Sperone Westwater, a pioneering New York gallery that launched artists like Bruce Nauman, Richard Long, and Francesco Clemente, will close on December 31 after 50 years. Co-founders Angela Westwater and Gian Enzo Sperone are pursuing separate endeavors. The gallery’s final show is a current exhibition for Long, and it will still participate in Art Basel Miami Beach next month. Founded in 1975 in SoHo, the gallery was known for championing Neo-Expressionism and transavanguardia, and later diversified its roster with artists like Joana Choumali and Gamaliel Rodriguez. Its eight-story Bowery building, designed by Norman Foster, faces an uncertain future.
The closure marks the most high-profile gallery shutdown in New York in the past year, joining Blum, Venus Over Manhattan, Clearing, and Tilton. Sperone Westwater’s legacy includes shaping the careers of major contemporary artists and influencing art movements. Its shuttering reflects ongoing pressures on mid-sized blue-chip galleries in a consolidating art market, where rising costs and shifting collector preferences challenge long-standing institutions.