The Rena Bransten Gallery, a cornerstone of San Francisco's contemporary art scene for nearly five decades, is closing its physical location at the Minnesota Street Project in the Dogpatch neighborhood, citing declining sales and visitor numbers over the past year. The gallery, founded in 1975, represents the latest casualty in what appears to be a broader crisis affecting San Francisco's art market.
"It's a funny, funny time, and it's a miserable time," gallery director Trish Bransten told reporters. "We're moving out of our space, and we're going to look for different kinds of collaborations, but this is definitely a consequence of not quite enough visitors or sales. I have to wonder: After 45 years, are there other models I need to explore?" Rather than shutting down entirely, the gallery plans to adopt a nomadic model, presenting exhibitions in temporary and unconventional venues throughout the city.
The closure marks another significant blow to San Francisco's struggling art scene, which has witnessed the shuttering of three other galleries since July: KADIST, Gallery 16, and Altman Siegel. Altman Siegel was also located at the Minnesota Street Project, the nine-year-old complex of gallery buildings owned by collectors and philanthropists Andy and Deborah Rappaport. The closures reflect what gallerists describe as a fundamental shift in the local art market, where a generation of collectors who once supported the scene has aged out, while younger buyers have yet to emerge in significant numbers.
Bransten's decision mirrors the sentiment expressed by gallerist Claudia Altman Siegel when she announced her gallery's closure last month, stating that "the local market has screeched to a halt." This local downturn reflects a broader global contraction in the fine art market, with fewer San Francisco residents purchasing artwork. Unlike Altman Siegel's closure, which left her roster of artists without representation, the Rena Bransten Gallery will continue to represent its high-profile artists, including acclaimed filmmaker John Waters and artist Amalia Mesa-Bains.
The 92-year-old Rena Bransten founded her gallery in 1975 in a 3,400-square-foot Union Square location, quickly establishing a reputation as a trailblazer in representing California ceramic artists. The gallery's journey through San Francisco's changing landscape illustrates the broader challenges facing the art community. In 2015, when a technology company offered the landlord triple the rent, the gallery was forced to relocate, first settling on Market Street before finding what seemed to be a permanent home in the Dogpatch in 2016.
The Minnesota Street Project initially attracted gallery owners like Bransten with its promise of affordable tenancy at a time when rising business costs were forcing artists and dealers out of the city. However, nearly a decade later, as the art market continues to contract and rents increase, gallery owners are questioning whether the traditional model of selling art in fixed gallery spaces remains economically viable. "I looked for a year and a half for a space to move to in the aftermath of the pandemic, but the prices never went down," said Griff Williams, former director of Gallery 16, after closing his SoMa gallery. "With the demise of the San Francisco Art Institute, I think it's left a real hole in the cultural community of the city."
The nomadic gallery model has gained popularity since the pandemic, with art spaces opting for pop-up exhibitions that offer unique curation opportunities, collaborative possibilities, and greater economic flexibility. "This new kind of space poses an alternative to the contemporary exhibition format, one that is more inclusive and accessible than its peers," Jack Chase explained to Artnews regarding his mobile U-Haul gallery, which he strategically parked outside major galleries during New York Art Week. "The mobility of the gallery allows us to capitalize on the foot traffic of established galleries and institutions, as well as show work in unconventional areas."
The trend toward mobility extends beyond commercial galleries. Last week, the Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco announced it would abandon its downtown location at The Cube to adopt a nomadic model. The ICA had previously left the Dogpatch last fall for free rent at the enormous downtown space. If the ICA's arrival in the Dogpatch in 2022 seemed like a positive sign for the Minnesota Street Project, its departure now feels equally symbolic of the area's challenges.
Despite losing two of its most established galleries, the founders of Minnesota Street Project remain optimistic about the complex's future. Andy Rappaport reports that attendance is actually increasing for community events like First Saturdays and the Art Book Fair, and that demand for leases remains high. "We've always had a lot of requests from younger galleries and more established galleries that are looking to relocate for space," Rappaport explained. "Our view is that what's going on is not an issue for the project specifically, but the gallery business."
Rappaport's assessment points to a broader systemic issue affecting San Francisco's art ecosystem. "If the community doesn't want to, or is unable to, buy work from San Francisco galleries, then it's just going to get harder and harder for San Francisco galleries to survive," he continued. This sentiment captures the fundamental challenge facing the city's art scene: a disconnect between the supply of gallery spaces and exhibitions and the demand from local collectors and art buyers.
Both the Rena Bransten Gallery and Altman Siegel will conclude their tenancies at the Minnesota Street Project on November 22, marking the end of an era for two galleries that helped define San Francisco's contemporary art landscape. As these established institutions explore new models for survival and growth, their transitions may signal a broader transformation in how art is presented, sold, and experienced in one of America's most expensive cities.
