{"id":23753,"date":"2021-05-20T19:16:39","date_gmt":"2021-05-20T19:16:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=23753"},"modified":"2021-05-20T21:53:04","modified_gmt":"2021-05-20T21:53:04","slug":"nicola-vassell-gallery-nyc","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/nicola-vassell-gallery-nyc\/","title":{"rendered":"Art Curator Nicola Vassell Debuts Her New Gallery In New York City"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Nicola
Nicola Vassell gallery. Photo courtesy of Nicola Vassell Gallery\/ALMA Communications<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Famed art dealer, curator, advisor, and now<\/em> gallerist, Nicola Vassell<\/a> is making her own table \u2014 forget just having a seat! \u2014 within the white male-dominated art gallery sector. Vassell has a distinguished resum\u00e9 and has spent countless years investing in shifting the contemporary art market. Now she is making the next natural step in inaugurating her own eponymous gallery, Nicola Vassell Gallery. <\/em>With this major feat, Vassell joins a growing initiative of more Black-owned galleries<\/a> across the nation. She joins an even smaller list of Black women-owned galleries. Historically (and still to this day), Black galleries and art dealers haven’t been given the same access and recognition as their white counterparts when many Black dealers are responsible for introducing the art world to now important and considered canon. Vassell is helping to chip away at the glass ceiling.<\/p>\n

Prior to the gallery, Vassell was Principal of Concept NV, <\/em>a conceptual art consultancy and curatorial agency that specialized in exhibitions and debate on cultural phenomena. In 2015, Vassell was appointed Curatorial Director of The Dean Collection<\/em><\/a> and No Commission<\/em>, a contemporary family art collection and cultural platform developed by Kasseem \u201cSwizz Beatz\u201c Dean and Alicia Keys<\/a>. There she oversaw the acquiring of works for the collection, from Derrick Adams to Jordan Casteel and Kehinde Wiley. So you see, she’s like a pretty big<\/em> deal!<\/p>\n

\"Nicola
Nicola Vassell. Photo courtesy of Ming Smith\/Nicola Vassell.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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“Nicola Vassell Gallery is a contemporary art gallery committed to discourse that widens the lens of the history and future of art. Its focus is on developing an intergenerational, cross-disciplinary program of international artists and thinkers.”<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Nicola Vassell. Photo courtesy of Ming Smith\/Nicola Vassell.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The inaugural Nicola Vassell Gallery exhibition is a retrospective of the work of the legendary image maker, Ming Smith<\/a>. Titled Ming Smith: Evidence<\/em>, the show will explore the fifty-year career of the photographer featuring a combination of rare, vintage silver gelatin and never-before-exhibited archival prints. Her work depicts the beauty of Black life, Black celebrity (her Grace Jones<\/a> Studio 54 image lives rent free in our minds), the Black form (illustrated through her infamous blurred silhouette images), as well as the beauty and lyricism of Black community. Smith was the first Black woman photographer to be included in a collection displayed at the Museum of Modern Art. For Vassell to choose Smith to christen her gallery speaks volumes. Black women constantly supporting each other \u2014 we absolutely love to see it!<\/p>\n

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\u201cI am delighted to inaugurate my new gallery with a solo presentation by Ming Smith, an artist I admire greatly. Ming embodies the spirit of the gallery and its journey to inception\u2014 the irrepressible quest for truth and beauty. It is my honor to share this moment with her.\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u2014 Nicola Vassell<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\"Ming
Ming Smith. (Photo by Steven Ferdman\/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Ahead of the opening, GRAZIA<\/em> got a sneak peak of the exhibition<\/a>. Explore some of the works on display below:<\/p>\n

preview of ‘Ming Smith: Evidence’<\/em><\/h3>\n
\"Nicola
Grace Jones, Studio 54,<\/em> 1970s. Archival pigment print. 24.5 x 36 in (paper). Courtesy of Ming Smith\/Nicola Vassell Gallery<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Nicola
Star of Hope<\/em>, 1978. Gelatin silver print. 16 x 20 in (paper)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sun
Sun Ra Space III<\/em>. Archival pigment paper print. 40 x 60 in (paper)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Nicola
Self Portrait as Josephine,<\/em> 1986. Archival pigment print 36 x 24.5 in (paper)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Ming
Amen-Corner-Sisters (Harlem, New York)<\/em>, 1976. Archival pigment print 36 x 24.25 in (paper)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Ming
Sparkling Jazzy Jazz<\/em>. ca 1980. Gelatin silver print 14 x 11 in (paper)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Ming
West Indian Day Parade (Brooklyn, New York)<\/em>, 1972. Gelatin silver print 16 x 20 in (paper)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ming Smith: Evidence<\/em>\u00a0opens today and is on view through July 3, 2021 at the Nicola Vassell Gallery,<\/em><\/a> located at 138 Tenth Avenue, New York, NY.<\/p>\n

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