Top 10 of the Biggest Art Galleries in the World

What is the Biggest Art Gallery in the World?

It is clear that art galleries play a major role in today’s contemporary art world. Art galleries are the blueprint of the art world. They act as the purveyor of the iconic masterpieces of tomorrow, having one’s finger on the pulse of the latest trends in contemporary art. Before introducing the top 10 industry-leading galleries, let’s answer the big question who is the biggest art gallery today?

The biggest art gallery in the world is Gagosian Gallery, covering over 20.000 square meters of exhibition space with a total of seventeen locations across the globe.

However, Gagosian is not the only so-called ‘mega-gallery’ out there, as several other industry-leading galleries are knocking on the door to take the top spot. But who are they, what do they do, and where can we find them?

Make sure to read our in-depth article The Art Gallery: Everything You Need to Know for a more extensive take on the art gallery.

What is a ‘Mega-Gallery’?

The influence of art galleries seems to grow exponentially – sometimes, people even tend to argue the most prominent galleries have become too powerful. In doing so, a new type of gallery has emerged – or rather expanded – the so-called ‘mega-gallery’.

A ‘mega-gallery’ is an industry-leading gallery with multiple locations in which its size, number of employees, the quality of the artists, and organized exhibitions are equal to the standards of a major (museum) institution, blurring the line between gallery and museum.

Whereas we all know the most important art museums in the world, art galleries seem to be a bit less well known in the public opinion. When it comes to contemporary art, we always tend to visit museums such as MoMA in New York, Tate Modern in London, or Centre Pompidou in Paris. However, the artworks we behold and the artists who created them were first presented and represented by an art gallery before they entered those institutions.

If you would like to know more about the difference between an art gallery and a museum, discover the key differences in our article What is the Difference Between an Art Gallery and a Museum? here.

So, who are those mega-galleries, and where can we find them? Therefore, this article lists the top 10 of the best and most influential galleries in the world.

Please note: The ranking has been made in complete objectivity using the following metrics to set up the top 10 of the biggest art galleries in the world; square meters, number of locations, number of employees, artist rankings of the represented artists, and online exposure.

10. Victoria Miro

LONDON & VENICE

We open the debates with Victoria Miro Gallery. In 1985, Victoria Marion Miro opened her first gallery in London before moving to a larger space in the English capital in 2000, which is today’s main office of the gallery. In 2013, Victoria Miro inaugurated a second space in London, followed by a third gallery in Venice, Italy.

Victoria Miro is highly respected as a prominent figure in the art world, as is her gallery. In 2018, three spaces covered over 2.000 square feet with around 50 people as working staff. At this moment, there are two active galleries. One in London and one in Venice.[1]

Over the years, Victoria Miro has represented and launched many of the art world’s current superstars. Think of the British artists Chantal Joffe or Chris Ofili, but also international artists such as Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Tal R, Alice Neel, or Idris Khan. This impressive array of artists results in the tenth spot in our list, opening our article in style.[2]

9. Lehman Maupin

New York, Hong Kong, Seoul, and London

Contemporary art gallery Lehmann Maupin was initiated by David Maupin back in 1996 in New York, the United States of America. The highly rated mega-gallery currently has four locations worldwide: New York, Hong Kong, Seoul, and London.

Lehmann Maupin has been exhibiting established artists from day one, representing artists such as Kader Attia, Erwin Wurm, or Gilbert & George. The gallery’s influence is strongly noticeable, considering their active contribution to the number of museum shows, public projects, biennials, or their presence at art fairs and online. Further, the gallery covers approximately 2.000 square meters with around 45 staff.[3][4]

Today, Lehmann Maupin is a true household name for the most influential contemporary art galleries. Doing so, Lehmann Maupin sits in the ninth spot for this article.

8. Perrotin

Paris (5), New York, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, and Shanghai

In 1990, Emmanuel Perrotin opened his first gallery space at just twenty-one in Paris, founding Perrotin Gallery. Three decades later, Perrotin is set to open his tenth exhibition space, his fifth location in Paris. We can find the other five galleries in New York, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, and Shangai, resulting in a whopping 7.500 square meters of exhibition space and around 110 employees.[5][6]

Perrotin represents established artists such as Maurizio Cattelan, Wim Delvoye, JR, Takashi Murakami, Pierre Soulages, Claire Tabouret, and several artist estates, focusing on both the primary market and the secondary market. The gallery participates in over twenty art fairs annually, asserting its presence in the art world.

