Behind the Scenes at Pace
Employees describe the gallery’s disorienting layoffs, Brenda Goodman looks back on her six-decade practice, and artists urge Mayor Mamdani to ban AI in schools.
Artist Brenda Goodman has always been one of one. Coming up in a scene dominated by men with sexist ideas about what made art worthy, she painted, tore, and sculpted her own creative journey while exploring her queer identity. “I take risks with my work,” Goodman, who turns 83 in July, told artist Mala Iqbal. “I don’t sit still and do the same thing over and over again.” They met at her studio and spoke about six decades of her practice and life, the latest installment of our queer and trans elders series.
Meanwhile, News Editor Valentina Di Liscia and reporter Rebecca Schiffman take us inside Pace gallery’s massive cuts to both its roster and staff, announced earlier this month. Artists and employees spoke about what the New York Times story left out — including what they describe as an opaque, disorienting process that remains shrouded in confusion. Read the full report below.
—Lakshmi Rivera Amin, associate editor
Pace Gallery’s Hall of Mirrors
On June 4, when Pace announced that it would cut 50 artists from its roster and lay off 50 employees, CEO Marc Glimcher framed the decision as a response to a larger industry problem and a gallery model he deemed “unfixable.” Later that day, according to staff, Glimcher told employees during a surprise Zoom town hall that he took personal responsibility for the situation and acknowledged that the decisions that led Pace to this point were his own.
But workers inside the gallery say the cuts unfolded quickly and without clarity, affecting the most unprotected staff members — and among the impacted artists who knew what was coming, some questioned how the announcement was handled. | Valentina Di Liscia and Rebecca Schiffman
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Cranbrook Academy of Art Reopens Applications for Fall 2026
The art institution is accepting applications from June 22 through August 15 for artists and designers considering graduate study.
News
- Hundreds of New York City artists have joined a campaign to urge New York City schools to implement a two-year “moratorium” on artificial intelligence in the classroom.
Queer Elders
Going Deep With Brenda Goodman
“I remember taking a plaid dress, tearing it up, and using it as paint rags,” the 83-year-old painter tells me in a knee-to-knee interview at her studio. | Mala Iqbal
Read MoreObituary
James Wagner, Insatiable Art Collector, Dies at 85
James Wagner, beloved New York art collector, died at his home in Manhattan on June 7 at age 85. Two months earlier, his husband, Barry Hoggard, and I started arranging visitors to keep him company.
For me, each visit became one of those crystallized moments, a spark of joy that took a little bit of James with it and lingered somewhere in the ether. The remembrances that follow are how we complete that process for him, reconstructing our favorite memories so we can carry forward the best of him.| Paddy Johnson
Read MoreBook Review
James Cahill’s Character Study of the Art World
“The Violet Hour” is a dreamy chronicle of fame, greed, and ambition, full of cartoonish personalities you’ve likely had the misfortune of encountering firsthand. | Alex Bowditch
Read MoreOpinion
Who Will Fight for Artists’ Rights in Congress?
Democratic Congressman Jerry Nadler has led the fight to bring resale royalties to artists in the US. With his retirement, it could all go away. | Lauren van Haaften-Schick
Read MoreMember Comment
Valerie Hird on “Marc Spiegler Got It All Wrong”
From the Archive
The Unnatural Link Between Mothering and Technological Surveillance
Supervision provided me, as a curator/new mom, an entry point into how the labor that is mothering intersects with technology and surveillance. | Rea McNamara
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