Joseph Nahmad is the latest member of the London-branch of the Nahmad art dynasty to launch a gallery. His new contemporary art space, set to open on June 9, will be named Nahmad Projects.
Located at 2 Cork Street—where his older brother Helly had his gallery before moving to St. James last year—Nahmad Projects is the first commercial art venture of 27-year-old Joseph. The young scion joined forces with 26-year old Tommaso Calabro, who met the family while working at Sotheby’s, where he coordinated projects at the London and Milan branches of the auction house.
“We are thrilled to be launching this ambitious new venture and hope it will bring something fresh and inspirational to Mayfair,” Joseph said in a statement. “For our opening project we will have the privilege of collaborating with an internationally renowned curator and are looking forward to a mesmerizing experience.”
The release, at this stage, doesn’t give any details as to which curators and artists will be involved in the inaugural exhibition, but a press representative told artnet News that the program will feature young and emerging artists with a keen focus on multidisciplinary art, including performances and site-specific art installations, and that Joseph will work mainly in the primary market.
Joseph Nahmad (Left) and Tommaso Calabro.
Photo: Nick Harvey. Courtesy Nahmad Projects.
The young Nahmad is clearly seeking to differentiate the approach of his brainchild from that of the blue-chip galleries that will be his neighbors in the Mayfair area—including Hauser & Wirth, Pace Gallery, Sadie Coles HQ, and Blain Southern—which represent more established artists.
Interestingly, Joseph also seems to want to carve a niche for himself which will be different to—and more emerging than—the professional remits of his relatives, who tend to focus on the secondary market.
His brother Helly, for example, deals in works by modern giants like Alexander Calder, Joan Miró, and Jean Dubuffet (his “Asylum” presentation, focused on Dubuffet, was in fact a favorite at the latest edition of Frieze Masters).
Across the pond, in New York, his cousin, also named Helly, has specialized in Impressionist and modern legends, including Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Henri Rousseau, Francis Bacon, Robert Delaunay, and Balthus.
Meanwhile, his younger New York-based cousin, Joe, launched Nahmad Contemporary in 2011, a secondary market gallery that has staged exhibitions from a varied group of established artists, from Odilon Redon and Joan Miró to Richard Prince and John Chamberlain.