Art dealer Matthew Brown smiles for the camera at a bar in Miami.
Matthew Brown in Miami. Photo by Annie Armstrong.

Every week, Artnet News brings you Wet Paint, a gossip column of original scoops. If you have a tip, email Annie Armstrong at aarmstrong@artnet.com.

MATTHEW BROWN COMES TO TOWN

At last, it is official. The papers have been signed, and Los Angeles dealer Matthew Brown is now bicoastal. After months of rumors, Brown has secured a lease on the ground-floor space on Broadway in Tribeca that formerly housed Jasmin Tsou‘s taste-making gallery JTT, which shuttered last year.

Brown, who can be a bit elusive, confirmed the expansion to me by phone but declined to comment. It is not clear when the new location will open, but this much is certain: he is looking for a gallery manager.

Brown’s decision to hang out a shingle on the Eastern seaboard marks an important new chapter in his meteoric ascent, which began in 2019, when he started his L.A. gallery at the ripe age of 23. His roster currently includes hot names like Sedrick Chisom, Kenturah Davis, and former JTT artist Dan Herschlein.

Two years ago, I profiled Brown as a “breakout star,” writing about how he cultivated an aura as a somewhat mysterious boy wonder among his colleagues on the Golden Coast. Since then, I’ve seen him hanging out in New York far more often than Los Angeles, presumably to see two key people in his life: one, his fiancée Marlene Zwirner, daughter of dealer-kingpin David, as well as his longtime friend and real estate agent, the wizard of Tribeca, Jonathan Travis. (As you may recall, Travis connected Brown to one of his breakout artists, Sasha Gordon, who just had her first museum solo show at the ICA Miami.)

“It was a rare bird in that he didn’t have to go in and start from scratch,” Travis told me of the space at 390 Broadway. “One of the differentiators between that space and most others in the neighborhood is that because Jasmin had been there previously, it had already been renovated recently. That block has become a really strong block.”

It really feels like Tribeca has the Cadillac of publicists, doesn’t it? I’ll spare you another trend story on how the neighborhood has grown since the pandemic lowered prices for commercial space, but I will note that Alexander Gray and Marian Goodman have both recently opened on the same block as Brown’s new outpost, and James Fuentes just moved in around the corner. These days, more invites go out for gallery dinners at the Odeon than for Indochine, Sant Ambroseus,  and the Chelsea Hotel combined.

Welcome to the neighborhood, Matthew!

THE REAL HOUSEWIVES DEVELOP A TASTE FOR ART

Racquel Chevremont attends Tribeca Ball to benefit New York Academy of Art at New York Academy of Art on April 9, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images).

Here at Wet Paint HQ (my living room), we (my dog and I) love to see an art celebrity blossom into a real, bonafide on-screen celebrity. While I have not been a viewer of The Real Housewives of New York in the past, that is about to change, as I’ve learned that they’re getting a new cast member from the art world: none other than Racquel Chevremont, the advisor/curator/collector/model who was previously engaged to artist Mickalene Thomas, her partner for over a decade. 

Chevremont could not be reached for comment, but the news was confirmed by the TV gossip blog Bravo and Cocktails. And she already seems to be getting along nicely with her cast-mates: a quick look at her profile in the BFA photo archives shows that she’s been hanging out with Jenna Lyons lately, attending a dinner for Gisele Bündchen at Indochine. Also, Sai De Silva has been commenting on her Instagram: “Yasssss it’s giving 🔥.” (Looking forward to more of that as I familiar myself with the show!)

I will be keeping an eye out for camera crews at openings, and I hope to spot many of you on the show in the background.

WE HEAR 

The infamous art dealer-turned-felon Inigo Philbrick is out of prison, and has posted some eerily wholesome photos of his family to the ‘gram… Finally, the United States has the opportunity to have a vice president with a pedigree from the esteemed Sloomoo Institute…  Something to keep an eye on: Gagosian is hosting an Oscar Murillo show at its space in Rome (though the artist is still listed on David Zwirner‘s roster)… Noise rock legends Black Dice wrote a choice press release for New York dealer Meredith Rosen’s new group show, which includes work by them, Anna Jermolaewa, and Steven Parrino… Treasures abound in Julien’s Auction House’s sale of paraphernalia from the Playboy Mansion, including a fittingly horny drawing by Salvador Dalí on the mega cheap… At last, Zackary Drucker’s biopic of Candy Darling has gotten the greenlight, with Hari Nef slated to play the late Warhol superstar… Among the many reasons we have to admire Richard Serra is his history of getting kicked out of the Odeon and then returning…

 

PARTY OF THE WEEK 

Lucien at peak Lucien. Photo by Annie Armstrong.

In a constantly changing world, it is comforting to interact with that which is steady and unchanging. I would like to take this space to recognize the dutiful role that Lucien serves in keeping the art world and the appetites of its luminaries satiated with steak frites and endless people-watching and shoulder-rubbing. 

Last night on First Avenue and First Street, I waltzed over to Old Reliable for dinner with the crew at Ramiken Crucible to celebrate Viennese artist David Takeshi Yoshida and his wonderfully macabre new show “Argust,” which opened earlier that night. Very soon after I arrived, I sent a text: “Lucien is really Luciening.” By this I meant that Gagosian director Lily Mortimer was at a long table in the back, actress Chloë Sevigny was seated ever-so-coolly out front with Hood By Air creative director Leilah Weinraub and artist Aurel Schmidt, party-fixer to the gallery world Julia Cooke was plopping a martini into my hand, and my Wet Paint predecessor, Vanity Fair columnist Nate Freeman, was already shooting oysters at our table with Yoshida, whose show title is a play on how you’re only supposed to eat oysters during months that have an “r” in their name.

As the art world gets nervous about the state of the market, I encourage you to look to Lucien as an economic indicator: As long as drinks are getting poured for the art glitterati, chances are we’re going to come out okay.