Upper East Side gallery Van Doren Waxter will officially merge with its Lower East Side affiliate 11R gallery, artnet News has learned.
The combined entity will encompass existing uptown (23 East 73rd Street) and downtown (195 Chrystie Street) locations, with the gallery retaining the name of Van Doren Waxter. John Van Doren and Dorsey Waxter will serve as principals, with 11R founder Augusto Arbizo becoming a partner of the gallery, along with Elizabeth Sadeghi.
The logistical changes associated with the merger include letting go the smaller of two spaces at 195 Chrystie Street this summer, while continuing to operate out of a new, larger space at that address. Uptown, at 23 East 73rd Street, the gallery has added a third-floor space, in addition to the ground floor and second floor. Van Doren Waxter will now occupy three floors on 73rd Street.
“I have worked with John Van Doren and Dorsey Waxter in various capacities since 1998, starting as an assistant, and it has been a very unique professional experience to grow and collaborate with them.” Arbizo told artnet News via email. “I’m excited to have the opportunity to exhibit historically pertinent artists such as Alan Shields, Hedda Sterne, and Harvey Quaytman downtown, alongside the artists that 11R has championed over the past 10 years.”
Van Doren echoed Arbizo’s enthusiasm. He told artnet News: “We are thrilled to take advantage of the success of our program on the Lower East Side and combine it with the expanding market for living artists on the Upper East Side.” Van Doren added that the legacy of American abstraction that has been the foundation of Van Doren Waxter “will be enhanced by the addition of the next generation of artists.”
The galleries have collaborated on past shows, including a two-venue uptown/downtown show of painter Jackie Saccoccio in 2015, titled “Degree of Tilt.” Arbizo said “we plan to build on this by doing shows of living artists uptown, and historic shows downtown.”
The gallery plans to initiate collective programming in September 2017 with exhibitions of historic material by Richard Diebenkorn, Moira Dryer, and Hedda Sterne; and shows of new works by contemporary artists Evan Nesbit, Marsha Cottrell, and Ishmael Randall Weeks. Arbizo said the combined program “will place emphasis on a cross-generational narrative, placing contemporary artists who are actively creating new work, within the context of historically important artists.”
Van Doren Waxter was founded on the Upper East Side in 2013 as the partnership of John Van Doren and Dorsey Waxter, who had worked together for over 15 years on 57th Street. The gallery focuses on postwar American Art and represents the James Brooks Foundation, the Richard Diebenkorn Foundation, the Harvey Quaytman Trust, the Alan Shields Estate, the Hedda Sterne Foundation, and the works on paper of the Al Held Foundation, as well as being active in the secondary market.
11R opened in 2007 in NYC’s Lower East Side, near the New Museum, and is a partnership between Augusto Arbizo and John Van Doren; 11R exhibits and represents emerging and international artists including Marsha Cottrell, TM Davy, Jeronimo Elespe, Volker Huller, Jackie Saccoccio, and Mika Tajima, among others.