THE BIG IDEA
Art’s Lab Test
If year one of the pandemic was a scramble for the art world, with galleries, fairs and auction houses jumping online to stay afloat, year two was an experiment. Sensing the field was at a pivotal moment, many players offered up a dizzying number of new ventures and initiatives, including spin-off enterprises and creative ways to both expand and combine forces.
In the early days of the shutdown in 2020, David Zwirner, who already had a digital plan in place for his own mega-gallery, created Platform, a then-altruistic website showing works from small galleries in the US and Europe that lacked the financial means to do so digitally in a meaningful way themselves. He graciously waived pocketing a cut of sales. In 2021, Zwirner cemented the basic concept with platformart.com—but jettisoned the no-commission part. There’s even a buy-now button, a revolutionary innovation for the persnickety art world, where most galleries prefer to “place” new works with reputable collectors rather than risk selling to speculators.
Zwirner took an even bigger leap when, just months after telling that he wouldn’t consider spinning off a gallery focused on nurturing emerging artists—he couldn’t see himself ceding creative control—he did just that. With Ebony L. Haynes at the helm, 52 Walker doesn’t represent artists but is mounting four shows a year, more akin to a It also serves another purpose for Zwirner, who struggled to diversify the upper echelon of his team and give voice to BIPOC professionals: Haynes is Zwirner’s first Black director, and her staff is also Black.
