Canada Gallery Faced Dissolution Threat Amid Lawsuits, Partner Exits

(MENAFN- USA Art News) New York's Canada Gallery faced the possibility of dissolution last year following two lawsuits filed against its founders by a backer, court documents show. A New York court ultimately ruled that the gallery could remain operational, and neither lawsuit appears active, with their most recent filings from early this year.

However, in the 18 months since the lawsuits were initiated, three of Canada's partners, including one of its founders, have departed. Additionally, five artists have left the gallery, notably Joan Snyder, who recently joined Luhring Augustine 's roster.

French collector Jean Lignel filed his lawsuits in February 2025 with the New York County Supreme Court. One suit sought to dissolve Canada, while the other alleged that the gallery's other partners had improperly withdrawn over $3 million. The partners denied these claims in a counterclaim against Lignel, which was discontinued earlier this year. Despite a series of appeals, neither of Lignel's lawsuits currently appears to be ongoing.

Lignel began discussions with the gallery in 2008, a period when the New York art market and global economy were significantly impacted by a recession. A document submitted with the lawsuit, dated 2008, indicates that Canada founders Sarah Braman, Suzanne Butler, Phil Grauer, and Wallace Whitney agreed to bring Lignel on as a backer. Under this agreement, Lignel paid $150,000 for a 50 percent ownership stake in the gallery. In one lawsuit, Lignel claimed that between 2009 and 2023, Canada's founders“withdrew” more than $3 million, which he alleged was“in violation of the operating agreement.”

In their counterclaim, the Canada founders stated that Lignel“knew that the Founding Members were being compensated for the services” and that this“compensation for their services is well below market, the going rate for partner salaries for New York art galleries comparable to the Gallery is between $350,000 to $395,000 per year.”

In May 2025, a judge quickly denied the motion to dissolve Canada, asserting that Lignel failed to prove the gallery could not operate according to the terms of the agreement he signed. The judge also noted that Lignel“concedes that the gallery has recently hired additional managers, who are not LLC members, thereby demonstrating that the gallery is a functioning business.”

A lawyer for Lignel did not respond to ARTnews's request for comment. ARTnews also reached out to a Canada spokesperson regarding Lignel's involvement and the departures of partners and artists since the lawsuits. According to a 2016 6sqft profile, the year he listed his West Village home for $14.5 million, Lignel is a music producer, publisher, and entrepreneur whose collection includes works by Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, and Ida Applebroog. His involvement with Canada had not been reported before these lawsuits, which remained unmentioned in the press until now.

Changes in Operations and Personnel

Canada, which features artists such as Joe Bradley, Katherine Bernhardt, and Rachel Eulena Williams, first opened in 1999. It continues to operate a gallery in Tribeca, at 60 Lispenard Street, where it moved in 2019. Exhibitions by Scott and Tyson Reeder recently closed there. The gallery also operated an annex space across the street for a period, but in August 2025, after Lignel's lawsuits were filed, Canada subleased the annex gallery to dealer Max Levai, who has since relocated his gallery to Chelsea.

“We couldn't afford to keep both of the spaces,” Canada founder Wallace Whitney told Artnet News at the time.“And now, like many galleries, we are buckling down for a long haul. We want to stick around as long as possible.”

While Lignel's lawsuits were pending, Canada appears to have quietly reduced its operations. A comparison of the gallery's current staff page and an October 2025 version saved by the Internet Archive indicates that two partners have left in the past year. Suzanne Butler, a Canada founder and defendant in Lignel's lawsuits, is no longer listed as a partner. Tif Sigfrids, who closed her gallery in Athens, Georgia, in 2024 and then joined Canada as a partner, also quietly departed. Sigfrids declined to comment, and ARTnews was unable to reach Butler.

Another partner, Christiana Ine-Kimba Boyle, left before Butler and Sigfrids. Boyle exited her role as senior director of Pace Gallery in 2024 to become a partner and co-owner at Canada, where she had previously worked as a senior director. In March 2025, after only two and a half months as a partner and co-owner at Canada, Boyle launched her own itinerant gallery, Gladwell Projects, which has presented exhibitions in Harlem, Jersey City, and Paris. She declined to comment.

An archived version of Canada's roster via the Wayback Machine also suggests that five artists have left the gallery since Lignel's lawsuits were filed: Matt Connors, Jess Fuller, Daniel Hesidence, Robert Janitz, and Joan Snyder. (The gallery has also added one artist, Kahlil Robert Irving, who gained representation with Canada last December.) Snyder, who is now represented by both Luhring Augustine and Thaddaeus Ropac, stated in an email to ARTnews that she was unaware of the lawsuits and left Canada“under amicable circumstances.” She also noted that her two shows at the gallery were“successful.”

Source: ARTnews

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