[27] In March 2011, Zwirner, fellow art dealer, and parent Christopher D'Amelio organized the art donations for the Grace Church School 25th Annual Scholarship Benefit Auction.[28]

In April 2011, actor, director, and philanthropist Ben Stiller joined Zwirner to organize Artists For Haiti (Art Auction), an auction to raise funds for education and health programs for children. The auction took place at Christie's in New York on September 22, 2011. It raised $13,662,000.[29] It said that one hundred percent of the sales would go to support non-profit organizations working in Haiti, including Architecture for Humanity, J/P Haitian Relief Organization, Partners in Health, Grameen Creative Lab, Artists for Peace and Justice, Ciné Institute, and The Stiller Foundation.[30]

In April 2014, Zwirner hosted the annual Acria Unframed Auction to benefit HIV/AIDS research and education programs at his New York gallery. The event raised a record-breaking $1 million for charity.[31] In February 2015, David Zwirner organized the annual auction to benefit Friends Seminary, the oldest continuously coeducational school in New York City. The exhibition featured more than 60 works, many donated by gallery artists, and raised over $500,000 for the school's largest fundraising event to date.[32] In December 2016, gallery artist James Welling selected 65 works for an exhibition and sale to benefit the Foundation for Contemporary Arts (FCA) and grants for individual artists. 16 works were contributed by artists at Welling's invitation and 49 were selected from the FCA's collection, including works from its first benefit exhibition in 1963.[33]

At The New York Times Art Leaders conference in April 2018, Zwirner suggested that upcoming galleries threatened by the rising cost of art admissions to art fairs could be assisted by larger galleries paying more. This was seen as a strategy to prevent the polarised art market from shrinking.[34]

Other activities

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Recognition

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Since 2012 Zwirner has consistently ranked among the top five of the annual "Power 100" list published by the ArtReview magazine;[36] he has been on the list since 2003. In 2012, he was in second place on Forbes magazine's list of "America's Most Powerful Art Dealers".[37] In 2023, the Observer included him in their list of "The Most Influential People in the Art World Today".[38]

Personal life

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Zwirner is married to Monica Seeman.[6] They have three children and reside in New York City.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Luc Tuymans unveils new paintings at a London show | Architectural Digest". Architectural Digest. December 31, 2014. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  2. ^ "VernissageTV Art TV – Luc Tuymans: Allo! at David Zwirner London". vernissage.tv. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  3. ^ Gerlis, Melanie (July 11, 2019). "Brexit prompts David Zwirner move". Financial Times. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
  4. ^ a b "David Zwirner". Ocula. Archived from the original on March 19, 2015.
  5. ^ "Announcing Our Los Angeles Gallery Spaces Opening 2023". David Zwirner. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d Nick Paumgarten (December 2, 2013), Dealer's Hand The New Yorker.
  7. ^ a b c d "WSJ. Magazine – Fashion, Travel, Design, Art, Culture, Food, Living". WSJ.
  8. ^ Lubow, Arthur (January 7, 2018). "The Business of Being David Zwirner". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  9. ^ Paumgarten, Nick (November 24, 2013). "David Zwirner's Art Empire". The New Yorker. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  10. ^ Saltz, Jerry (April 24, 2008). "The Day the Lights Went On". New York Magazine. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  11. ^ Pogrebin, Robin (January 10, 2018). "Mega-dealers' taking over the world: David Zwirner plans a new $50m art gallery". The Independent. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  12. ^ McGrath, Katherine (January 8, 2018). "David Zwirner Announces New Renzo Piano–designed Mega Gallery in New York". Architectural Digest. Archived from the original on August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  13. ^ Maida, Desirée (2018). "David Zwirner non si ferma più. Dopo Hong Kong, nuovo spazio a New York progettato da Renzo Piano". Paese Italia Press. Archived from the original on February 19, 2019. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  14. ^ Lescaze, Zoë (September 28, 2023). "How Chelsea Became the Unlikely Center of the Art World". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 18, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  15. ^ Pogrebin, Robin (July 26, 2023). "Zwirner Pivots on Plans for New Chelsea Gallery". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 18, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  16. ^ Movius, Lisa (January 29, 2018). "David Zwirner on opening his 'second wave' Hong Kong gallery". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  17. ^ "David Zwirner Gallery Will Open Paris Space". ARTnews. July 11, 2019. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  18. ^ "Kandis Williams Envisions Dancing Bodies Without Borders". The New York Times. October 28, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  19. ^ Greenberger, Alex (February 17, 2022). "David Zwirner Joins Growing Mass of Blue-Chip Galleries Expanding to L.A." ARTnews.
  20. ^ Pogrebin, Robin (March 16, 2020). "Art Galleries Respond to Virus Outbreak With Online Viewing Rooms". The New York Times. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  21. ^ Schneider, Tim (June 28, 2018). "And Now, a Message From Jeff Koons: David Zwirner Launches a Podcast Focused on the Gallery's Superstar Artists". ARTnews. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  22. ^ Kinsella, Eileen (November 18, 2021). "Building on the Appeal of Lower-Priced Online Sales, Zwirner Launches an Editions Company to Publish Artists' Prints". ARTnews. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  23. ^ Christopher Gangemi (30 December 2021), An Artists’ Retreat on Lake Montauk? The East Hampton Star.
  24. ^ Shanti Escalante-De Mattei (4 January 2022), David Zwirner Seeks to Launch Artists’ Retreat in Montauk ARTnews.
  25. ^ Smith, Roberta (November 1, 2001). "A Benefit for 'ers of Art and New York". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  26. ^ Wu, Su (July 16, 2015). "Raymond Pettibon, Richard Prince and More Rally in Support of 826NYC". T Magazine. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  27. ^ 826NYC Art Show: A Limited Edition Catalog. McSweeney's Publishing. August 28, 2007. ISBN 978-1-932416-80-0.
  28. ^ Melanie Grayce West. Artists Rally to Raise Scholarship Funds, The Wall Street Journal, March 10, 2011.
  29. ^ Judd Tully, "Ben Stiller and David Zwirner Exult as Christie's Star-Packed Artists for Haiti Sale Tops $13 Million," Art Info, September 23, 2011
  30. ^ "THE STILLER FOUNDATION". THE STILLER FOUNDATION. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  31. ^ "Unframed 2014". Acria. Archived from the original on January 21, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  32. ^ Angela Ashman, "Going Once, Going Twice...," Village Voice, May 20, 2008 [1] Archived 2014-06-02 at the Wayback Machine
  33. ^ "Friends With Benefits: Sales From an Exhibition Aid the Foundation for Contemporary Arts". ARTnews. December 12, 2016. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  34. ^ Nayeri, Farah (April 27, 2018). "Art gallery owner David Zwirner proposes 'tax' on large galleries at art fairs". CNBC. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  35. ^ International Council Museum Berggruen.
  36. ^ Higgins, Charlotte; writer, chief arts (October 17, 2012). "ArtReview's Power 100 list reveals art-world battle for supremacy". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  37. ^ Noer, Michael. "America's Most Powerful Art Dealers". Forbes magazine. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  38. ^ "The Most Influential People in the Art World Today". The Observer. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
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