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James Cohan Gallery

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James Cohan
Map
Established1999
Location
  • 48 Walker Street (Tribeca)
  • 52 Walker Street (Tribeca)
  • 291 Grand Street (Lower East Side)
TypeArt gallery
FounderJames and Jane Cohan
Websitejamescohan.com

James Cohan is a contemporary art gallery co-founded by James and Jane Cohan in 1999, which operates spaces in the Manhattan, New York neighborhoods of Tribeca and the Lower East Side.[1][2][3]

Locations

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James Cohan has had six primary locations in its history: an initial space on West 57th Street in Manhattan (1999–2002);[4] a subsequent space at West 26th Street in Chelsea (2002–summer 2019);[1] a second location in Shanghai, China (2008–15);[5][6][4] a third satellite space at 291 Grand Street in the Lower East Side (November 2015–19; 2023–present);[7][2] a new main space relocation to Tribeca at 48 Walker Street (September 2019–present);[1][8][9] and a second Tribeca space at 52 Walker Street (October 2021–present).[10]

History

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James Cohan began his career as an art dealer after moving to New York from Cleveland in the 1980s with his wife Jane.[9][11] He worked for over a decade, becoming the director of the John Weber Gallery and the Paula Cooper Gallery in SoHo, before working for Anthony d'Offay Gallery in London for most of the 1990s.[12][9][11] His first exposure to art dealing came as a child through his uncle, the late Carl Solway, who operated a (still active) gallery for avant-garde work for over fifty years in Cincinnati, Ohio.[13][12]

James and Jane Cohan founded their gallery In the fall of 1999 on West 57th Street with a show of late-1970s "photopieces" by the London-based collaborative duo Gilbert and George, followed by exhibitions featuring Robert Smithson and Trenton Doyle Hancock.[14][4][11][15] The gallery moved to West 26th Street in Chelsea in 2002, where it represented a roster that included Chinese-American painter Yun-Fei Ji,[16] British sculptor Richard Long,[12] British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare,[17] painter Fred Tomaselli,[18] video artist Bill Viola,[19] and Chinese conceptualist Xu Zhen,[20] among others.

In 2008, James Cohan opened a second space in Shanghai, China in a 1936 Art Deco villa once occupied by the military in the city's French Concession.[21][5][6] Directed by Arthur Solway, the gallery sought to introduce American and European contemporary art to Chinese audiences and Chinese artists to the Cohan's New York programming.[7][21] The Shanghai location operated through 2015.[4][7]

The gallery opened a third, satellite branch in November 2015 in a former fish market at 291 Grand Street in the Lower East Side neighborhood.[2][7] Directed by David Norr (formerly senior curator at the Wexner Center and MOCA Cleveland),[22][3] the space was inaugurated with an exhibition of Robert Smithson's seldom-seen Pop works created between 1961 through 1964.[7][23]

In September 2019, James Cohan Gallery relocated its main location Chelsea to Tribeca, in a new 9,000-square-foot, two-level space at 50 Walker Street.[1][8][9] It was inaugurated with an exhibition of Josiah McElheny's work, largely focused on glass, reflection optics and the nocturnal.[24][25] The gallery opened an additional Tribeca space in October 2021 at 52 Walker Street.[10]

In 2024, James Cohan joined with five other Manhattan art galleries—Bortolami, Kaufmann Repetto, Anton Kern, Andrew Kreps and Kurimanzutto—in the collaborative purchase of a 78,000-square-foot abandoned school and its surrounding land in Columbia County, N.Y., outside Hudson; the site was inaugurated as a new collective art space called "The Campus" in June 2024.[26][27]

Artists

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In 2003, Observer described the gallery's programming approach as eclectic, with "a flair for presenting off-beat, curiously titled theme exhibitions that combine serious, established avant-garde artists of the past with attention-getting newer artists."[12] Noting the mix of artists on the gallery's roster in 2018, ARTnews wrote that it suggested "a policy of inclusivity."[28][6]

While in its Chelsea location in the 2000s, the gallery showed work by Yun-Fei Ji,[16] video artist Hiraki Sawa,[29] Yinka Shonibare,[17] the collaborative duo Simon Evans,[30] Japanese animation artist Tabaimo,[31] marquetry artist Alison Elizabeth Taylor,[32] Fred Tomaselli,[18] Bill Viola[19] and Xu Zhen,[20] among others.

