Vanessa Carlos is at it again. The young gallerist who brought us Condo London in 2016, and expanded the initiative to New York this year, plans to bring iterations to Shanghai and Mexico City in 2018. Lorraine Malingue of Edouard Malingue Gallery has been tipped to head the Shanghai edition.
The gallery-share model initiated by Carlos, in which galleries temporarily share their spaces with foreign dealers, sometimes collaborating on exhibitions, has been a great way of giving collectors access to foreign market offerings, and allows galleries to mitigate the costs engendered by spiraling overheads.
From the outset, Carlos had planned to develop the initiative in Europe, North America, Latin America, and Asia. The second edition of Condo in London wrapped in January, while the first edition of Condo New York closes this week after a successful debut.
The New York iteration was directed by Simone Subal (of Simone Subal Gallery) and Nicole Russo (of Chapter NY) and Carlos participated as a visiting gallery (hosted by Bureau) and “really enjoyed it,” she told artnet News. “I sold an installation to a wonderful new client which is always an added bonus,” she added.
Vanessa Carlos, director of the gallery Carlos/Ishikawa. Photo Jackson Bateman.
Speaking to artnet News of the New York iteration, Carlos said: “It had the same communal atmosphere as the London edition, which was important to me, and it definitely achieved the aim I have for Condo of demonstrating an alternate way of exhibiting abroad, of focusing of collaboration and of proposing a good way for audience members to encounter international artists and galleries.”
The galleries who led Condo in New York were autonomous in how they put the project together, but were connected to the network in London, which Carlos said they utilized “really well,” adding, “The same goes for the other two iterations we’re developing in Shanghai and Mexico City.”
But Shanghai and Mexico City are just the beginning, as Carlos confessed she wants to see the Condo model spread far and wide, under the same banner or even new ones:
“Several other cities have approached me about developing Condo, and where I don’t think it makes sense for the project I’ve been encouraging of them developing their own version and am happy to assist in any way I can,” she explained.