Pace Gallery, a mega gallery with seven locations worldwide, is laying off approximately 50 staff members and dropping about 50 artists from its roster. CEO Marc Glimcher announced the gallery will refocus on 85 artists, down from 135, calling it a "model correction" and a return to the gallery's roots. The news was first reported by the New York Times, though Pace sources said the story ran early, causing confusion among staff. Artists now missing from the gallery's website include Keith Coventry, TeamLab, John Gerrard, and Glenn Kaino, who expressed that the gallery's model was "optimized for a vision of the art world that never materialized."
This downsizing matters because it signals a significant shift in the art market, where mega galleries that expanded aggressively during boom times are now contracting amid economic uncertainty, high interest rates, trade wars, and global conflicts. Pace's move follows the closure of several long-standing galleries in 2025, including Blum, and reflects growing criticism of the "mega gallery" model from both Marc Glimcher and his father, founder Arne Glimcher, who called the model "ridiculous and unsupportable." The restructuring could reshape how top-tier galleries operate, prioritizing smaller, curated rosters and local art scenes over global expansion and corporate growth.