The New York Gallery History Project has launched its first installment: an online archive of Jay Gorney Modern Art, which operated from 1985 to 1998. The archive documents over 90 exhibitions held at the gallery, featuring artists such as Catherine Opie, Jessica Stockholder, Gillian Wearing, Haim Steinbach, and Martha Rosler. The material includes installation views, artwork images, and original invitations, all digitized from analog transparencies and slides. The project is an initiative of the Independent art fair and the Contemporary Art Library, a Los Angeles nonprofit.
This archive matters because it preserves a crucial piece of New York art history that might otherwise have been lost—Gorney's paper archive was damaged in Hurricane Sandy, and his photo archive was saved only by being stored elsewhere. The project also addresses the broader problem of digital decay, where gallery websites disappear after closures, erasing corners of art history. By making these records freely accessible to researchers and the public, the initiative ensures that the original context and presentation of influential exhibitions are not forgotten as artists' careers evolve.