Previously Unknown

On this episode of Previously Unknown, Maureen Paley reflects on 40 years of her groundbreaking London gallery in conversation with Matthew Higgs, director of White Columns and founding curatorial advisor of Independent. Recorded live at the 16th edition of Independent this May, the talk traces her journey from a conceptual photographer in punk-era London to a pioneering gallerist helping to shape the city’s contemporary art scene. Paley shares candid insights into her early influences in New York and London, the indie spirit of her East End gallery, and why she still favors the intimacy of chapel-like spaces over cathedral-scale spectacle.

Downtown Dealers returns with a new podcast episode spotlighting two influential gallerists whose practices evolved out of publishing, curating, social justice, and non-profit initiatives. Phillip March Jones, founder of MARCH, and Cay Sophie Rabinowitz of OSMOS join Independent’s founder Elizabeth Dee for a conversation about becoming “accidental dealers,” bridging between the Southern and New York art scenes. From Rabinowitz’s editorial roots at Parkett magazine to Jones’s early leadership of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation, the episode traces how both dealers draw on a deep sense of place, community, and purpose.

Downtown Dealers, Independent’s conversation series uniting New York art dealers across generations, continues with a new podcast episode exploring the transatlantic dynamics of gallery practice. After launching Galeria Wschód in Warsaw and the time-shared space ECHO in Cologne, Piotr Drewko expanded to New York in 2023 with a curated program of exhibitions and video projects. Silke Lindner, meanwhile, relocated from Berlin at the start of her career and went on to found her eponymous Tribeca gallery in 2022. They join Independent’s founder Elizabeth Dee for a candid conversation about navigating the art world from Europe to the “beautiful chaos and amazing competition” of New York. 

On this episode of Previously Unknown, we present a conversation between Hua Hsu, staff writer at The New Yorker and author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir Stay True, in conversation with New York-based artist Andrew Kuo, who will exhibit new paintings with Broadway Gallery at this year’s edition of Independent. They discuss the many influences that appear in Kuo’s work, from his New York City upbringing in an artistic family to the making of his 1990s zine Trash Heap—through which Hsu first encountered Kuo—and his love for basketball and music.

On this episode of Previously Unknown, we present a conversation between Adam Lindemann, founder of Venus Over Manhattan, and Brad Kahlhamer, a multimedia artist of Native American heritage, moderated by Puck’s Art Correspondent Marion Maneker, which was recorded live at Independent 20th Century’s public talks program with Puck. They discuss Kahlhamer’s journey in the art world and the growing prominence of Indigenous contemporary art in the industry.

On this episode of Previously Unknown, we present a conversation between James Barron, founder of James Barron Art, and Sandra Zalman, Associate Professor of Art History at the University of Houston and author of Janet Sobel: Primitive Modern and the Origins of Abstract Expressionism. They discuss the life and work of Janet Sobel, an artist overlooked in her lifetime but whose legacy is now being rediscovered both in the art market and the art historical canon.

On this episode of Previously Unknown, we present a conversation between journalist Marion Maneker, Puck’s Art Correspondent, and Loïc Gouzer, the founder of curated auction platform Fair Warning, recorded live at Independent 20th Century’s public talks program with Puck. Gouzer discusses Fair Warning’s ambition to select works from artists who “go against the grain” of the market, such as Takako Yamaguchi and John Kacere. “The idea is to expand the field,” he says, “especially now, in a world where all the energy in every field and sector is focusing on a consolidation towards a few brands, a few names.”

On this episode of Previously Unknown, we present a conversation with Amy Whitaker, Associate Professor at New York University and author — with Nora Burnett Abrams — of The Story of NFTs: Artists, Technology, and Democracy, and Zachary Small, investigative reporter for The New York Times and author of the recently published book Token Supremacy: The Art of Finance, The Finance of Art, and The Great Crypto Crash of 2022. On the occasion of the release of Small’s book, our guests delve into its backstory and key figures, discussing the NFT rise and fall and its impact on artists, collectors, and the art market.

On this episode of Previously Unknown, we present a conversation featuring Roberta Smith, in her first public appearance since retiring as co-chief art critic at The New York Times and a highlight of the 15th edition of Independent in May. Joining her is Matthew Higgs, Independent’s founding curatorial advisor and director of White Columns. Together, they reflect on Roberta Smith getting her start as an art critic in the 1970s, her sense of loyalty to the readers, and the multitude of changes that have come with her lifetime of looking at, and writing about, art in New York.

On this episode of Previously Unknown, two guest experts discuss the critical importance of digital publishing for art historical scholarship. David Newbury joins us from Getty and Elizabeth Gorayeb from the Wildenstein Plattner Institute, Inc., a non-profit that produces online catalog raisonné projects for artists including Claude Monet, Paul Gauguin, and Romare Bearden.

On this episode of Previously Unknown, we look ahead to Dangerous Art, Endangered Artists, a landmark symposium taking place at Independent organized by Art at a Time Like This and Artists at Risk Connection. The talks will highlight the challenges of censorship faced by artists around the world and the strong links between art and human rights. On the podcast, we hear from guests Barbara Pollack, the co-founder of Art At a Time Like This, and symposium speakers Laura Raicovich and Xiaoyu Weng, both of whom have confronted issues of censorship firsthand.

