Pace Gallery Cuts 50 Artists and 50 Staff Amid Restructuring Turmoil
On June 4, 2026, Marc Glimcher, the CEO of Pace Gallery, revealed the dismissal of 50 artists and 50 staff members due to what he described as an 'unfixable' gallery model. During a Zoom town hall, he accepted full accountability for these choices. Employees expressed confusion over the cuts, which lacked transparency regarding those impacted. The gallery's artist count fell from approximately 136 in July 2025 to around 104, with intentions to shrink to about 85. Among those let go were Hermann Nitsch and the estates of Robert Rauschenberg and Richard Avedon. Additionally, nine artists added in the early 2020s and six photographers from the 2020 Pace/MacGill merger were also dismissed. Affected artists voiced their discontent, with John Gerrard declaring he would never pursue traditional representation again.
Key facts
- Pace Gallery cut 50 artists and laid off 50 employees on June 4, 2026.
- CEO Marc Glimcher took personal responsibility in a Zoom town hall.
- No executives were laid off; cuts affected administrative and managerial staff.
- Artist roster shrank from ~136 (July 2025) to ~104; target is ~85.
- Nine artists added in early 2020s and six photographers from Pace/MacGill were cut.
- Jeff Koons joined Pace in 2021, left in 2025, and never had an exhibition at the gallery.
- Pace's ventures include PaceX, Superblue (Miami; London closed), and Pace Verso (defunct).
- Affected artists criticized the lack of privacy and abrupt public removal from website.
Entities
Artists
- Marc Glimcher
- Arne Glimcher
- Robert Rauschenberg
- Richard Avedon
- Hermann Nitsch
- John Gerrard
- Jeff Koons
- Peter MacGill
- Richard Solomon
Institutions
- Pace Gallery
- Hyperallergic
- New York Times
- Artnews
- Van Abbemuseum
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art
- Herman Nitsch Foundation
- Marc Straus Gallery
- Pace/MacGill
- PaceX
- Superblue
- Pace Verso
- Gagosian
- Qatar Museums Gallery Al Riwaq
- Sotheby's
- Pace Di Donna Schrader
- Financial Times
Locations
- New York
- Miami
- London
- Houston
- Palo Alto
- Silicon Valley
- Palm Beach
- Doha
- Qatar
- Manhattan
- United States
- Chelsea
- United Kingdom
- Hanover Square
- Korea
- Tokyo
- Berlin
- 57th Street