2014.08.27.

16:19 Why I Am Leaving Gagosian

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Kenny Schachter 17 March 20, 2012
WHY I AM LEAVING GAGOSIAN
3
(http://1uyxqn3lzdsa2ytyzj1asxmmmpt.wpengine.netdna-
cdn.com/wp-
content/uploads/2012/03/Kenny_Schachter_press.jpeg)Kenny
Schachter is a prominent collector and dealer. But he brilliantly sees the
satire lying right below the surface of Greg Smiths resignation letter
published in the New York Timesfrom Goldman Sachs.
TODAY is my last day at Gagosian Gallery. After almost 12 years at the
gallery first as a summer intern in Los Angeles, then in New York for
10 years, and now in London I believe I have worked here long
enough to understand the trajectory of its culture, its people and its
identity. And I can honestly say that the environment now is as toxic and
destructive as I have ever seen it. 3
To put the problem in the simplest terms, the interests of the collectors
continue to be sidelined in the way the firm operates and thinks about
making money. Gagosian is one of the worlds largest and most
important galleries and it is too integral to the global art market to
continue to act this way. The gallery has veered so far from the place I
joined right out of college that I can no longer in good conscience say
that I identify with what it stands for.
It might sound surprising to a skeptical public, but culture was always a
vital part of Gagosians success. It revolved around teamwork, integrity, a
spirit of humility, and always doing right by our clients. The culture was
the secret sauce that made this place great and allowed us to earn our
clients trust for 33 years. It wasnt just about making money; this alone
will not sustain a gallery for so long. It had something to do with pride and
belief in the organization. 2 I am sad to say that I look around today and
see virtually no trace of the culture that made me love working for this
gallery for many years. I no longer have the pride, or the belief.
But this was not always the case. For more than a decade I recruited and
mentored gallery girls through our grueling interview process. In 2006 I
(http://engine.nectarads.com/r?
e=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&s=nIzP1km56u0UaQ5ZOFdK5toZE4E)
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2014.08.27. 16:19 Why I Am Leaving Gagosian
Page 2 of 4 http://www.artmarketmonitor.com/2012/03/20/why-i-am-leaving-gagosian/?fb_action_ids=10204304360226627&fb_action_types=og.likes
managed the summer intern program in sales in New York for the 20
college students who made the cut, out of the hundreds who applied.
I knew it was time to leave when I realized I could no longer look gallery
girls in the eye and tell them what a great place this was to work. 3
When the history books are written about Gagosian, they may reflect that
Larry Gagosian lost hold of the firms culture on his watch. I truly believe
that this decline in the galleries moral fiber represents the single most
serious threat to its long-run survival.
Over the course of my career I have had the privilege of advising two of
the largest museums on the planet, five of the largest collectors in the
United States, and three of the most prominent ruling families in the
Middle East and Asia. My clients have a total asset base of more than a
trillion dollars. I have always taken a lot of pride in advising my clients to
do what I believe is right for them, even if it means less money for the
gallery. This view is becoming increasingly unpopular at Gagosian.
Another sign that it was time to leave.
How did we get here? The gallery changed the way it thought about
directorships. Leadership used to be about ideas, setting an example and
doing the right thing. Today, if you make enough money for the gallery
(and are not currently an ax murderer) you will be promoted into a
position of influence.
What are three quick ways to become a director? a) Execute on the
firms axes, which is Gogo-speak for persuading your clients to buy art
from our stable that we are trying to get rid of because they are seen as
having a weakening career. b) Hunt Elephants. In English: get your
collectors some of whom are sophisticated, and some of whom arent
to buy whatever will bring the biggest profit to Gogo. Call me old-
fashioned, but I dont like selling my clients art that is wrong for them. c)
Find yourself sitting in a seat where your job is to sell any illiquid, giant,
uncompromising installations and videos by the likes of Mike Kelley.
Today, many of the directors display a Gogosian culture quotient of
exactly zero percent. I attend sales meetings where not one single
minute is spent asking questions about how we can help clients. Its
purely about how we can make the most possible money off of them,
especially the Russians. If you were an alien from Mars and sat in on one
of these meetings, you would believe that a collectors success or
progress in building a significant collection was not part of the thought
process at all.
It makes me ill how callously people talk about ripping their clients off.
Over the last 12 months I have seen five different directors refer to their
own clients as muppets. Vampire Squids? No humility? I mean, come
on. Integrity? It is eroding. I dont know of any illegal behavior, but will
people push the envelope and pitch lucrative, dull and derivative Richard
Princes to clients even if they are not the least bit good? Absolutely.
Every day, in fact.
It astounds me how little Larry G. gets a basic truth: If clients dont trust
you they will eventually stop doing business with you. It doesnt matter
how smart you are.
These days, the most common question I get from junior sales assistants
about Urs Fischer is, How much money did we make off the client? It
bothers me every time I hear it, because it is a clear reflection of what
they are observing from the directors about the way they should behave.
Now project 10 years into the future: You dont have to be a rocket
scientist to figure out that the junior assistant sitting quietly in the corner
of the gallery hearing about muppets, ripping eyeballs out and getting
paid doesnt exactly turn into a model citizen.
ohxSzh1cV6o)
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2014.08.27. 16:19 Why I Am Leaving Gagosian
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When I was a first-year gallerist I didnt know where the bathroom was, or
how to tie my Prada shoes. I was taught to be concerned with learning
the ropes, finding out what a Twombly was, understanding art history,
getting to know our collectors and what motivated them, learning how
they defined great art and what we could do to help them get it.
My proudest moments in life getting a full scholarship to go from
Connecticut to the Sothebys Program, getting a Guggenheim Grant,
winning a bronze medal for color theory at the Maccabiah Games in
Israel 1 , known as the Jewish Olympics have all come through hard
work, with no shortcuts. Gagosian today has become too much about
shortcuts and not enough about achievement and gaining historical
knowledge. It just doesnt feel right to me anymore.
I hope this can be a wake-up call to other gallerists. Make the collector
the focal point of your gallery again. Without clients you will not make
money. In fact, you will not exist. Weed out the morally bankrupt people,
no matter how much money they make for the gallery. And get the
culture right again, so people want to work here for the right reasons.
People who care only about making money will not sustain this gallery
or the trust of its clients for very much longer.
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