Eric Firestone is opening his fifth gallery, this time in West Palm Beach. The new space will be a permanent location in South Florida. It joins his two galleries in New York and two in East Hampton.
The gallery will open in mid-November at 2412 Florida Avenue. It's a warehouse space near the Norton Museum of Art.
A Return to Roots
Firestone grew up in Miami and left South Florida in 1989. This move feels like a homecoming for him. He also sees it as a smart business decision.
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Start Your News Detox"I was just really kind of doing enough business down there," Firestone told ARTnews. "I had enough friends and family down there that it just made sense to me."
Many galleries opened in wealthy areas during the pandemic, then closed when things slowed down. Firestone doesn't want to do that. He plans to follow the model he uses in East Hampton, where his galleries have been open for 16 years.
"To really make a gallery work in a community like that, you have to be open for most of the year and be accessible," he explained. "People know you’re a go-to in the community."
A New Approach
Even with a tough art market, Firestone sees the expansion as a good financial move. He said the cost of running the West Palm Beach gallery for most of the year is about the same as attending two international art fairs.
"This isn’t a loss leader for me," he noted. "If I’m doing this, I have to produce. My business has to produce."
Firestone never thought about opening another New York location or expanding to Los Angeles. He prefers to ship art along the East Coast instead of managing galleries on both coasts.
The West Palm Beach gallery will also operate differently. Instead of a traditional schedule of solo shows, Firestone plans a "salon or showroom" style. This means the art will change often, mixing historical pieces with works by younger artists.
"I want to create an experience in there," he said. "I don’t mind showing a younger artist where the market is just starting to get going or early legs up against an historic work that’s really established."
This idea fits his gallery's focus. He often brings attention back to postwar American artists like Joe Overstreet, Thomas Sills, Marcia Marcus, Martha Edelheit, and Pat Passlof. He aims for their work to be acquired by museums.
Pat Passlof is a clear example. Firestone has represented her estate since 2020. He held her first exhibition in 2021 and a sold-out show at Frieze Masters in 2022. Her paintings are now in major collections, including the Whitney Museum and the Museum of Modern Art.
On September 9, Firestone will open "After Magic: Early Works by Pat Passlof: 1948–1962" at his Great Jones Street gallery. The show will feature about 35 small paintings and two large canvases. It starts with her time studying under Willem de Kooning. Passlof was an important figure in the art world, helping to create the Artists’ Club and co-founding the March Gallery. Yet, she is not as well-known as many of her male peers.
Firestone is interested in closing this gap. He says younger artists are curious about historical work beyond the famous names. "There’s these other voices during these periods that were making work that was radical," he said. "That’s where we have a lot of fun as a gallery, just putting this examination to the test."
After 33 years in the business, Firestone also expands to stay engaged. "I still have a little bit of a shoot-from-the-hip mentality," he noted. "You do this long enough, you got to keep it fresh for yourself. There’s so many dealers that look like they’re just going through the motions—boring."