In the 2010s, the gallery began representing sculptor Kathy Butterly,[33] conceptual artists Spencer Finch, Michelle Grabner and Katie Paterson,[34][35][36] painters Federico Herrero, Byron Kim, Mernet Larsen, the late Lee Mullican and Scott Olson,[37][38][22][39][40] Josiah McElheny,[41] Vietnamese art collective The Propeller Group,[42] Matthew Ritchie and Ethiopian artist Elias Sime.[43] In 2017, an exhibit by Omer Fast generated controversy when a coalition of Asian-American groups entered and protested, making claims involving orientalism, gentrification, colonialism and stereotypes of Chinatown aesthetics.[28][44][45] In a statement, Fast wrote that in re-creating the appearance of the building before the gallery moved in, he sought to heighten "the tension between appearance and essence" of the immigrant experience, which he related to his own as an Israel-born naturalized American.[28]

Since moving to Tribeca, the gallery has begun to represent sculptors Alexandre da Cunha and Kennedy Yanko,[46] the late Iranian artist Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian,[47] Delhi-based artist Gauri Gill,[10] conceptualist Teresa Margolles,[48] painters Kelly Sinnapah Mary, Jesse Mockrin, Eamon Ore-Giron, Kaloki Nyamai and Naudline Pierre,[49][50][51][52][53] interdisciplinary artists Christopher Myers and Tuan Andrew Nguyen,[54][55] textile artist Jordan Nassar[56] and Diane Simpson.[57]