This episode features a special roundtable conversation ahead of Independent 2024, the fair’s 15th anniversary edition. Andrew Russeth, an editor at Artnet News, speaks with Elizabeth Dee, CEO and founder of Independent, and Matthew Higgs, founding curatorial advisor, about the major milestones through the 15-year history of the fair.Artist Joel Mesler makes a special guest appearance looking back at his live painting sessions for Independent in 2019, when he created portraits of visitors at the fair to benefit White Columns. Mesler returns to Independent this year to restage the memorable presentation in honor of the 15th anniversary.Later in the episode, Russeth and Dee speak with Forrest Arakawa-Nash, executive director of Contemporary Art Library, and art dealer Jay Gorney about The New York Gallery History Project, a major new digital archiving initiative co-organized by Independent and Contemporary Art Library.Chapters:1:25 - 15 Year History of Independent and Major Milestones: a conversation with Andrew Russeth, Elizabeth Dee and Matthew Higgs.35:53 - A special guest appearance with artist Joel Mesler54:30 - The New York Gallery History Project: a conversation with Andrew Russeth, Elizabeth Dee, Forrest Arakawa-Nash and Jay Gorney.

Downtown Dealers, a live conversation series in which New York art dealers from multiple generations come together to discuss their approaches and experiences, is now available as a podcast. This Downtown Dealers talk was recorded in April 2024 with Miguel Abreu, the founder of Miguel Abreu Gallery, and Peter Freeman, the founder of Peter Freeman Inc., moderated by Independent’s founder Elizabeth Dee and organized by Bill Cournoyer at Tara Downs Gallery. Miguel and Peter discuss how their gallery practices evolved from their early-career experiences working in nonprofits, their unique programming centered on conceptual art, and the challenge of nurturing a new generation of adventurous collectors.

Our podcast series, Previously Unknown, returns this week with a new episode focused on a milestone moment the art and disabilities movement in America. Independent’s founding curatorial advisor Matthew Higgs hosts this timely conversation about the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s landmark acquisition of more than 100 works by artists practicing with the Oakland-based nonprofit Creative Growth Art Center. Tune in for more from our special guests Tom di Maria, the director emeritus of Creative Growth, and SFMOMA director Christopher Bedford.If you’d like to support the show, you can visit our website and social media sites:Website: independenthq.comInstagram: @independenthq

Downtown Dealers, a live conversation series in which New York art dealers from multiple generations came together to discuss their approaches and experiences, is now available as a podcast. The second Downtown Dealers talk was recorded in November 2023 with Alan Belcher of Gallery Nature Morte, Wendy Olsoff of P·P·O·W, and James Fuentes, moderated by Independent’s founder Elizabeth Dee and organized by Bill Cournoyer at Tara Downs Gallery. Follow the link below to hear Alan Belcher and Wendy Olsoff discuss their pioneering roots in the 1980s East Village scene, while James Fuentes reflects on the art-dealing legacies that inspired him to open his gallery on the Lower East Side in 2007.

In this episode hosted at Independent 20th Century, Michael Dayton Hermann, Artist and Director of Licensing, Marketing, and Sales at The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, speaks with writer, curator, and photographer Bob Colacello, and Dia Art Foundation’s Senior Adjunct Curator of Special Projects, Donna De Salvo about Vito Schnabel Gallery’s solo show of Andy Warhol’s portraits at the fair.This podcast is generously sponsored by Crozier Fine Arts.If you’d like to support the show, you can visit our website and social media sites:Website: independenthq.comInstagram: @independenthq

In this episode, Julia Halperin speaks with artist Maureen Dougherty, and Cindy Kang and Simonetta Fraquelli, co-curators of Marie Laurencin: Sapphic Paris (October 22, 2023 –January 21, 2024) at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, the first major US exhibition dedicated to French artist Marie Laurencin in over 30 years. Our guests will speak to Marie Laurencin’s unique contributions to modern art in conjunction with Nahmad Contemporary’s solo presentation of her paintings from the 1920s and 1930s at Independent 20th Century. This body of work illuminates Laurencin’s distinct artistic language within the male-dominated avant-garde circles of early 20th-century Paris.This podcast is generously sponsored by Crozier Fine Arts.If you’d like to support the show, you can visit our website and social media sites:Website: independenthq.comInstagram: @independenthq

In this episode, Lisa Darms, Executive Director of Hauser and Wirth Institute, and John Tain, Head of Research at Asia Art Archive, speak about the future of artist archives and legacies–from making archives accessible, maintaining papers in their communities and persevering the original order of a collection. Hauser and Wirth Institute is a non-profit exhibitor at Independent 20th Century 2023, and has recently funded and supported a major project to further the legacy of Zahoor ul Akhlaq with Asian Art Archives. This podcast is generously sponsored by Crozier Fine Arts.If you’d like to support the show, you can visit our website and social media sites:Website: independenthq.comInstagram: @independenthq

Downtown Dealers, a live conversation series bringing together New York art dealers from multiple generations, is now available to stream as a podcast. Organized by Bill Cournoyer at Tara Downs Gallery and moderated by Independent’s Founder Elizabeth Dee, the first Downtown Dealers talk took place in May 2023 with guest speakers Jordan Barse (Theta), Tara Downs, Nicole Klagsbrun (Cable Gallery and Nicole Klagsbrun), and Jay Gorney (Jay Gorney Modern Art). In this episode, Nicole Klagsbrun and Jay Gorney share their experiences of the small but vital gallery system in the late 1980s, while Tara Downs and Jordan Barse discuss entering the New York art scene with the advent of technology at the start of the 21st century.