Don’t Sleep on Summer Group Shows

Every summer, as the art world slows down, some galleries turn to group shows. There seem to be fewer than there used to be, and I get why. Pulling together a group show means consignments from other galleries, transporting works from various locations, and coordinating with a large number of artists, all during the quietest part of the art world calendar. But I think the effort is worth it and I would love to see more galleries pull them off because honestly, summer group shows are one of the most refreshing moments of the year.

The most interesting part of these shows is who gets included. Galleries regularly include artists from outside their own programs. And the shows are often really well curated, offering a perspective you don’t normally see from that gallery’s roster. Part of that comes from who is doing the curating, since galleries often hand these shows to a guest curator, an artist, or an individual at the gallery, which brings a fresh eye into the space. These shows can be built around an idea or a theme rather than a program, and that freedom tends to show in the results.

For collectors, these shows are one of the best ways to discover artists. You might come across a young artist who shows at an emerging gallery you don’t follow, an artist who works primarily in a different geography, or an established artist who has been overlooked and deserves another look.

Access on the primary market often runs on relationships. If an artist you are trying to acquire is represented by a gallery where you have not yet built a strong relationship, getting their work can be difficult no matter how serious your interest is. But if that artist appears in a summer group show at a gallery where you do have a strong relationship, the dynamic could change in your favor.

Here are a few shows that caught my attention this summer. At Luhring Augustine in Tribeca, In a Free State was curated by Salman Toor and Doron Langberg, who drew from their circle of friends and younger voices they admire. At Gladstone in Chelsea, The Vandals gathers more than thirty artists around two short stories by Edith Wharton and Balzac, exploring the tensions between possession, ownership, and the act of looking. And in Los Angeles, David Kordansky presents Tom’s Stretch, which places Tom of Finland alongside more than seventy artists spanning generations, from Robert Mapplethorpe and Mike Kelley to Jenna Gribbon and Salman Toor.

So before you write off the summer season, don’t miss the group shows! The work you have been trying to get might be hanging in one of them.