How Larry Gagosian courted Russian oligarchs to build art gallery empire
nypost.comwhose assets were frozen by the British government Thursday over Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, and Mikhail Fridman, the sanctioned co-founder of Alfa Bank.He is also said to have cultivated relationships with Russia’s most important museum, run by a close associate of President Vladimir Putin.With Ukrainian artists and others calling for more sanctions in the cultural sector, such relationships may soon be under scrutiny, analysts say.The Gagosian Gallery in New York did not return The Post’s calls and an email seeking comment this week.Gagosian, who owns several galleries around the world, has long held close ties to Abramovich, the owner of the UK’s Chelsea football club, helping him and ex-wife Dasha Zhukova build up a massive art collection.
It includes pieces by artists Francis Bacon and Damien Hirst, whose work has been represented by Gagosian’s galleries. “In my years working for the Gagosian gallery, I watched Larry’s interest move from key American collectors to mother Russia,” said a former gallery employee who did not want to be identified.In his pursuit of wealthy Russian clients, Gagosian hosted exhibitions in Moscow, beginning in 2007, featuring artists Hirst, Willem de Kooning and Jeff Koons, among others.
That inaugural show was partly financed by Russia’s Alfa Bank, Russia’s largest private financial institution, which was sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury last month.
One of the bank’s founders, Fridman — who, as of 2017, was Russia’s seventh-richest citizen — was a client of the Gagosian Gallery, and sanctioned by the European Union in February.
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