History
From 1988 to 1996, Jeffrey Deitch had been a private dealer and art adviser to a number of collectors.
Since opening with a performance by Vanessa Beecroft in February 1996, Deitch Projects has presented nearly one hundred and eighteen solo exhibitions and projects, ten thematic exhibitions, and a few public events. It is known as a gallery where many of the most well-known artists of the past decade--Cecily Brown, Inka Essenhigh, Barry McGee, Swoon and Kristin Baker to name a few—began their careers.
In 2009, artists Justin Lowe and Jonah Freeman transformed the gallery into a Gothic warren of rooms populated with gurgling beakers and melting toilets for a piece called "Black Acid Co-op." That same year, Deitch Projects and Goldman Properties organized the ambitious public project "The Wynwood Walls", for which 15 artists created 11 permanent murals throughout Miami’s Wynwood district.
In addition to its projects with emerging artists, the gallery actively produced exhibitions and books with more established artists who have been part of Jeffrey Deitch’s circle since the mid 1970s and early 1980s. In 2007, the gallery produced a book and exhibition on Jean-Michel Basquiat’s work in the transitional year of 1981, when he went from working on street to working in the studio. The gallery also represented the estate of late artist Keith Haring, with whom Deitch worked closely in the 1980s.
In 1997 Sotheby's purchased a 50% interest in Deitch Projects. Under the two companies' agreement, besides running his galleries Jeffrey Deitch worked at the auction house managing its 20th-century Art Gallery Program for a few years. Sotheby's later announced that it would close the previously acquired Andre Emmerich Gallery, and that the gallery's artists would be handled out of Deitch Projects. As a response, the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, the main beneficiary of the artists' estates, as well as the estates of Morris Louis and Milton Avery announced that they would not renew their Emmerich contracts. Sotheby's subsequently sold its share in Deitch Projects back to Jeffrey Deitch.
The gallery closed in Summer 2010 as Jeffrey Deitch went on to lead the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.
Read more about this topic: Deitch Projects
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