Pace African & Oceanic Art announced via social media that it will officially close its doors on Friday, December 13. The news of the closure was confirmed by ARTnews with director Carlo Bella.
Pace African & Oceanic Art is owned by Pace Editions, which includes Pace Prints. Though the owner of Pace Gallery Arne Glimcher is involved in the business, it is primarily overseen by Richard Solomon, who recently decided to step down. Pace Editions was also sold recently, though the details of the sale have not been made public. The new buyers, according to Bella, decided to discontinue Pace African & Oceanic Art. (Pace had yet to respond at press time.)
Pace African & Oceanic Art was in operation for more than 50 years, having been established in 1971, as the only American art gallery specializing in African art from central and west Africa and Oceanic art from the Pacific islands. The gallery was known for selling quality African art including masks, figures, and other objects.
“It is a pity that the new management has decided not to continue the business, but they are after a different goal—contemporary art,” Bella told ARTnews. “New management does not realize the influence that African art or tribal art in general had in the shaping of Modernism and Modern art, the influence that they had on Picasso as well as on Basquiat, for example, but that’s their shortcoming.”
Bella has been the director of Pace African & Oceanic Art since 2002. He initially joined Pace Gallery in 1984, where he created the Old Master Print department at Pace Prints, which he ran until he began his current role. Bella plans to continue the business, with Pace’s archive and much of its inventory, under his own name in a new location, where there will be both works for sale and an exhibition space.
“Over the last few years, the arts of African Oceania have lost visibility. Basically, a lot of galleries disappeared as a generation of galleries died off or retired. So, we were left as the main public gallery that showed African Oceanic art in America,” Bella added, with enthusiasm to continue the legacy of Pace African & Oceanic Art as his own.
Pace African & Oceanic Art was located in New York’s Upper East Side neighborhood until September 2022 when it moved to its Chelsea location. It is affiliated with the mega Pace Gallery and has been a member of the Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA).
