Lévy Gorvy

Before partenering with art dealer Brett Gorvy and co-founding in 2017 Lévy Gorvy, Dominique Lévy worked at Sotheby’s and Christie’s and with Daniel Malingue, Simon Studer and Anthony d’Offay. In 2005, she and Robert Mnuchin founded L&M Arts, a gallery based in New York and Los Angeles. Nearly a decade later, in 2013, Dominique Lévy opened an eponymous gallery in Manhattan and then in London. I spoke with the seasoned art dealer about her profession and her projects.

artfairmag: Lévy Gorvy specializes in private sales in the secondary market with renowned artists like Basquiat, Picasso, de Kooning, Giacometti and Calder. Are the auction houses competitors? Do you attract the same audience?

Dominique Lévy: Firstly, I would like to say that Lévy Gorvy does indeed have a commitment to the purchase and sale of artworks of the highest quality. The goal of the gallery is to work with and for artists and estates. The art world has a very large ecosystem and of course, clients can overlap at times. Some are known to auction houses as well as galleries, others prefer to purchase privately. I see auction houses not as competitors but as complementary and, when appropriate, even as partners.

artfairmag: Before Covid-19, Lévy Gorvy participated in the biggest art fairs which were an important source of income. After this long hiatus, which forced galleries to adapt and perhaps to reinvent themselves, how do you see your relationship with fairs in the coming years?

D. L.: Prior to Covid-19, there were undoubtedly far too many art fairs, and this to the detriment of quality. We saw the birth of an international art world, with a much more important focus on regions. There is a true return to galleries as more intimate and informative set ups to view art and experience exhibitions. In view of this, the gallery is reconsidering its relationship to art fairs.

artfairmag: Talking about the pandemic, do you think that the massive use of digital tools that it has brought about will continue over time? Should the profession of art dealer evolve in the face of new technologies?

D. L.: I believe in a world where technology and physicality complement each other. At Lévy Gorvy, we have developed tools to share exhibitions and art and will continue to do so in the years to come. However, I do not believe in an art world composed solely of digital elements. Nothing can match the experience of viewing art in person.

artfairmag: You have recently announced that you will join forces with your friends Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn and Amalia Dayan by launching in January a new venture, LGDR. Apparently, it would do more than the exclusive representation of artists. Could you tell us about this exciting project?

D. L.: LGDR has the desire to become a hybrid model, unconditionally committed to artists and collectors.

artfairmag: Since the opening of your first gallery in 2013, you have become one of the most influential art dealers. Does the fact of being a woman in this still rather masculine environment give a particular flavor to your success? How do you view the place of women in the art market?

D. L.: I have spent the last twenty years fighting the definition of a profession through the gender of its participants. I am a gallerist, before a woman gallerist.