Massey Klein Gallery Closes New York Space After Nine Years

(MENAFN- USA Art News) New York's Massey Klein Gallery is closing its physical location after nine years, citing financial challenges despite initial success. The husband-and-wife owners, Garrett Klein and Ryan Massey, will transition the gallery to a nomadic model, continuing projects through their Christian faith, which they say guided the gallery's founding.

The closure was announced in an Instagram post on Saturday. The gallery's final exhibition, featuring Kate McQuillen, has been extended through November 20. Massey Klein has been a consistent presence at several art fairs, including The Armory Show and NADA New York, Untitled Miami, and the Dallas Art Fair. In 2025, during NADA New York, ARTnews's Harrison Jacobs highlighted its display as one of the fair's best.

“Our relationship with God has informed what we want the gallery to feel like,” Klein stated in a phone interview, adding,“We're all accustomed to feeling uninvited at galleries. We wanted to create a place of warmth.” Klein noted that sales initially grew steadily, meeting benchmarks annually, but began declining four years ago.“We were hoping that by this point we would start to see a leveling out. We've always been sensitive to the numbers. We never had a large nest egg to start a gallery. We have to sell the work. We're religious, and it seemed like we were pushed into this place where we could take that leap of faith but with the numbers declining so much we've had to figure out other jobs to do.”

The couple started the gallery with just enough funds to secure a lease and cover one month's rent, according to their farewell announcement. Both founders had previous experience at other New York galleries, with Klein working at Bertrand Delacroix and Massey at Mulherin and Pollard. Klein recalled,“We were blessed with some amazing sales right out of the gate.”

The gallery primarily sold works by emerging artists, typically priced between $3,000 and $20,000. To comfortably cover monthly expenses, including rent, which was just under $10,000 for the 1,000-square-foot space, the gallery needed to achieve sales between $30,000 and $40,000 per month. Massey Klein has always operated as a small venture, representing only six artists: Chrissy Angliker, Lydia Baker, Bethany Czarnecki, Jude Greibel, Laura Sallade, and McQuillen. Klein emphasized that they kept their artists informed about the gallery's challenges to mitigate any shock from the news.

Many galleries have closed recently due to a challenging market, with some attributing their departures to systemic issues, others to legal disputes, and some simply citing a sharp drop in business and rising costs for services like storage and shipping. Massey Klein's announcement is unique in its discussion of a prayer practice intertwined with the gallery's operations. Klein mentioned he typically began his day with meditation and prayer, and that they sometimes invited members of their Christian church community for prayer events at the gallery.

Looking ahead, the dealers plan to continue exhibiting at art fairs where they have previously participated. They are confirmed for the third edition of New York's Split Level art fair next year and will also collaborate on art displays with Groupe NYC, a collective of clothing designers who maintain a showroom on the Bowery.

Source: ARTnews

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