Tilton Gallery in New York announced that its upcoming exhibition will be its last. That exhibition for late abstract painter Ruth Vollmer will run September 30 to November 15, after which the gallery will move out of its longtime home in the Upper East Side.
“This will be the gallery’s final formal exhibition,” the gallery’s press release from Tilton’s widow Connie Rogers Tilton reads. “After eight meaningful years continuing the gallery without Jack, it is time to pursue my own projects in a more private setting and to reformulate my role in the art world whether through private sales or research projects.”
The news come after a number of other high-profile gallery closures earlier this year, including Blum Gallery, Clearing, Venus Over Manhattan, and LA Louver, which announced its closure after 50 years just last week.
Tilton Gallery was founded in 1983 by Jack Tilton, who died in 2017. He had worked for Betty Parsons from 1976 until 1982, the year of her death. (Vollmer had shown with Parsons, and Tilton Gallery began representing her estate when it opened.) He opened in Parsons’s space on West 57th Street, before moving to SoHo in the ’90s, and then to its current home at 8 East 76th Street in 2005.
During its history, Tilton Gallery was known for its incredible eye for talent, spotting young artists who would go on to have impressive careers. Jack Tilton would also help to revitalize the careers of overlooked artists. Among those who showed at the gallery during its run are Marlene Dumas, Nicole Eisenman, Francis Alÿs, Glenn Ligon, Kiki Smith, John Outterbridge, Ed Clark, David Hammons, and Kennedy Yanko. He also showed the work of important Chinese artists like Huang Yong Ping and Zhang Peili in the ’90s.
An exhibition that opened in March 2018, nearly a year after Jack’s passing, carried the title “In Tribute to Jack Tilton: A Selection from 35 Years” and also featured the work of Abraham Cruzvillegas, Suzan Frecon, Lyle Ashton Harris, David Lynch, Richard Nonas, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Fred Tomaselli, Richard Tuttle, and Carrie Mae Weems.
The gallery continued to be run after his death by Rogers Tilton. “I am incredibly grateful for the support, friendship and enthusiasm of gallery artists, staff, collectors, museums and fellow dealers during these years and I hope to continue to maintain these relationships into the future,” she said in the gallery’s announcement.
Artists currently listed on the gallery’s roster include Tomashi Jackson, Texas Isaiah, Brenna Youngblood, Noah Purifoy, and February James. The gallery had also recently participated in Frieze Los Angeles this past February and Art Basel Miami Beach last December
In a 2019 interview ahead of the gallery’s participation in the Independent art fair, Connie said, “Of course, we want to honor and continue Jack’s legacy, but part of what he and the gallery have always been about is looking at the present—and looking to the future. So, although I feel it important to occasionally do historical shows—and I am very proud of our history—the gallery continues to look into the future.”
