Margo Leavin has announced plans to close her eponymous gallery in Los Angeles.
A prominent gallery representing artists such as John Baldessari and William Leavitt, Margo Leavin Gallery will shut its doors to the public after September 30. It will remain open by appointment for one year before closing entirely, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Leavin says she will continue to work as a dealer, and will retain office space in the several buildings that make up her gallery, which she founded the gallery in 1970 and which promoted young artists, particularly those who were part of the burgeoning Los Angeles art scene, including Jud Fine, Joe Goode, Jerry McMillan and Ed Moses. She has also mounted shows of New York and international artists including early shows at the gallery of Jim Dine, Jasper Johns and Roy Lichtenstein (all in 1971).
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Leavin and her business partner Wendy Brandow claimed they chose to close due to changes in the art market. According to the women, collectors have begun to buy art from alternative art spaces or through the Internet rather than from galleries, and no longer appreciate the “thoughtful, complete statement” offered by artists’ exhibitions at galleries like theirs.
Leavin also worries about recent developments at the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, which has experienced uncertain finances and board and staff departures. “Museums need knowledgeable people and it’s not happening at MOCA,” she said.
On view at the gallery now is “Arctic Summer,” a group exhibition featuring a dozen artists including Baldessari, Joseph Kosuth, Sherrie Levine and Sol LeWitt. It will be the gallery’s final show.
