Despite a tightly controlled narrative, for some workers and artists, the mega-gallery’s downsizing has left more questions than answers.
On June 4, when Pace announced that it would cut 50 artists from its roster and lay off 50 employees, CEO Marc Glimcher framed the decision as a response to a larger industry problem and a gallery model he deemed “unfixable.” Later that day, according to staff, Glimcher told employees during a surprise Zoom town hall that he took personal responsibility for the situation and acknowledged that the decisions that led Pace to this point were his own.
But workers inside the gallery say the cuts unfolded quickly and without clarity, affecting the most unprotected staff members — and among the impacted artists who knew what was coming, some questioned how the announcement was handled.
After going through rounds of quieter layoffs, three Pace staffers, speaking anonymously to avoid retaliation, described the recent downsizing and town hall as disorienting in interviews with Hyperallergic. “Marc was saying that all of this was his fault,” said one current employee. But she wondered why the burden of restructuring appeared to fall primarily on administrative and managerial staff.
“To my knowledge, there have been zero executives laid off,” she said. “It’s all smaller roles, the people that actually make stuff happen.”
That Friday, people started to disappear, and those who were spared had to figure out how to proceed.
“Nobody knew who was laid off, and we had to consult with each other to try to figure out what happened,” she continued. “My colleague over text yesterday said, ‘I can’t believe we’re having to do it this way.’ Why am I texting you? Why am I hearing this from you?”
