Sukanya Rajaratnam, Taste-Making New York Dealer, Joins White Cube – ARTnews.com

Sukanya Rajaratnam, the New York dealer best known for historically significant exhibitions of black artists, will join White Cube in September as global director of strategic market initiatives.

Earlier this year, Rajaratnam announced he was stepping down as a partner at Mnuchin Gallery after 15 years. During her tenure there, she became known for curating groundbreaking exhibitions of black artists long overlooked by the mainstream art world, including Sam Gilliam, Ed Clark, Alma Thomas, Betty Platon, Mary Lovelace O’Neill, and David Hammons. A five-decade retrospective in 2016 is one of the most comprehensive exhibitions of the elusive artist yet. In the process, he helped create markets for these artists.

White Cube founder Jay Jobling said in a statement, “I have closely followed Sukanya’s exhibitions over the years and consider her to be one of the finest marketers in the art world. I am delighted that she has chosen to join White Cube and I am very much looking forward to working with her.

Based in New York, Rajaratnam’s new role, according to a release, „focuses on market preparation and exhibition production” at White Cube’s various locations, which currently include permanent locations in London, Hong Kong and Paris. West Palm Beach Space.

Rajaratnam said in a statement, “I appreciate the curatorial integrity that White Cube brings to its artists and gardens and am excited to contribute to it on a global stage. We may be at an inflection point in the market, and I believe it is vital for galleries to add value through exhibition programming and content.

White Cube will open its first New York location later this year and last November hired former Mitchell-Innes & Nash partner Courtney Willis Blair to lead the space. At 1002 Madison Avenue on New York’s Upper East Side, the space’s inaugural exhibit, curated by Willis Blair, will be titled „Chopped & Screwed.” According to a release, „deconstruction is a clumsy and conceptual tool used to examine well-established narratives or structures,” and the show will feature works by artists such as Theater Gates, David Hammons, Christian Markle, and Diona Nekea McLoughdon. , Julie Mehretu and Nathaniel Marie Quinn.

In addition to the news of Rajaratnam’s hiring, White Cube announced an expansion to Seoul. First reported By Financial Times. Citing the success of Frieze Seoul’s inaugural edition last September, the new ground-floor, 3,230-square-foot space will house exhibition spaces, a viewing room and offices. Located in the capital’s Gangnam-gu district, it will be in the same building as Horim Art Center, a private museum focusing on Korean antiques and modern art.

In the past two years, a number of Western galleries have expanded to Seoul, including Gladstone, Esther Schipper, Perotin and Thaddeus Roebach, which recently announced it will add another floor to its Seoul location. Two galleries, Pace and Lehman Maupin, had established a presence in the city somewhat earlier and have recently grown their footprint. In March, Center Pompidou confirmed rumors that it would open a branch in Seoul, tentatively scheduled to open in 2025.