As a result, Perrotin gallery is one of the biggest art galleries in the world, resulting in a well-deserved eighth spot on our list.

7. Thaddaeus Ropac

London, Paris (2), Salzburg (2), and Seoul

Up next, we have the gallery empire of Thaddaeus Ropac. The Austrian gallery owner opened his first space in 1981 in Lienz in Austria before moving to Salzburg in 1983, opening the current Thaddaeus Ropac gallery. Further, Ropac would open a second Salzburg gallery, two Paris galleries (Marais and Patin), and one gallery in London. He is currently expanding his team by opening a new location in Seoul, South Korea.[7]

Thaddaeus Ropac specializes in the primary and secondary art market regarding contemporary art. Not only do they represent the most influential artists – such as Georg Baselitz, Adrian Ghenie, Gilbert & George, Alex Katz, Anselm Kiefer, Imi Knoebel, Arnulf Rainer, David Salle, Erwin Wurm or Lawrence Weiner – they also continue to contribute to the legacy of recent icons collaborating with their estates.

The gallery’s influence, size, and reach are almost immeasurable as they attend every major art fair, consult actors for major museums and public collections, and run their own publishing house, actively contributing to the written canonization of contemporary art and its latest developments. Across six locations, Thaddaeus Ropac covers around 12.000 square meters of exhibition space, curating around 40 exhibitions a year.[8]

The mega-gallery Thaddaeus Ropac is undeniably one of the best art galleries in the world. Therefore it achieves the seventh spot in this article. However, it must be said it was a very close call as they could easily have been ranked fifth.

6. Lisson Gallery

London (3), New York (3), and Shanghai

In 1967, Nicholas Logsdail renovated three floors on Bell Street in London with some of his friends from the Slade School of Art, establishing Lisson Gallery. As a result, Lisson Gallery is one of the longest-running international contemporary art galleries, pioneering Minimal and Conceptual Art since its genesis.[9]

Today, the gallery covers approximately 4.000 square meters. It has around 80 employees spread across two spaces in London, two in New York, one in Shanghai, and a temporary one in East Hampton, New York, and in London’s Mayfair district.[10][11]

Besides its impressive locations, Lisson Gallery distinguishes itself as a ‘super-gallery’ with an incredible array of more than 60 of the highest-rated artists. The gallery still works with many artists they launched onto the art scene in the 60s and 70s, who have become icons by now in combination with the current generation of leading artists. Lisson Gallery represents Marina Abramovic, Ai Weiwei, Sean Scully, Ryan Gander, Liu Xiaodong, Daniel Buren, Tony Cragg, Dan Graham, Richard Long, Anish Kapoor, Laure Prouvost, and many more.

Therefore, it is no surprise to find Lisson Gallery in an article discussing the ten biggest art galleries in the world, taking in the sixth spot on this list and very close to taking the fifth spot.

5. White Cube

London (2), Hong Kong, Paris, and New York

In 1993, a square space was opened in Duke Street in the West End of London by gallery owner and art dealer Jay Jopling. In less than thirty years, the gallery has grown from one square space to six significant locations, with two galleries in London, one in Hong Kong, Paris, and New York.

White Cube achieved national and international recognition by being one of the first galleries to represent the Young British Artists (YBA). Today, the gallery has an utterly impressive range of artists in its portfolio. Think of artists such as Damien Hirst, Ellen Altfest, Michael Armitage, Georg Baselitz, Anselm Kiefer, Chuck Close, Tracey Emin, Gilbert & George, Andreas Gursky, Imi Knoebel, Julie Mehretu, Bruce Nauman, Danh Vō or Jeff Wall.[12]

White Cube covers over 10.000 square meters and is one of today’s most influential art galleries, resulting in the fifth spot in this article. However, I also want to state that White Cube, Lisson Gallery, and Thaddaeus Ropac are this close to our ranking. We could almost say the trio shares this fifth place with an ex-aequo.

