Demian Repucci content

Gagosian Gallery has recently opened a new storefront retail venture.  Gagosian Shopis located in a street level space on the ground floor of their Madison Avenue gallery address.  This is a shrewd and timely move by Mr. Gagosian.  Equivalent to high-end chefs turning their attention from foie gras to burgers and pizza. The icily shrouded peaks of the upper-tiered art market have begun to melt into a more soft-serve-like consistency.  But rather than stoically playing the violin while the East Side private clubs burn, Gagosian has, instead ‘fiddled’ around with a section of his product offering and targeted a slightly less rarefied audience.

And I can’t help but think that I am a perfect example of the audience that Gagosian Shop is after.  A person that loves the art gallery scene, contemporary art and design but does not have the bank account or trust fund to support their jones.  Is this the description of an ‘art hipster’?  Gagosian Shop offers ‘low end’ pieces from many of the same artists that are represented at Gagosian’s network of world-class galleries.  Art books, limited edition artist prints, posters and t-shirts are all available.  T-shirts!  Of course the t-shirts are from none other than Damien Hirst but who would have thought that the economic slump would cause Gagosian to hawk t-shirts?!  But seriously, this is only evidence of a smart businessman adjusting to the climate.  And besides, I am a poster junkie and I love a well-designed t-shirt.  Especially by Damien Hirst.

And speaking of ‘The Hirst’, it seems that Damien Hirst cannot help but continue to make money.  He staked his flag at the top of the high-brow art world with his masterfully calculated solo auction at Sotheby’s London last year.  And now he has expanded his attention to the huddled masses of the lower-tiered art market.  The new Gagosian Shop happens to also be home to the first US branch of Hirst’s Other Criteria, his publishing company dedicated to showering his creativity on the less-moneyed art collectors.  In fact, it sounds very much like the concept for Gagosian Shop.  The only difference being that Other Criteria and it’s London locations have been growing since 2005. 

I think the purest form of Damien Hirt’s artistic expression continues to be his business acumen.