13 Sep 2013

NY Gallerist Pavel Zoubok to review ArtVetting ROUND 9

Pavel Zoubok opened his first gallery in New York in 1997. Fifteen years later, it is still the only gallery in the country with a primary focus on collage, assemblage and mixed-media installation. From the outset, the gallery's program has presented both contemporary and modern works in an effort to establish a cohesive art historical context for Collage and its related forms, spanning most of the major art movements of the postwar period. While the primary market has always been the driving force of the program, represented by a diverse group of gallery artists (including Mark Wagner, Vanessa German, Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt, Donna Sharrett and Lance Letscher), the gallery maintains an inventory of works by important proponents of the medium, including Hannelore Baron, Joe Brainard, Joseph Cornell, Al Hansen, Ray Johnson, Jiri Kolar, Mimmo Rotella, Anne Ryan, Jacques Villeglé and David Wojnarowicz.

Since the gallery's 2004 relocation from the Upper East Side to a ground floor space in the heart of Chelsea and subsequent expansion to a sprawling new space at 531 West 26th Street in 2013, the program has continued to evolve. Pavel Zoubok Gallery regularly publishes exhibition catalogues, collaborating with numerous scholars and critics including Alexander Andersen, Dan Cameron, Edward Gomez, Robert Hobbs, Charlotta Kotik, Carlo McCormick, Robert Rosenblum and Dickran Tashjian. Museum associations have included Wadsworth Atheneum of Art, Brooklyn Museum, Katonah Museum of Art, New Britain Museum of American Art, Newark Museum, Norton Museum of Art, and others. In addition to its stated focus, the gallery also maintains a tangential but related interest in Surrealism, acquiring and placing works by artists such as Max Ernst, Yves Tanguy, Roberto Matta, George Hugnet, Kay Sage and Stella Snead. In 2009, Pavel Zoubok Gallery was made a member of the ADAA (Art Dealer's Association of America).

In a March 2011 interview in The Paris Review on the occasion of curating the magazine's art portfolio, Zoubok spoke about the power of showing art in a vibrant, evolving arts-centric neighborhood like Chelsea. 'One of the things I like about being in Chelsea is that people will actually come in off the street. I don't put on the wall whether the artist being shown is an older artist, a younger artist, a dead artist. I find that unless somebody takes the time to read the press release or checklist, they don't necessarily register whether the work is contemporary or not. I'm often struck by how surprised people are that a mature artist made such a work, because it seems so fresh to them today. Some of that is the context: they see it in a Chelsea gallery, in a white box, with a cement floor, lit in a certain way. Suddenly it becomes something else.'

ABOUT ARTVETTING.COM
Artvetting.com is introducing a new concept to the art world. An online forum where artists can access some of the critical market makers and taste makers who appreciate and understand the subtle workings that comprise the business of the art world. Each month we invite artists to register ($20 fee to cover costs) and upload five samples of their work plus a CV and 250 word artist statement. From these submissions we curate a group of ten artists who will be vetted by an art world professional.

• Round One was vetted by Hudson, owner of Feature Inc., on Manhattan's Lower East Side
• Round Two was vetted by Isaac Lyles from Derek Eller Gallery.
• Round Three had vetting from Brian Clamp, gallerist and owner of Clampart in New York City
• Round Four was vetted by Susan Inglett, gallerist, print publisher and art fair founder
• Round Five was vetted by Adrianne Rubenstein, gallery director at James Fuentes Gallery on NYC's Lower East Side
• Round Six was vetted by Photi Giovanis owner of Callicoon Fine Arts in NYC
• Round Seven was vetted by Meg Malloy from Sikkema Jenkins & Co.
• Round Eight was vetted by ArtVetting's Lis Ivers and Dan Peyton