Lecture: Museum-quality exhibitions in commercial galleries

  • March 26, 2021
  • By Jill Young Miller
  • 1 minute read
Gagosian Gallery, Chelsea, New York

In the past decade, the art world has witnessed the rise of historical, museum-quality blockbuster exhibitions in commercial art galleries.

They are a sign of a changing environment. Traditional roles are interchangeable and boundaries are blurring. Why and how are these expensive shows conceived and put together? What is their goal? And what are the results for the galleries that organize them?

Valentina Castellani, former director of New York’s Gagosian Gallery, discussed these questions and more in the inaugural Women and the Kemper Public Lecture on February 20.

In her talk, “Blurring the Boundaries: The Rise of Blockbuster Museum-Quality Exhibitions in Commercial Galleries,” she focused the Gagosian exhibitions Picasso: Mosqueteros and Piero Manzoni: A Retrospective.

Women and the Kemper and Olin Business School cosponsored the event. Olin offers a minor in the Business of the Arts. Visit olin.wustl.edu/arts, or contact us at 314-935-3329, sandraphilius@wustl.edu.

Watch the event and Castellani’s lecture here:

Photo: Frances Roberts / Alamy Stock Photo

About the Author

Jill Young Miller

Jill Young Miller

As research translator for WashU Olin Business School, my job is to highlight professors’ research by “translating” their work into stories. Before coming to Olin, I was a communications specialist at WashU’s Brown School. My background is mostly in newspapers including as a journalist for Missouri Lawyers Media, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Washington Post and the Sun-Sentinel in South Florida.

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