The start of each new season in New York is typically marked by the unveiling of a series of high-profile exhibitions. This year, however, art dealer Jack Shainman seized the spotlight with the opening of his stunning new venue in the historic Clock Tower Building at 46 Lafayette Street in Downtown Tribeca. A former bank adorned with lavish Beaux-Arts details, the space is an architectural gem, but it took three years of negotiations and renovations to bring this ambitious project to life—a bold move in a market navigating a period of recalibration, with galleries shuttering across the city. “If someone had told me at the beginning how hard and lengthy the process was going to be, I’m not sure I would have done it,” Shainman tells Observer. “It has been like highs and lows, you can’t imagine, but I knew it was going to be worth it.”
At the launch, gallery real-estate power player Jonathan Travis recalled that no one seemed to know what to do with the massive 20,000-square-foot space—it was even floated as a potential restaurant at one point. But from the start, Shainman saw something else. With its soaring twenty-nine-foot-high coffered ceilings, arched windows and stately white marble columns, the space practically demanded large-scale installations and ambitious exhibitions. In other words, the kind of museum-caliber presentations that define Shainman’s roster. “I was seduced by the space,” he says. “We’ve been looking for somewhere with that kind of volume so that it could also keep up with the ambitions of many of the artists.”
Just days after first seeing the space, Shainman brought in one of his top artists, Nick Cave. “He and his partner came early on to New York, and I showed them the space. They were so blown away. Nick and I looked at each other like we just knew that he had to be the first show.” Now, Cave’s monumental sculpture commands the main gallery hall—the latest and most towering iteration of his iconic Soundsuits series, standing twenty-six feet tall in bronze. Originally conceived in response to the brutal beating of Rodney King by police in 1991, the series takes on new dimensions in this piece, which fuses a cast of the artist’s own body with flowers, birds and vegetal elements. The statue resists categorization by race, gender or class, inviting viewers to engage with a hybrid, fluid being free of preconceived judgment. At the same time, it suggests a state of organic metamorphosis and evolution.
Titled Amalgam (Origin), the sculpture is a powerful statement on rebirth, regeneration and transformation—an emblem of resilience, even in times of destruction and despair, much like the cycles of nature it evokes. “It was an opportunity for Nick to realize a vision he had been talking about for years. It took a long time—he had been working on it while we were working on the space,” Shainman says. “Nick’s work has so much resonance, and it talks to so many people. At this moment in our history, to bring something like that into New York that is both celebratory, apprehensive and looking back, but also future thinking, is a life dream for me.”
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Cave is also debuting his newest series, Graphts, a collection of mixed media assemblages in which, for the first time, he introduces a recognizable self. Needlepoint portraits of the artist emerge among lush fields of florals and bursts of color, all meticulously constructed from vintage serving trays. In these works, he deepens his ongoing interrogation of self-representation within societal standards, biases and stereotypes, vulnerably “serving” his own image—until now only indirectly evoked in his work—through a deliberate engagement with the cultural and political weight of his materials. The contrast between the refinement of upper-class needlework and the utilitarian patchwork traditions born out of necessity within Black communities adds yet another layer of meaning.
Shainman has a long history of supporting Cave’s most ambitious projects. Over the pandemic, the artist’s 160-foot-long text-based wall piece Truth Be Told became the center of controversy when it was installed on the facade of Shainman’s upstate space, The School. Local officials claimed that the work was, in fact, a “sign” and that it violated building codes, demanding its immediate removal. “It became this whole thing about the art and the meaning,” Shainman recalls. “The funniest thing was that when we were putting it up, it was just a few days before the previous elections.” Fiercely defending the work as an exercise of free speech, Shainman refused to back down, despite the village’s code enforcement officer, Peter Bujanow, threatening him with a $200 fine for every day it remained on view. “I never laughed so hard. My contractor friend called to ask what we were doing over there and whether we were putting up a Trump sign.” He pauses, then drives home the point: “It’s important—art needs to mean something and be about something.”
Over his four-decade career—dating back to the opening of his first gallery in D.C. in 1984— Shainman has never hesitated to step up in defense of the artists he believes in, no matter the scale of their ambition. For him, this has always been a key factor in identifying artistic talent and perspective. More than technique or mastery, Shainman sees a great idea as the most essential element of an artwork. An artist’s personality and story, he believes, are just as critical in shaping its relevance. “Ideas are important along with the actual art,” he says. “A work needs to have a soul. It has to mean something.”
Though Shainman has moved more quietly in recent years compared to the mega-galleries, his roster speaks for itself. The gallery represents some of the most significant Black artists of our time—Barkley L. Hendricks, Kerry James Marshall, Rose B. Simpson, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye and Nick Cave, to name just a few. While he now relies on a tight team of directors and staff, he remains deeply involved with his artists, supporting them throughout their careers—from their early debuts to the major institutional shows many are commanding today. “If you take on an artist, you really have to believe in the work 100 percent and be ready to defend it and stand by it, promote it, push their practice and support them. It’s a true commitment.”
