Robert Therrien Estate Leaves Gagosian, Joins David Zwirner

The estate of Robert Therrien (1947–2019) has moved from Gagosian to David Zwirner, ending a relationship that lasted almost 30 years. The shift arrives shortly after a major survey of Therrien's work closed at the Broad museum in Los Angeles, where 120 works were included in what was presented as the largest exhibition devoted to the sculptor to date.

Therrien built a career out of making the familiar feel uncanny. His best-known works enlarge domestic objects until they become architectural, even theatrical. Under the Table (1994), perhaps his most recognizable installation, places viewers beneath a giant wood table and chairs that seem to hover above them. He also made towering columns of oversized plates, works now held by institutions including Tate in London and Glenstone, the private museum founded by Mitchell Rales and Emily Wei Rales.

The gallery change marks a notable turn for an artist whose market and institutional profile have long been closely linked. Gagosian first showed Therrien in Beverly Hills in 1997 and went on to mount 10 additional exhibitions of his work. In total, the gallery presented 11 Therrien shows over the years.

David Zwirner said in a statement that he had visited Therrien's Los Angeles studio and described himself as a“superfan.” He added that the work has“an ethereal quality” that is difficult to pin down, calling it“both recognizable and strange, concrete yet poetic,” with a handmade character that is“quiet and affecting.” Zwirner said he was especially struck by the work's psychological complexity.

Therrien often resisted descriptive titles, preferring to leave viewers room to build their own associations. As his longtime assistant Paul Cherwick said last year,“He wanted people to make their own connections, find their own way in.”

Artist moves between mega-galleries remain uncommon, though they are not without precedent. Carol Bove left David Zwirner for Gagosian in 2023, and Jeff Koons moved from Gagosian and David Zwirner to Pace Gallery in 2021 before returning to Gagosian last year. For Therrien's estate, the new representation places one of the most distinctive sculptural voices of the late 20th century in a fresh commercial context just as museum interest in his work has recently intensified.

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