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David Norr Says He Measures Artists’ Careers in Decades, Not Market Cycles

Norr, who joined James Cohan Gallery in 2015 and became a partner in 2018, is assuming sole ownership as the gallery reopens under the name Norr Cohan this fall.

Last month James Cohan Gallery announced that it would become Norr Cohan, with longtime senior director David Norr assuming sole ownership, though James Cohan will continue working with artists and collectors on a smaller scale. Founded in 1999, the gallery moved from 57th Street to Chelsea, where it built long relationships with artists including Fred Tomaselli, Yinka Shonibare and Tuan Andrew Nguyen, to Walker Street in Tribeca. It now represents about 40 artists. Norr arrived in 2015 from the Wexner Center for the Arts and the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, was made a partner in 2018 and a co-owner in 2021, so this is less a handoff than the last step of one that has been underway for years. We caught up with Norr to hear about what a curator brings to the dealer’s side of the table in the current market.

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There’s been a lot of dark talk about the primary market lately, but taking over a gallery is a long-term bet. Why are you optimistic?

There are always ups and downs and shifts in market attention. As much as the art world likes to imagine it runs on its own internal logic, it’s deeply connected to the real world, and right now global conflicts, anxiety about A.I. and stress on our democracies have created a lot of uncertainty. But I’d flip that around. The conditions that create that anxiety are the same conditions that make art necessary.

My bias is that art brings meaning, it opens minds and hearts, and it enriches lives. I’m a true believer. Leading with that ethos, with the conviction that art’s value extends far beyond its sale price is what keeps the gallery focused and what keeps me optimistic.

The gallery model bends and adapts. Its lasting strength comes from embracing those fluctuations rather than fearing them. Our charge is to help the artists we work with build........

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