Blain Southern Closes All Galleries Amid Financial Struggles and Artist Departures

Blain Southern, the gallery cofounded by Harry Blain and Graham Southern in 2010, has shut its locations in London, Berlin, and New York due to financial difficulties. Harry Blain cited an inability to secure the gallery's future. The closure follows a series of artist departures, including Jake & Dinos Chapman, Sean Scully, Henning Strassburger, Rachel Howard, and Mat Collishaw, who left between November 2019 and early 2020. Senior staff exits also occurred, with Charles Saumarez-Smith stepping down as senior director in December 2019 and director of exhibitions Craig Burnett departing earlier. Financial strains were exacerbated by the gallery asking artists to pay for the return of their works from storage, and Scully is involved in a dispute over artwork sales. The gallery had expanded from its London base in 2010 to Berlin in 2011 and New York in May 2019, but the New York space faced relocation after Marlborough Gallery purchased its Chelsea building in November 2019. This venture was Blain and Southern's second after selling Haunch of Venison to Christie's in 2007. The announcement was made on 13 February 2020.