YVON LAMBERT TO CLOSE NEW LONDON GALLERY

Art dealer Yvon Lambert, who has galleries in Paris, New York and London, will close his London gallery at the end of March reports Bloomberg News. It’s the first major gallery to close in London as the global art market slows. “In this period of tightening of the market what you want is to consolidate what is crucial for you,” said Olivier Belot, general director at Yvon Lambert. “Paris and New York are the two crucial centers for the gallery.” The renovated 7,000-square-foot London industrial building opened during the Frieze Art Fair last October in London’s Hoxton Square. Half a dozen smaller New York galleries have folded since October, when the art market started to slow, and large galleries such as PaceWildenstein and Matthew Marks have let staff go to cut costs. Belot said the gallery chose to locate in London because of its fantastic museums, important art curators and access to new collectors from Russia, as well as, the financial sector. “The timing was very bad,” Belot said. "Also, producing ambitious exhibitions for three outlets has become extremely expensive."