Almine Rech is reopening in London with a downsized first-floor space in Mayfair, near Sotheby’s on George Street, after closing her former London gallery in August and putting the UK business into voluntary liquidation. The new venue, roughly a quarter of the size of the previous one, will operate by appointment and focus on curated presentations of 20th- and 21st-century works. A new company, Almine Rech Advisory, was registered in September, with Rech as the controlling person and Maximilian Lefort as director. The liquidation was described as a technical step to restructure a lease that no longer aligned with the gallery’s plans, and the gallery stressed it had no unpaid obligations to artists, employees, or suppliers.
This move matters because it reflects a significant shift in strategy for a major international dealer, signaling a retreat from a high-profile London presence amid financial pressures—the former gallery had a deficit of £6.3 million, mostly in intercompany and shareholder loans. The downsizing and appointment-only model may indicate broader trends in the art market, where galleries are adapting to rising costs and changing collector behavior, prioritizing privacy and curation over large public spaces. It also highlights the challenges faced by even well-established dealers in maintaining a physical footprint in expensive global art hubs like London.