Profile

Although Matthew Marks began in the early ‘90s as a drawings dealer uptown on Madison Ave., he had the savvy to move his main gallery to a garage-door warehouse on 22nd Street in 1994. His venue is an A-list spot for international contemporary artists, with immaculately mounted photography shows by the likes of Andreas Gursky (the subject of a MoMA mid-career retrospective) and the infamous Nan Goldin. Goldin’s exhibits are events, attracting intimidating downtown crowds, with gem-like color images of her friends and former lovers–her last even featured a backroom slide show set to a medieval hymn recorded by Björk. Marks also represents monumental American painters Ellsworth Kelly and Brice Marden. In addition, Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone made his US debut here, with his gorgeous, rambling installations such as a dreamy, underwater video set to original music, and life-size, painted-polychrome clowns dressed in spaghetti-Western rags. The main space is a must, but check listings for gems in Marks’s other venues, too. — Alex Mar