4. David Zwirner

New York (3), London, Paris, and Hong Kong

Up next, we have the ubiquitous David Zwirner Gallery. I was a bit surprised the mega-gallery didn’t make the podium. However, the top four could easily have been in any order as we enter the absolute greats regarding the mega-galleries.

David Zwirner opened his first gallery in 1993 in New York and has six locations across three continents. With three spaces in New York and international galleries in London, Paris, and Hong Kong, David Zwirner covers around 14.000 square meters and has over 150 employees.[13]

Even more impressive is the list of artists David Zwirner represents. The list is stacked with the art world’s superstars such as Francis Alÿs, Marlene Dumas, Michaël Borremans, Barbara Kruger, Neo Rauch, Luc Tuymans, Thomas Ruff, Wolfgang Tillmans, and many more. Also, regarding the secondary market, the gallery represents artists of the highest caliber, such as Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, Josef Albers, Alice Neel, Juan Munoz, and Sigmar Polke.[14]

Doing so, the gallery sits in the fourth spot among the biggest art galleries in the world and is knocking on the door to enter the podium.

3. Pace Gallery

New York (2), London, Hong Kong, Seoul, Geneva, Palo Alto, East Hampton, and Palm Beach

We enter the podium with the industry-leading international mega-gallery, Pace. Pace Gallery was founded in 1960 by Arne Glimcher in Boston and is currently directed by his son Marc Glimcher.

Today, the gallery has nine locations across the globe, including spaces in London, Geneva, Palo Alto, Hong Kong, Seoul, East Hampton (temporary), Palm Beach (seasonal), and two galleries in New York. It is set to expand again during the fall of this year with a larger space in London. As a result, Pace covers over 15.000 square meters of exhibition space and has around 150 employees on their international staff.[15]

Pace has an incredible exhibition calendar with even better artists. The American contemporary art gallery represents artists such as Christo, Chuck Close, Nigel Cooke, Adrian Ghenie, Paul Graham, David Hockney, JR, Jeff Koons, Li Songsong, and Agnes Martin among many others.[16]

By doing so, Pace Gallery takes the bronze medal as the third biggest art gallery in the world.

2. Hauser & Wirth

New York (2), London, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Somerset (2), St. Moritz, Zurich, Gstaad, Rämistrasse, Southampton, Menorca, Monaco and Chilida Leku

In the second place, we are pleased to present Hauser & Wirth. Iwan Wirth, Manuele Wirth and Ursula Hauser established Hauser & Wirth in 1992 in an Art Deco villa in Zurich, Switzerland. Amazingly, within three decades, the gallery has expanded and currently has fifteen gallery locations across the globe.

Where to find them? Hauser & Wirth has two galleries in New York and Somerset and a gallery in London, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, St. Moritz, Zurich, Gstaad, Rämistrasse, Southampton, Menorca, Monaco, and Chilida Leku, covering 20.000 square meters with approximately 200 employees.[17]

A unique and admirable aspect of Hauser & Wirth’s vision regarding these gallery locations is their affinity toward architecture and cultural heritage. Instead of building new state-of-the-art gallery spaces, they restore historical buildings, revisit their environments, and contribute to a constructive approach towards cultural sites and heritage issues, connecting contemporary art with history.[18]

Further, Hauser & Wirth is an active contributor to academic research – strongly connected to their specialized publishing activities – organizing landmark exhibitions in collaboration with renowned curators, presenting high-end surveys, and investing in scholarship, research, and education. In doing so, the gallery achieves museum-quality exhibitions and adds immense value to its gallery program, the art world, and culture in general.[19]

Then, I must mention the incredible selection of over eighty artists and estates the gallery represents. Think of Berlinde De Bruyckere, Nicole Eisenman, Isa Genzken, Roni Horn, Anri Sala, Wilhelm Sasnal, Zeng Fhanzi, or the estates of Philip Guston, Louise Bourgeois, Allan Kaprow, Hans Arp, Günther Förg or Arshile Gorski.[20]

With Hauser & Wirth, it is clear to say the distinction between an art gallery and a museum seems to disappear. One might argue the gallery has become more prominent than most museums, and rightfully so, illustrating what it means to be a true mega-gallery. As a result, today, Hauser & Wirth is the second biggest art gallery in the world.

