29 june 2023, Manuela Klerkx
The gallery of… Marta Gnyp & Giovanni Springmeier
In 'The gallery of…', we talk to a host of gallery owners from the Netherlands and Belgium, asking them about when and how they started their gallery, what has changed in the art world since then, their gallery’s profile, what they collect personally and what advice they would give to new and experienced art buyers. This week with Marta Gnyp & Giovanni Springmeier of GNYP Gallery.
You’re best known as a Berlin-based art consultant and as a gallerist. You recently opened a second gallery in Antwerp together with your partner Giovanni Springmeier. Why?
Antwerp is the perfect location in the heart of Europe that is within easy reach of Paris, Amsterdam, London, Cologne, Brussels, etc. The city also has a glorious art historical past and a great market. And Belgium itself is known for its inquisitive and passionate collectors. It seemed like an extremely interesting place to us. In the global virtual art world, our current international clients naturally also visit Antwerp.
How would you define your gallery's profile?
The gallery has no specific profile. In a rapidly changing world, we try to convince the best and most relevant internationally operating artists to work with us and provide them with a platform in order to create great exhibitions. We collaborate with international collectors with fantastic collections, produce books and introduce artists to curators and cultural institutions, but almost never participate in art fairs.
Marta Gnyp with Rose Wylie in the gallery in Berlin during the first show in 2015.
What do you think is most important about being a gallery owner?
Adding value to an artist’s work and the art system in general. And by that I mean cultural, social and economic value. Value is created within the art system and galleries are one of its most important pillars.
The world is going through enormous changes: we are travelling less to protect the climate, AI is booming, the financial gap between emerging and established artists is getting larger, and so on. Against that background, how do you see the future of the art world in general and the gallery business in particular?
I am very positive. Over the past 20 years, the art world has experienced tremendous growth. It has become bigger, more global and more popular. Many artists earn good money with their work and have earned a voice in society. In many parts of the world, art has become a lifestyle. Museums are popping up like mushrooms in areas where this concept was not self-evident in the past. Such massive popularisation has compromised quality to some degree, but there are still plenty of excellent artists. Art is also considered by many to be a solid investment or speculation object. This, too, strengthens the art ecosystem. To create value, to promote an artist, you need galleries, museums and curators, collectors, critics and even auction houses. It is a misconception to think that you can develop something sustainable by selling art on a platform without a gallery. Contemporary art requires a solid and physical context and a relationship to both past and present.
Susumu Kamijo during an opening in Berlin, 2019
How do you select the artists you work with? What standards should their work meet?
A gallery is always the sum of what you want and what you can get. There are no fixed criteria. My partner and I both have a lot experience in the art world and the decision to offer an artist an exhibition is often made in a matter of minutes. Representation is another story, but I don't really believe in that.
What is your relationship with the international art world? Do you often collaborate with foreign galleries and which art fairs do you participate in?
I work with lots of international galleries. But with my gallery, I deliberately chose not to participate in art fairs for the most part because I am mainly active there as an art consultant.
Giovanni met Serge Attukwei Clottey
In addition to being an art consultant and gallery owner, you also write and publish on post-war and contemporary art. Can you tell a little bit about that?
There are few art world insiders who analyse the art world and few academics who know the art world in practice. I am in the fortunate position that thanks to my PhD, I have been able to theoretically research the art system and have also been working in the commercial art world for years. Claims, intentions, theory and practice often differ. For example, I find it very interesting to sift through conflicting interests and see what goes on behind the scenes.
Do you collect art personally? And if so, who and what?
Art is my passion and to me, passion means enthusiasm, commitment and knowledge. There is no profile to be found in my collection. I have work that is difficult to place, such as sculptures by Phyllida Barlow or Nairy Baghramian, a lot of contemporary painting and of course, I usually buy work from artists we exhibit, such as Jenna Gribbon, Danica Lundy, Christopher Hartmann and Umut Yasat. My partner was a very serious photography and video art collector in the past. We both regularly donate work to museums. It is a fantastic feeling for me when I discover an artist early on and the world appreciates him or her later on. I will be soon lending a work by Claudette Johnson that I bought several years ago, for instance, for her solo exhibition at the Courtauld Institute in London and in 2024, for a group show at the National Portrait Gallery.
Onze man in Antwerpen - Dries Reydams, met werk van Zachary Armstrong
What is the last exhibition you saw that made a deep impression on you?
Mark Bradford's solo exhibition entitled You Don't Have to Tell Me Twice at Hauser & Wirth Gallery in New York. It featured large, almost megalomaniac paintings of breathtaking texture, depth and complexity, structured around a very simple, early video work of his in which he simulates a fall. On an institutional level – sorry, very predictable – the Vermeer exhibition at the Rijksmuseum, where so many jewels were on display. And of course, the solo exhibition of Zachary Armstrong with which I opened our gallery in Antwerp.
Do you have any tips for new art buyers?
Instagram is a great source of information, but not necessarily the best place to buy art – see my comments on art’s value system above. And don't forget that a work can look very different in real life than in a picture. Galleries and museums remain the best places to train your eye.
Giovanni with a painting by W. Fangor, Marta with a work by Gina Beavers (background) and a 17th century painting
