The year 2025 proved brutally selective for the art world, as several prominent galleries shuttered their operations despite years of success and influence. These closures reveal a fundamental tension between artistic vision and commercial sustainability in an increasingly challenging market. From Los Angeles to London and New York, dealers cited burnout, overexpansion, and market fatigue rather than simple financial failure. The stories behind these shutdowns expose the precarious nature of even the most respected galleries in today's art ecosystem.
BLUM, which operated spaces in Los Angeles, New York, and Tokyo, closed this summer after more than two decades of shaping contemporary art. Founder Tim Blum described the decision as intentional, driven by personal burnout and deep ennui with the art world's direction rather than immediate financial crisis. The gallery, which began in 1994 when Blum returned from Tokyo to partner with Jeff Poe, became a cornerstone of the Los Angeles scene. They championed local legends like Mark Grotjahn and Paul McCarthy while building bridges to Japanese artists including Takashi Murakami, who departed for Gagosian in 2019 after 22 years with the gallery.
In London, Project Native Informant announced its closure in October through a brief, understated statement that matched its conceptual ethos. Founded by Stephan Tanbin Sastrawidjaja in 2013, the gallery began in a windowless Mayfair garage before moving to Bethnal Green in 2019. Sastrawidjaja, who earned his PhD from Columbia University, created a program that reflected the chaotic post-digital reality of the 2010s. The gallery's strength lay not in star artists but in its distinctive curatorial voice, though it still suffered when promising painters like Joseph Yaeger moved to larger galleries after building their careers at Project Native Informant.
Venus Over Manhattan, run by collector-turned-dealer Adam Lindemann, closed in July after 13 years of ambitious programming. Lindemann, known for his candid public commentary, made his exit with characteristic frankness, criticizing art fairs that demand dealers beg for placement. The gallery had mounted imaginative shows for canonical artists like Raymond Pettibon and Maurizio Cattelan, but Lindemann expressed relief at returning to collecting full-time. Meanwhile, CLEARING, which maintained spaces in New York, Los Angeles, and Brussels, shut down all three locations in August after 14 years. Founder Olivier Babin, originally an artist himself, cited simple math rather than lost talent as the reason, noting they waited endlessly for conditions to improve.
Hot Wheels Athens, a gallery that began as a project space in the Greek capital after documenta 14, also closed this year. Co-founders Julia Gardener and Hugo Wheeler expanded to London in 2023 but decided to shutter operations before market pressures compromised their integrity. Their story mirrors a broader pattern where galleries choose to exit on their own terms rather than compromise their vision. These closures collectively suggest that survival in the current art market requires not just financial resources but also extraordinary resilience and willingness to play by increasingly demanding rules that many founders can no longer accept.