1. Gagosian

New York (6), Beverly Hills, London (3), Paris, Le Bourget, Geneva, Basel, Rome, Athens, and Hong Kong

In 1980, Larry Gagosian established Gagosian Gallery in Los Angeles. Today, the gallery has seventeen (!) locations covering over 20.000 square meters of exhibition space. It has more than 300 workers across New York (6 galleries), London (3 galleries), Beverly Hills, Paris, Le Bourget, Geneva, Basel, Rome, Athens, and Hong Kong.[21]

Gagosian has been a critical player in many aspects of the art industry. They are, without a doubt, the leading gallery in the digital marketplace. They were the first gallery to establish a publishing house rivaling the traditional art publishers with over 500 publications. Their Gagosian Quarterly magazine, online articles, and other cultural programs are marked by transparency, historical scholarships, research, market insights, and more.

The numbers of Gagosian are simply mind-blowing as they outgrow the definition of the art gallery. The number of established artists and estates they work with is even more impressive. Think of Georg Baselitz, Gerhard Richter, John Currin, Anselm Kiefer, Damien Hirst, Andreas Gursky, Jenny Saville, Y.Z. Kami, Jeff Koons, Richard Prince, Jeff Wall, Rudolf Stingel, and many more.

Then there is their ubiquitous presence in the second market, showcasing the works of Francis Bacon, Louise Bourgeois, Willem de Kooning, Lucio Fontana, Roy Liechtenstein, Man Ray, Piero Manzoni, Jackson Pollock, and more.[22] These blockbuster exhibitions result in incredible sales and hundreds of thousands of visitors, rivaling the visitor numbers of the most important museum institutions.

It is clear to say these numbers seem to speak for themselves, answering the question of our status qauestionis, who is the biggest art gallery in the world? As a result, we are pleased to announce that today’s biggest art gallery in the world is Gagosian.

Notes:

[1] Artnet, Which Is the Biggest Mega-Gallery? We Ranked the Total Footprints of 14 of the World’s Most Powerful Art Dealerships (2018) at https://news.artnet.com/market/the-square-footage-of-global-mega-galleries-1409839 consulted 19/05/2021. & Artnet, How Many People Does It Take to Run a Mega-Gallery? We Found Out (2018) at https://news.artnet.com/market/gallery-staff-by- the-numbers-1205294 consulted 19/05/2021.
[2] Victoria Miro at https://www.victoria-miro.com consulted 19/05/2021.
[3] Ibidem note 1.
[4] Lehmann Maupin, About at https://www.lehmannmaupin.com/about consulted 19/05/2021.
[5] Perrotin, About at https://www.perrotin.com/about consulted 20/05/2021.
[6] Ibidem note 1.
[7] Thaddaeus Ropac, About at https://ropac.net/about/ consulted 20/05/2021.
[8] Ibidem note 7.
[9] Lisson Gallery, About at https://www.lissongallery.com/about consulted 21/05/2021.
[10] Ibidem note 1.
[11] Ibidem note 9.
[12] White Cube, Artists at https://whitecube.com/artists consulted 24/05/2021.
[13] Ibidem note 1.
[14] David Zwirner, Artists at https://www.davidzwirner.com/artists consulted 27/05/2021.
[15] Ibidem note 1.
[16] Pace Gallery, Artists at https://www.pacegallery.com/artists/ consulted 27/05/2021.
[17] Ibidem note 1.
[18] Hauser & Wirth, About at https://www.hauserwirth.com/about consulted 27/05/2021.
[19] Ibidem note 18.
[20] Hauser & Wirth, Artists at https://www.hauserwirth.com/artists consulted 27/05/2021.
[21] Gagosian, About the gallery at https://gagosian.com/about/about-gallery/ consulted 27/05/2021.
[22] Gagosian, Artists at https://gagosian.com/artists/ consulted 27/05/2021.

Last Updated on April 19, 2024