References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to James Cohan Gallery.
  1. ^ a b c d Armstrong, Annie. "James Cohan Gallery’s Flagship Chelsea Space Will Move to Tribeca in September 2019," ARTnews, November 30, 2018. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Sheets, Hilarie M. "James Cohan Gallery Expands to Lower East Side," The New York Times, July 30, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Selvin, Claire and Tessa Solomon. "ARTnews in Brief," ARTnews, May 10, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d Sayej, Nadja. "James Cohan Celebrates 20 Years As a Gallerist," Forbes, November 13, 2019. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Artforum. "Shanghai Site For James Cohan Gallery," News, June 10, 2008. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Pollack, Barbara. "The Chinese Art Explosion," ARTnews, March 3, 2014. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d e Munro, Cait. "James Cohan Gallery’s Lower East Side Outpost Will Cater to Hip Art Patrons," Artnet, July 31, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  8. ^ a b Heinrich, Will. "TriBeCa, the New Art Stroll," The New York Times, September 18, 2019. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  9. ^ a b c d Kinsella, Eileen. "Chased Out of Chelsea? Try Tribeca! Why Midsize Art Dealers See a Better Future in Robert De Niro’s Backyard," Artnet, December 18, 2018. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c Fateman, Johanna. "Gauri Gill," The New Yorker, October 22, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c Tribeca Citizen. "New Kid on the Block: James Cohan gallery," October 24, 2019. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  12. ^ a b c d Vincent, Glyn. "Can a Nice Guy Finish First In an Icy Art Market?" Observer, February 10, 2003. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  13. ^ Desmarais, Charles. "Carl Solway, Dealer Who Welcomed the Avant-Garde in Cincinnati, Is Dead at 85," ARTnews, June 26, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  14. ^ Frieze. James Cohan. Gallery. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  15. ^ Smith, Roberta. "Trenton Doyle Hancock: The Legend is in Trouble," The New York Times, July 13, 2001. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Frankel, David. "Yun-Fei Ji at James Cohan Gallery," Artforum, March 2007. p. 315–16. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  17. ^ a b Hirsch, Faye. "Yinka Shonibare at James Cohan," Art in America, June 2008, cover, p. 189.
  18. ^ a b Cotter, Holland. "'The Heavenly Tree Grows Downward' – Selected Works by Harry Smith, Philip Taaffe and Fred Tomaselli," The New York Times, September 9, 2002. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  19. ^ a b Frankel, David. "Bill Viola," Artforum, December 2000. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  20. ^ a b Cash, Stephanie. "Xu Zhen at James Cohan Gallery," Art in America, March 2008, p. 57.
  21. ^ a b Tinari, Philip. "Shanghai Express," Artforum, July 18, 2008. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  22. ^ a b Ghorashi, Hannah. "James Cohan Gallery Now Represents Mernet Larsen," ARTnews, November 11, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  23. ^ Fateman, Johanna. "Robert Smithson," Artforum, December 4, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  24. ^ Scott, Andrea. "Josiah McElheny," The New Yorker, September 23, 2019.
  25. ^ Volk, Gregory. "The Cosmic Vessels of an Adventurous Glass Artist," Hyperallergic. October 12, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  26. ^ van Straaten, Laura. "An Abandoned School Becomes a Canvas for Art Galleries," The New York Times, May 8, 2024. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  27. ^ Goussakian, Elena. "Six galleries turning a school in upstate New York into a collective art space," The Art Newspaper, May 10, 2024. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  28. ^ a b c Burke, Harry. "Issues and Commentary: Here to Stay," ARTnews, March 1, 2018. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  29. ^ Johnson, Ken. "Hiraki Sawa," The New York Times, May 26, 2006. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  30. ^ Landers, Sean. "Meeting of Minds: Simon Evans puts five questions to Sean Landers," Art + Auction, February 2009.
  31. ^ Miki, Akiko. "Tabaimo," Tema Celeste, May/June 2003, p. 50–55.
  32. ^ Armetta, Amoreen. "Alison Elizabeth Taylor," Artforum, June 9, 2008. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  33. ^ Greenberger, Alex. "James Cohan Gallery Now Represents Kathy Butterly and Grace Weaver," ARTnews, November 29, 2017. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  34. ^ Sheets, Hilarie M. "Spencer Finch’s Art Makes Light Speak Volumes," ARTnews, June 18, 2014. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  35. ^ Pollack, Barbara. "Meet the Artist Who’s Co-Curating the Whitney Biennial," ARTnews, March 3, 2014. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  36. ^ Miller, M.H.. "Margaret Atwood Joins Katie Paterson’s Public Art Project, ‘Future Library’," ARTnews, September 5, 2014. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  37. ^ Sayej, Nadja. "Federico Herrero's Paintings Are Poems In Space," Forbes, February 18, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  38. ^ Hudson, Suzanne. "Byron Kim," Artforum, January 31, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  39. ^ Greenberger, Alex. "James Cohan Gallery Now Represents the Estate of Lee Mullican," ARTnews, December 13, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  40. ^ Leydier, Richard. "Scott Olson: Harmonida Mundi," Artpress, September 2017.
  41. ^ Greenberger, Alex. "James Cohan Gallery Now Represents Josiah McElheny," ARTnews, February 26, 2018. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  42. ^ Ghorashi, Hannah. "The Propeller Group Goes To James Cohan Gallery," ARTnews, April 22, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  43. ^ Cotter, Holland. "Elias Sime Recycles Discarded Objects Into Abstract Works," The New York Times, October 2, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  44. ^ Sayej, Nadja. "New York's Chinatown Hits Back at Omer Fast's 'Poverty Porn' Art Exhibition," The Guardian, October 20, 2017. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  45. ^ Fuchs, Chris. "Chinatown Activists Criticize Art Installation Called 'Racist,' 'Poverty Porn'," NBC News, October 19, 2017. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  46. ^ Valentine, Victoria L. "Kennedy Yanko Is Working with Two New Galleries," Culture Type, June 14, 2024. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  47. ^ Ehsan, Pari. "A Love Letter to Artist Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian," Cultured, February 17, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  48. ^ Breyer, Susan. "Teresa Margolles: El asesinato cambia el mundo/Assassination changes the world," The Brooklyn Rail, February 2020. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  49. ^ Valentine, Victoria L. "Kelly Sinnapah Mary Joins James Cohan," Culture Type, March 10, 2024. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  50. ^ Bravo, Arthur Ivan. "Outside LA: Jesse Mockrin," Artillery, Oct 18, 2023. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  51. ^ Calderón, Barbara. "Eamon Ore-Girón: The Symmetry of Tears," The Brooklyn Rail, May 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  52. ^ Aton, Francesca. "Seven Tribeca Shows to Catch This Week: Kaloki Nyamai at James Cohan," ARTnews, May 1, 2024. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  53. ^ Volk, Gregory. "Ascending Into the Realm of Naudline Pierre's Mystical Paintings," Hyperallergic. June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  54. ^ Valentine, Victoria L. "Latest News in Black Art Christopher Myers Now Repped by James Cohan Gallery," Culture Type, June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  55. ^ Wong, Harley. "Tuan Andrew Nguyen’s Mystical Art Brings People In Touch With Lost Ancestors," ARTnews, April 8, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  56. ^ Fateman, Johanna. "Jordan Nassar," The New Yorker, November 6, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  57. ^ Heinrich, Will. "What to See: Diane Simpson," The New York Times, February 21, 2024. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
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