The gallery has always prioritized institutional recognition for its artists, but sales remain crucial. “It’s always a mix,” Shainman says, acknowledging the financial realities that come with sustaining a career in an expensive city like New York. Artists need to support their studios, their families and, in some cases, their high-cost lifestyles. Still, he emphasizes that maintaining long-term relationships in the art world hinges on communication—a factor he credits for retaining the loyalty and respect of his artists, even when they have joined major galleries like David Zwirner. “I try to understand the goals of my artists so we can be aligned, all of us. With all my directors and the artists, we work as a team to do the best for the artist and the work.”
Passion has always been a driving force for Shainman, ever since his first encounter with art at The Clark Art Institute while growing up in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where his father was part of the art faculty at the local university. From that early experience, the future dealer carried with him a deep appreciation for Old Masters, which he continues to collect and seeks to integrate more meaningfully into his contemporary program. This vision has already been tested at The School, his 30,000-square-foot exhibition space in a converted former high school in Kinderhook, New York, which he opened in 2014 to host museum-quality exhibitions. The space debuted with a solo show by Nick Cave, followed by landmark presentations of Golden Lion winner El Anatsui and, more recently, Nina Chanel Abney, as well as an exhibition focused on Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol. The School was itself the result of Shainman “dreaming big,” an answer to the logistical challenge of presenting large-scale works that couldn’t be properly shown in his New York galleries. “I work with artists that do work on a large scale, so the school gave an opportunity to have a space to show those works and put them up as in a gallery,” he explains. “It’s not about me. It’s about the artists and having the type of space to do things that are really exciting.”
During our conversation, it becomes clear that the legendary gallerist has no shortage of curatorial ambitions. Curation remains one of his favorite parts of the job, and he is currently developing a large-scale exhibition across multiple locations exploring spirituality in art. The show will create dialogues between Old Masters and contemporary works, adopting a transhistorical and transcultural approach. “It’s a show I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I’m trying to go back as far as possible for examples and then forward into the present and contemporary art. Sometimes juxtaposing, sometimes inviting artists to respond to more historical works.”
For now, Shainman has no plans to close his Chelsea space. “After 26 years, it’s like home—despite the fact we have to pay the rent, or we are out,” he says, laughing. “It works well for us, and not all the artists can take over the new space easily.” The gallery is shifting toward longer-running exhibitions, a response to the changing pace of the market. “It’s kind of a different rhythm. By extending the exhibitions, we’re kind of opening things up a lot more.” Post-pandemic, he adds, people’s lives seem even busier than before—travel, illness, and competing commitments mean that with only a five-week duration, many miss shows entirely.
Shainman acknowledges that this shift might not be the most financially strategic move, but it aligns with his commitment to organic, quality-centered programming, even as the gallery prepares to host even more ambitious museum-level exhibitions in its new venue. The scale of this operation has undeniably put pressure on the seasoned dealer, particularly given that building costs have never been higher and the market has slowed over the past year.
Still, Shainman remains steadfast in his belief in the industry’s resilience. “I found myself drawn to the art world so many years ago for its ability to advance, develop, and grow with the times. To this day, that innate characteristic of the art system hasn’t changed, and it’s always poignant to see how it reflects our sociopolitical, economic, and creative times,” he reflects. When asked about the dramatic evolution of the art market since he founded his gallery and where he sees it headed amid the current uncertainties, his response is one of measured optimism. “My hope is that it continues to evolve with all the artists, industry builders, and viewers; there is always so much more it can do, and I know I’ll find myself so gratified to have been a part of it.”
Shainman remains optimistic and energized about everything ahead for his landmark new destination gallery—especially with early sales already helping offset the monumental investment. The $2 million double sale of Amalgam (an edition of eight), placed with Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, is a promising start toward recouping the $18.2 million he has poured into the venue, according to figures published by Artnet News. “I’m really thrilled. We’ve had like, record numbers of people coming, and the response has been just really good,” he says. “You know, if we knew everything, maybe life wouldn’t be as fun. When there’s a lot of risk, that’s when it gets fun.”
For Shainman, the formula for success has never changed: stay true to his artists and invest in their careers, above all else. “First and foremost, you have to believe in the work. However, our modus operandi has always centered itself on the long-term relationships we can create with them,” he says. Reflecting on the impact of opening his largest flagship to date, he adds, “Something I’ve come to learn through opening our newest and largest flagship is that it truly intertwines with what our artists need to evolve creatively and in an environment that moves with such speed and excitement.”
It’s a space built not just as a business venture but as a platform that can fully match the scale of his artists’ ambitions and talents. “Ultimately, if you can find a way to always return to what makes your artists’ practice grow, you’ll continually find that the art system stays true to the art itself.”
Nick Cave’s “Amalgams and Graphts“ is on view at Jack Shainman Gallery through March 29.
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