Artforum

Venus Over Manhattan, the New York gallery founded by collector Adam Lindemann in 2012, will shut its doors later in July. Lindemann announced the closure in an opinion piece for Artnet News, writing that he planned to focus exclusively on collecting, exiting the sell side altogether. Among the factors driving his decision, he said, were the tribulations associated with the art-fair circuit and the lack of camaraderie in the gallery world. “Opening a gallery as a collector really does succeed in alienating both sides,” he wrote. “Dealers distrust you, and most collectors don’t get what you’re up to, so they turn up their noses in disapproval—or even worse, they resent you for switching sides.”

Named for the 1949 Wheeler Williams sculpture The Venus of Manhattan, which graced the façade of 980 Madison Avenue—the gallery’s original location and the longtime home of Gagosian—Lindemann’s operation gained a reputation for presenting the work of such well-known artists as Alexander Calder, Maurizio Cattelan (“post-Guggenheim hangover and pre-banana”), and Peter Saul, as well as that of Raymond Pettibon, known for his surfer drawings and for designing the iconic four-bar logo of seminal California punk band Black Flag. The gallery also helped to resurface the careers of artists including Jack Goldstein and H. C. Westermann, whose oeuvres had faded from view following their deaths.

Lindemann’s announcement comes just days after Los Angeles gallerist Tim Blum revealed that he was closing his own brick-and-mortar concern, which he ran for more than thirty years with partner Jeff Poe before the latter departed in 2023. Whereas Blum cited a desire to “step off the merry-go-round” and said he would be pursuing alternative business models, Lindemann seemed eager to return to collecting. “I’ve seen it from both sides, and now it’s time to wave the white flag,” he wrote. “There will be no pivot to consulting nor private dealing. I’m going back to air kisses, handshakes, fist bumps, side hugs, head nods, winks, waves, big smiles, thumbs up, and good vibes.”